Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Visalia, CA Classing Office

9:00am

Please join us to review, comment, and approve the six guide boxes of the 2026 American Pima Grade Standards. Once approved, the guide boxes will be used as the reference to match all the 2026 American Pima Grade Standards. The guide box review and the standards matching will both take place the morning of July 22nd.

Industry participation is key to this process, and we hope you all can come and be a part of this important annual event.

For additional information please contact:

Ryan Phillips, Assistant Area Director

E-mail: ryan.phillips@usda.gov

Visalia Classing Office

7100 West Sunnyview Avenue

Visalia, CA 93291

Phone: (559) 651-3015

or

David Rowland, Director

E-mail: David.Rowland@usda.gov

Standardization and Engineering Division

3275 Appling Road

Memphis, TN 38133

Phone: (901) 384-3030

The California Cotton Growers Association is pleased to announce Adriane Carbonel as the new Chair for the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association. Carbonel is the Gin Manager of Farmers Cooperative Gin in Buttonwillow, California, where she has been Manager since 2017. Previously, Carbonel was a Gin Manager for Olam International and Anderson Clayton Corporation.

Ms. Carbonel becomes the first woman to take over the reins as Chair in the history of the organization. Adriane is actively involved in the industry as well as several community and agriculture service organizations, including:

• National Cotton Council, Joint Cotton Industry Bale Packaging Committee
• National Cotton Council, Ginner Delegate
• California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association Board of Directors
• Ranchers Cotton Oil Board of Directors
• Firebaugh FFA Agricultural Advisory Committee
• Buttonwillow Lions Club

Adriane Carbonel succeeds outgoing Chairman Gary Martin. In addition to Carbonel being elected Chair, the following officers were also elected:

• 1st Vice Chair – Jake Cauzza, Kern County
• 2nd Vice Chair – Wade Van Hooser, Mid Valley Cotton Growers
• Secretary/ Treasurer – Wyatt McKean, Fresno County

The California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association is a voluntary dues based agricultural trade organization based in Fresno representing cotton growers in California on regulatory and legislative issues. Cotton is grown in the Imperial, Palo Verde, San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys of California.

Last week, the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association hosted its 2026 Annual Meeting at the International Agri Center in Tulare, California.  More than 100 participants attended the informative meeting with speakers covering a multitude of important issues. The morning began with the financial report from the Association’s auditing firm Spafford and Landry. Then the group broke into two sections: ginners and growers. The ginners were provided with updates from the National Cotton Ginners Association and its activities by current NCGA Executive Vice President Harrison Ashley, the USDA ARS Southwest Cotton Ginning Laboratory and the research they are conducting by Research Leader Dr. Derek Whitelock. Meanwhile, the growers were briefed on the status of Cotton Jassid and Cotton Seed Bug by the National Cotton Council’s Chad Brewer. Then researchers Dr. Maggie Ellis, with Fresno State, and Ian Grettenberger with UC Davis, provided updates on fusarium research and pesticide trials respectively. Then both groups came back together to receive an update on cotton classing update from Ryan Phillips with USDA AMS. Later, the Association staff led by Assistant Vice President Priscilla Rodriguez, and Assistant Vice president of Technical Services Christopher McGlothlin provided an overview of the important issues the Association is tackling. During lunch a special congressional issues panel was held that was moderated by CCGGA President/CEO Roger A. Isom and included Robbie Minnich from the National Cotton Council, Buddy Allen, with the American Cotton Shippers Association, Emma Vogel with Congressman Adam Gray’s office and Wes Andersen with Congressman David Valadao’s office. At the meeting, incoming Chairman Adriane Carbonel presented outgoing Chairman Gary Martin with a plaque and gavel recognizing him for his two years of tremendous service. The meeting was also held in conjunction with the Annual Meetings for Supima and the Western Cotton Shippers Association. The Association recognizes their contribution to the success of the meeting and wishes to express their appreciation for the cooperation and collaboration.

At its 2026 Annual meeting, the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association (CCGGA) announced its new Chair of the Board of Directors, Adriane Carbonel, Gin Manager for Farmers Coop out of Buttonwillow. Carbonel replaces Gary Martin after completing his two-year term. The Association also used the event to announce all of its officers, as follows:

Chair – Adriane Carbonel
1^st Vice Chair – Jake Cauzza
2^nd Vice Chair – Wade Van Hooser
Secretary/Treasurer – Wyatt McKean

New Chair Carbonel thanked outgoing Chair Martin for his service and time spent at the helm of the board over the past two years. Association President/CEO Roger A. Isom commented: “We thank Gary for his tireless service, he not only attended numerous legislative fundraisers and many trips to Sacramento, he also served on the American Cotton Producers and was a delegate to the National Cotton Council attending several events throughout the country each year during his service to the Association. This industry owes Gary a debt of gratitude and much appreciation for all that he did during his time as our Chairman.”

CalRecycle has finalized their single use packaging regulations now and compliance with initial reporting and registration with the Circular Action Alliance is due June 1^st!  Are you ready for this? Is your facility subject to the regulation? If so, is all of your plastic and cardboard subject, or only portions? What do I have to report? Are there any exemptions? Get the answers to these questions and many more by attending the Association’s SB 54 Single Use Packaging Compliance Webinar next week on Tuesday, May 26^th at 10:00 am. Participation is limited to members only, and you must register to get the zoom link for the meeting. See attached flyer for details.

Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled back Biden-era emission vehicle emissions standards for light and medium-duty automakers. The proposal is providing manufacturers a 2-year delay in technology implementation, and allows for automakers to continue to manufacture Tier 3 controlled equipment. The Agency estimates that this pause in regulatory requirements will save consumers $1.7 billion dollars in associated cost of new technology in vehicles. In the press release, EPA highlights this rule as a failed attempt to push industry towards electric vehicles (EV’s) and the current “…low consumer appetite for EV’s”. This is considered Phase 1 of EPA’s actions against the Tier 4 Vehicle Standards, with Phase 2 including further potential revisions to the rule including further implementation deadline adjustments, phase-in schedules and testing procedure changes. Stay tuned for more updates.

California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association’s 2026 Annual Meeting, held in conjunction with Supima and Western Cotton Shippers Association is happening tomorrow, May 20^th at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, California. Registration and Continental Breakfast will begin at 7:30 am. The program will begin with Breakout Sessions at 8:30 am. Please find the registration form and agenda here. Complete and submit the form as soon as possible to allow the Association to make sure we can appropriately plan for the meeting. You can email the form to Michelle Franco at michelle@ccgga.org or fax it to our offices promptly at (559) 252-0551.

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced an increase to the State Water Project (SWP) allocation for 2026. The allocation is now 45 percent of requested supplies, up from the previous allocation of 30 percent announced on January 29. The allocation establishes how much water the State plans to deliver to the 29 public water agencies served by the SWP, which provides water to 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland. In the spring, SWP allocations are based on current hydrological conditions, existing reservoir storage, and remaining snowpack. While California saw record heat in March and early snowmelt, consistent rainstorms in April provided critical runoff through the system that allowed DWR to capture more water and meet environmental regulations without using stored water. Currently, the SWP’s largest reservoir, Lake Oroville, is at 99 percent of capacity. Statewide, reservoirs are 117 percent of average for this time of year. The challenge remains that California’s snowpack, the state’s frozen reservoir, is essentially gone. As of today, the statewide snowpack is just 12 percent of average. The snowpack peaked in mid-February and has since melted off. “California’s reservoirs are full, but most snowpack melted off weeks ago. We must use this stored water carefully because there’s no backfill until next season,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth.

CalRecycle has finalized their single use packaging regulations now and compliance with initial reporting and registration with the Circular Action Alliance is due June 1^st!  Are you ready for this? Is your facility subject to the regulation? If so, is all of your plastic and cardboard subject, or only portions?  What do I have to report?  Are there any exemptions. Get the answers to these questions and many more by attending the Association’s SB 54 Single Use Packaging Compliance Webinar on Tuesday, May 26^th at 10:00 am. Participation is limited to members only, and you must register to get the zoom link for the meeting. See attached flyer for details.