Minor Crop Farmer Alliance Welcomes New Leader

Phil Korson, President of Cherry Marketing Institute, has stepped down after three years as chair of the Minor Crop Farmer Alliance (MCFA), which was founded in 1991 to address legislative and administrative policies to ensure the continued availability of crop protection chemicals for fruits, nuts, vegetables, and other minor-use crops.

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Jim Cranney, California Citrus Quality Council President, was elected MCFA chairman for 2019 and is joined by a slate of officers who will lead the group’s work in the year ahead.

Cranney lauded Korson’s work as a long-time volunteer leader with MCFA and thanked Korson for his service to the specialty crop industry. Korson has served on MCFA’s Executive Committee for more than 20 years, first as vice-chair and most recently as chair. He plans to retire from CMI later this year.

Besides access to crop protection tools, MCFA also advocates for industry with the foreign governments and agencies that set policy regarding pesticide residues on foods those countries import.

“Phil has been a friend and colleague for nearly 25 years.  He’s the kind of person you want and need at the table to be successful in the coalition business – always positive and willing to pitch in,” Cranney said.  “We’ll definitely miss him.”

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“Serving as MCFA chairman has been a distinct honor for me,” Korson said. Speaking of the importance of MCFA’s work, he noted, “MCFA brings together the best and brightest technical people to make sure that pesticide policy is open, transparent, and above all, based on science. Science and technology will continue to be key to safely feeding the world’s population into the future.”

“It has been amazing to watch the evolution of this group’s work, first to address the out-of-date Delaney Clause, then to guide implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act,” Korson said. “More recently, MCFA has been focusing on the complex residue tolerance issues that challenge those of us who export our products.”

Cranney will now lead the alliance, joined by Vice-Chair Terry Humfeld, Cranberry Institute Executive Director; Secretary Marcy Martin, California Fresh Fruit Association Director of Trade; and Treasurer Robert Guenther, United Fresh Produce Association Senior Vice President of Public Policy.

MCFA’s critical Technical Committee will be co-chaired by Mike Aerts, Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association Director of Production and Supply Chain Management, and Gabrielle Ludwig, Almond Board of California Director of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs.

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