California’s own Kirk Gilkey, Manager of the Cross Creek II Gin, was this year recipient of the National Cotton Ginners Association’s (NCGA) Horace Hayden Ginner of the Year Award!  This is well deserved and a long time coming for one of the industry’s tireless contributors.  He was born and raised in Corcoran, California and has deep roots in the cotton industry.  He attended High School there in Corcoran where he was a star football player.  In fact, he was so good that he received a scholarship to play football at Arizona State University.  He left Arizona State and attended California Polytechnic State University where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Ag Business Management.  Interesting to note that in 1980, he was selected to tour the British Islands with a California Rugby squad which competed against British Rugby teams.  He is one of the most active Ginners in California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association.  He has served for many years as a board member of the Association.  He served as Chairman of the Association in 1996 and was named that association’s recipient of California Ginner of the Year in 2000.  Furthermore, he has been a longtime Ginner delegate to the National Cotton Council, current Board Member of the NCC Board of Directors and Past President and Chairman of the National Cotton Ginners Association in 2010 and 2011.  In addition, he has served either as chairman or as a member of most of National Ginners’ Committees and Subcommittees.  He also served many years on the NCC’s Joint Industry Bale Packaging Committee and as Chairman of the Council’s Packaging and Flow Program Committee.  Currently, he is Manager of the Cross-Creek II Gin, General Manager of Gilkey Farming Enterprises and General Manager of, and a partner in, Gilkey Five.  In addition, Kirk is a trustee for the Corcoran Methodist Church and the Corcoran Community Foundation.  Kirk also served as Past President for the Corcoran Chamber of Commerce and served on the Board of Directors of Corcoran’s YMCA for over 10 years.    The Horace Hayden Ginner of the Year award is presented annually to a ginner in recognition of able, efficient and faithful cotton ginning service and in the continuing of those principles exemplified and practiced by Horace Hayden, former Executive Secretary of NCGA.  Previous winners from California include Louie Colombini, Buttonwillow Ginning & Westside Farmers Coop; Stan Creelman, Mid Valley Cotton Growers; Michael Hopper, Farmers Coop Gin; Loyd Colbert, Modern Ginning; Bob Faris, Elbow Enterprises; Ken Rowan, Broadview Coop; Tom Miller; and Macon Steele, Producers Cotton Oil.  Congratulations to Kirk Gilkey!  The Association would like to recognize all of his contributions to the California cotton industry and say: Job well done!

At this past National Cotton Council Annual Meeting, Stan Creelman, Manager of the Mid Valley Cotton Growers gins, wrapped up his tenure as President of the National Cotton Ginners Association (NCGA).  Stan, who is a current board member of the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association, and past Chairman (2001-2002), continued a long tradition of leaders from the California cotton industry.  Past NCGA Presidents included Kirk Gilkey, Cross Creek Gin; Michael Hooper, Farmers Coop Gin; Bob Cozzi, Anderson Clayton Corp; Ken Rowan, Broadview Coop; Macon Steele, Producers Cotton Oil; and Harry Thompson.  The California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association would like to recognize Stan for his service to the industry and his willingness to go above and beyond to serve the cotton industry.  Thank you for all that you do Stan!

You are invited to help the Visalia Classing Office Celebrate a huge milestone of 50 million bales classed. The open house also includes a tour of the cotton classing operations. The event will be held at the USDA AMS Visalia Cotton Classing Office on Wednesday February 20th from 10 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. For more information see the attached flyer below.

Effective January 1, 2019 California law requires employers with 5 or more employees to provide not only two hours of sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training with Supervisors, but also a 1-hour training to all non-supervisory employees.  The Western Agricultural Processors Association and California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association in partnership with AgSafe, will be offering 1-hour Nonsupervisory Webinars.  Visit our website Events and Training Classes page www.agprocessors.org for links to register online.

Posting of the Cal/OSHA 300A Summary, which lists the total number of job-related illnesses and injuries that occurred during 2018, must be posted from February 1^st – April 30^th, 2019.   The Form 300A Summary must be signed by a company executive and should be displayed in a common area where notices to employees are usually posted.  Please visit our website for Recordkeeping Forms or contact our office.

USDA California Farm Service Agency Announces Program Deadline Extensions

USDA’s California Farm Service Agency extended deadlines on many of its programs because of the government shutdown and the emergency nature of many of the programs. 

Below are updated deadlines:

*** For details on all program deadlines and extensions, view FSA National Notice CM-807

Farm Programs

• Market Facilitation Program
  • • Deadline to apply extended to Feb. 14, 2019
• Marketing Assistance Loans
  • • If loan matured in December 2018, settlement date extended to Feb. 14, 2019
    • Peanut loans or Loan Deficiency Payments – loan availability date now Feb. 28, 2019
  • Emergency Conservation Program
    • Performance reporting due Feb. 14, 2019
• Livestock Forage Disaster
  • • 2018 application for payment due Feb. 28, 2019
• Emergency Assistance Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish Program
  • • Notice of loss due Feb. 14, 2019
• Livestock Indemnity Program
  • • Notice of loss due Feb. 14, 2019
• Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program
  • • Submitting 2019 application for coverage due Feb. 14, 2019
    • Notice of loss for 72-hour harvest and grazing (as applicable) due Feb. 14, 2019
    • Notice of loss for prevented planting and failed acres due Feb. 14, 2019
    • Applications for payment for 2018 covered losses due Feb. 14, 2019
• Tree Assistance Program
  • • Notice of loss due Feb. 14, 2019
    • 2011-2018 Losses due to Pistachio Bushy Top Syndrome (PBTS)
    • Notice of Loss due by Feb 14, 2019  

Acreage Reporting

• • January reporting deadlines extended to Feb. 14, 2019

For inquiries related to these programs or any not listed above, please contact your local USDA Service Center.

Western Agricultural Processors Association (WAPA) has partnered with The Zenith Insurance to offer several Aerial Device and Fall Protection Workshops.  All workshops will be in English and held from 7:45 am registration, class 8 am – 12 pm.  The workshops will provide an overview of the regulatory requirements and participants will be given safety training materials to assist with onsite training.  This training is geared toward owners, supervisors or any person who is responsible to conduct onsite training.  Cost: $50 per person.  Register online  https://www.wapa-events.com/aerial-lift-fall-protection or contact WAPA (559) 455-9272.

Flyer and Registration

Upcoming schedule:

Today, Sec. Perdue announced the re-opening of all FSA county offices beginning Thursday, January 24^th. Please see full press release below.

Of note:

• Offices will be open for normal office hours 8am-4:30pm daily Monday-Friday, January 24-Feburary 8, 2019, reduced to Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday for all subsequent weeks beginning February 12.
• Select Farm Programs and Farm Loan Programs are available. See list in Press Release Below.
• MFP application deadline is February 14, 2019. MFP proof of yield deadline is May 1, 2019.
• During office hours, walk-ins are always welcomed, however for more efficient service farmers, ranchers, and producers are encouraged to make an appointment by calling their local service center. Click here contact your local FSA Service Center.
• Updates to available services and offices will be made during the lapse in federal funding on the FSA shutdown webpage (https://www.fsa.usda.gov/help/shutdowninfo).

For further information, please feel free to contact Audrey Bettencourt at USDA – Farm Service Agency at 530.792.5540 or Aubrey.Bettencourt@CA.USDA.GOV.

Press Release
USDA to Reopen FSA Offices for Additional Services During Government Shutdown

(Washington, D.C., January 22, 2019) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that all Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices nationwide will soon reopen to provide additional administrative services to farmers and ranchers during the lapse in federal funding.  Certain FSA offices have been providing limited services for existing loans and tax documents since January 17, and will continue to do so through January 23.  Beginning January 24, however, all FSA offices will open and offer a longer list of transactions they will accommodate.

Additionally, Secretary Perdue announced that the deadline to apply for the Market Facilitation Program, which aids farmers harmed by unjustified retaliatory tariffs, has been extended to February 14.  The original deadline had been January 15.  Other program deadlines may be modified and will be announced as they are addressed.

“At President Trump’s direction, we have been working to alleviate the effects of the lapse in federal funding as best we can, and we are happy to announce the reopening of FSA offices for certain services,” Perdue said.  “The FSA provides vital support for farmers and ranchers and they count on those services being available.  We want to offer as much assistance as possible until the partial government shutdown is resolved.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has temporarily recalled all of the more than 9,700 FSA employees to keep offices open from 8 am to 4:30 pm weekdays beginning January 24.  President Trump has already signed legislation that guarantees employees will receive all backpay missed during the lapse in funding.

For the first two full weeks under this operating plan (January 28 through February 1 and February 4 through February 8), FSA offices will be open Mondays through Fridays.  In subsequent weeks, offices will be open three days a week, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, if needed to provide the additional administrative services.

Agricultural producers who have business with the agency can contact their FSA service center to make an appointment.

FSA can provide these administrative services, which are critical for farmers and ranchers, because failure to perform these services would harm funded programs.  FSA staff will work on the following transactions:

• Market Facilitation Program.
• Marketing Assistance Loans.
• Release of collateral warehouse receipts.
• Direct and Guaranteed Farm Operating Loans, and Emergency Loans.
• Service existing Conservation Reserve Program contracts.
• Sugar Price Support Loans.
• Dairy Margin Protection Program.
• Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage.
• Livestock Forage Disaster.
• Emergency Assistance Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish Program.
• Livestock Indemnity Program.
• Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.
• Tree Assistance Program.
• Remaining Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program payments for applications already processed.

Transactions that will not be available include, but are not limited to:

• New Conservation Reserve Program contracts.
• New Direct and Guaranteed Farm Ownership Loans.
• Farm Storage Facility Loan Program.
• New or in-process Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program applications.
• Emergency Conservation Program.
• Emergency Forest Rehabilitation Program.
• Biomass Crop Assistance Program.
• Grassroots Source Water Protection Program.

With the Office of Management and Budget, USDA reviewed all of its funding accounts that are not impacted by the lapse in appropriation. We further refined this list to include programs where the suspension of the activity associated with these accounts would significantly damage or prevent the execution of the terms of the underling statutory provision. As a result of this review, USDA was able to except more employees. Those accounts that are not impacted by the lapse in appropriation include mandatory, multiyear and no year discretionary funding including FY 2018 Farm Bill activities.

Updates to available services and offices will be made during the lapse in federal funding on the FSA shutdown webpage (https://www.fsa.usda.gov/help/shutdowninfo).  Programs managed by FSA that were re-authorized by the 2018 farm bill will be available at a later date yet to be determined.

The California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association is pleased to announce the election results from this year’s election.  Up for election this year were four (4) Ginner Directors and (4) Grower Directors.  The four Ginner Directors ran opposed and were re-elected, and included John Colbert, Modern Ginning; Stan Creelman, of Mid Valley Cotton Growers; Adriane Carbonel, of Farmers Cooperative Gin Inc.; and Matt Toste, of Westside Farmers Coop, Huron Ginning Company and Pacific Ginning Company LLC.  There were five (5) candidates up for the four (4) Grower Director positions, which necessitated an election in Kern County.  Winning re-election were Jim Neufeld and Bryan Bone in Kern County, and Cannon Michael in Merced County.  Newly elected to the board is Tony Neves from Merced County.  All terms are for three (3) years.  Stepping down from the board this year was Robert McDonald from Merced County.  McDonald has served on the Board since 2007, and the Association is extremely grateful for his dedicated service to the board in representing cotton growers in Merced County.

The California Energy Commission is inviting small, medium and large farms to a special Grant Funding Opportunity (GFO) for the Renewable Energy for Agriculture Program (REAP).  REAP grants range from $25,000 to $350,000 and support renewable energy upgrades for agricultural operations such as:

• Installation of Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, wind turbines, and biomass-to-energy generation
• Replacement of diesel powered irrigation pumps and equipment with electric pumps
• Electric tractors and equipment charging infrastructure for use in the agricultural operation

Applications accepted until March 5, 2019.   Watch a video to learn more : https://youtu.be/uvKtQ2vpVKQ and please plan to attend one of the 3 upcoming workshops with Energy Commission Staff  to learn how to apply and ask questions!  You can attend in person or remotely via web-ex.

Pre-Application Workshops dates, times and locations:

January 24, 2019, 1:00 P.M.

California Energy Commission

Sacramento, CA

January 28, 2019, 1:00 P.M.

San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District

Fresno, CA

January 30, 2019, 2:00 P.M.

Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association

Imperial Valley, CA

For more information go to https://www.energy.ca.gov/renewables/reap/  or contact RoseMary Avalos in the  Public Adviser’s Office for further questions at 916.654.4489 or publicadviser@energy.ca.gov.