Both Congress and the State Legislature may have been on recess recently, but that didn’t stop the Association from making sure our issues remain front and center. On the Federal side, the Association held or attended meetings with Congressman Adam Gray, Congressman David Valadao, and Congressman Vince Fong. Issues discussed included water, federal agency staffing at USDA and its numerous agencies, air quality, and immigration. On the state side, the Association hosted or met with Senator Melissa Hurtado, Senator Monique Limon, Assemblyman Heath Flora, Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez, Assemblywoman Dr. Darshana Patel and Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria. Issues discussed included water, immigration, future year elections, and in meetings that were not fundraisers, we discussed the three bills currently sponsored or co-sponsored by the Association including AB 732 (Macedo) on abandoned orchards and vineyards, AB 1046 (Bains) on agricultural waste reporting, and SB 279 (McNerney) on composting, as well as the critical issue of Cap & Trade reauthorization and the needed inclusion of FARMER funding.