California Fruit Growers And Shippers Bemoan Water, Regulatory Headaches
March 24, 2016 
Fresno, CA’s “Blossom Trail” (Photo credit: David Eddy)
California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA) members kicked off their new fiscal year recently during their 80th annual meeting in Newport Beach, CA. The event featured the election of the Board of Directors and Chairman, industry and committee updates, and the release of their annual Top 10 Issues, which are listed below.
The Board of Directors is made up of 47 men and women from operations located from as far south as Coachella Valley to as far north as Lake County. Harold McClarty (HMC Farms) was elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the 2016-17 fiscal year. The organization’s officers are nominated to serve for a one-year period and are selected by a committee of past board chairs. The full slate of officers includes:
Chair: Harold McClarty (HMC Farms) – Kingsburg-based tree fruit and fresh grape shipper
First Vice Chair: Randy Giumarra (Giumarra Vineyards) – Bakersfield-based fresh grape and tree fruit shipper
Second Vice Chair: Kevin Herman (The Specialty Crop Company) – Madera-based fresh fig, pomegranate, and persimmon shipper
Secretary/Treasurer: Louis Pandol (Pandol Bros., Inc.) – Delano-based fresh grape shipper
The board welcomed new directors: Melissa Poole of Wonderful Orchards (Bakersfield), Demetri Hronis of Hronis Inc. (Delano), Mike Thurlow of Mountain View Fruit Sales (Reedley), and Patrick Scully of Scully Packing (Finley). They also gave their thanks to four exiting directors: Bo Brett of Mountain View Fruit Sales (Reedley), Toni Scully of Scully Packing (Finley), Edge Dostal of Fruit Patch Sales (Dinuba), and Ron Frauenheim of Ron Frauenheim Farms (Sanger).
The association also honored long-time board member Ken Enns with the prestigious Mentor’s Award, which is bestowed to an individual who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to the fresh grape, berry, and tree fruit communities through their leadership in the industry. Enns has served on the CFFA Board for 27 years and served as its chairman in 1998.
Prior to the Annual Membership Meeting, the Annual Industry Workshop featured keynote speakers Dr. Victor Davis Hanson, professor and nationally syndicated columnist, and Bonnie Fernandez-Fenaroli, executive director of the Center for Produce Safety (CPS). Hanson reviewed the national political scene and shared his insight on the current factors impacting California agriculture, exposing the many challenges for the industry to survive. Fernandez-Fenaroli discussed the importance of food safety and CPS’s mission to provide ready- to-use, science-based solutions to prevent and minimize produce safety vulnerabilities.
CFFA’s Top 10 Issues List:
1) Water Supply/Drought-Related Impacts – CFFA membership is highly diverse, spanning from Lake and Mendocino counties in the north, down through the San Joaquin Valley, and south into the Coachella Valley. The need for long-term water certainty remains of utmost importance to sustaining a viable agricultural sector. The drought conditions that continued through 2015 placed significant stress onto farming operations, shifting more permanent fresh fruit crop producers to rely upon groundwater supplies. The association is actively working to protect Prop 1 water bond resources designed specifically for larger, above-ground surface storage projects which stand to produce the broadest benefits to water users, in the fact of active opposition attempts to restrict available resources.
2) Retroactive Labor Regulation Costs and Related Impacts – With the passage of State Assembly Bill 1513, an addition to section 226.2 to the California Labor Code regarding compensation and wage statement requirements for rest and recovery periods and “other nonproductive time” for piece-rate employees, employers are open to serious financial liability. In addition, other labor costs will continue to increase resulting from the implementation of health care mandates, a tightening labor supply and an increasing minimum wage, which rose to $10 per hour in January 2016. Seasonal wages, along with those in every category of agricultural production such as tractor drivers and irrigators, increase proportionately along with a higher minimum wage. Farmers routinely experience seasonal hourly costs of approximately $12 to $15 per hour now and these amounts will only increase as the largest business cost for growers and shippers of labor-intensive fresh fruit commodities who must compete in a highly competitive global market.
3) Food Safety Practices and Implementation – The implementation of preventative food safety practices has allowed fresh fruit growing and shipping operations to provide consumers with safe and nutritious food. Ensuring a safe food supply remains a top priority and the industry continues its advancements in producing science and risk-based practices through food safety research designed to identify potential risks and guide the continued production of safe, fresh fruit. Growers and packers are looking to ensure their implementation of food safety practices conform to government standards such as the Food Safety Modernization Act for safe production and the ever increasing retailer demands for meeting demand-side food safety expectations. The industry, as well as CFFA, will look to lead with the implementation of science- and risk-based practices to continue to preserve consumer confidence and meet their expectations.
4) Immigration Reform – Despite both legal and political hurdles, as an active member of Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform (ACIR), the association will continue to impress upon our elected representatives that Congressional action is needed to ensure a long-term solution toward addressing labor security for the agricultural sector. CFFA continues to be a key component in the policy shaping debate on both short and long-term proposals to make sure our members have a legal and stable workforce.
5) Groundwater Management Requirements – The passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) provides for local management of groundwater basins throughout California. The creation of sustainable groundwater management agencies will combine management with enforcement mechanisms in an attempt to ensure the sustainability of groundwater resources through planning which must be in place as early as 2020, and achieve sustainability goals in the basin within 20 years of implementation. There is significant concern that as a result of this act, the governance of groundwater supplies will look much differently in just a few years as local agencies will be tasked with ensuring groundwater pumping does not jeopardize the basin’s ability to be sustainable over the long-term.
6) Labor Regulations – The California Legislature continues to consider measures that advance opportunities for organized labor to unionize the agricultural labor force. There is a strong need for a thorough examination of the will of the labor force and the value they perceive in paying a percentage in dues for added wages, benefits, and working conditions which either have been addressed or continue to be advanced by the Legislature or through regulation, thus rendering union membership unnecessary. The association will continue to confront misguided rule-making and legislative attempts to amend the Agricultural Labor Relations Act which have the impact of ignoring the will of the employee to freely choose whether or not to be part of a union.
7) Water Quality Regulations – Farming operations have seen added impacts in the form of compliance costs associated with regulatory oversight and reporting related to water quality. Significant efforts remain to identify whether agricultural nitrogen management practices are sufficiently protective of groundwater or whether practices must change in order to mitigate groundwater degradation. In the near-term, reporting will project clearer pictures from which to discern the potential impacts from agricultural practices. The association is positioned to continue its work across legislative and regulatory audiences to shape implementation of regulatory proposals in a way which recognizes that there is shared responsibility to ensure compliance with water quality goals while continuing to advance the importance of maintaining the economic viability of the agricultural sector.
8) Health Care Mandates/Affordable Care Act – Implementation of the Affordable Care Act continues to increase operational costs for employers. Growers securing labor through the services of a farm labor contractor are facing pass-through costs that vary depending on number of eligible employees and contract terms, which may include higher commission rates and added per-employee charges. With implementation underway the cost of labor will climb to an even higher proportion of an operation’s overall labor costs.
9) Invasive Pest Issues – The association continues to collaborate with key regulatory officials and trading partners in the effort to combat the devastating effects of invasive pests, such as the European grapevine moth, light brown apple moth, and spotted wing drosophila, at a time when both federal and state resources continue to shrink. Prevention of invasive pests and diseases is imperative to California producers who sell their products globally. Investment in prevention is always preferable to eradication efforts that become necessary once an infestation takes place.
10) Workers’ Compensation Costs – Workers’ compensation costs remain an important concern given the volume of labor needed to perform field and packing activities. New safety techniques and training help to increase the awareness of workplace hazards and practices, which help to mitigate and reduce risk of injury or illness caused by a work activity or process. Joint liability for both labor contractors and client employers for the failure to maintain valid workers’ compensation insurance for workers, potentially add to the growing costs of doing business for growers.
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