Roger A. Isom
President/CEO
California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association
Western Agricultural Processors Association

This week, the Western Farm Press published an article entitled “California bill will effectively ban feeding food byproducts to livestock”.  The subtitle states “California livestock producers will lose food processing byproducts as feed source under state plan.”

This statement is misleading and overly broad.  The fear that this legislation will impact hulls and shells is simply unfounded based on its current form.  The legislation referred to in the article is AB 2959 by Assemblyman Calderon, and can be found here.  This bill is limited in scope and is intended to address past legislation pertaining to organic byproducts going to livestock feed.  AB 3036 (Cooley), attempted to clarify that byproducts going to animal feed are not defined as waste and therefore not subject to franchise waste hauler agreements.  It failed in that effort, which is why AB 2959 has been introduced.  This bill seeks to narrow the types of facilities covered by AB 3036 that traditionally divert byproducts for animal feed. Specifically, AB 2959 would exclude supermarkets, grocers, restaurants, and other retail food establishments from the list of facilities covered by AB 3036.  That is it.

Nowhere in the bill does it discuss, or elude to, hulls, shell or any other agricultural byproduct.  These products are not waste; they are a commodity and already protected from inclusion in a franchise waste hauler agreement.   Unfortunately, as is the case with this article, the matter has been sensationalized in an effort to broaden the opposition to the bill.  We are sympathetic to the potential issues this bill would create for the dairy industry in the loss of some organic byproducts.  However, to say that all byproducts, including cottonseed and almond hulls, are in jeopardy is not accurate.  We are closely monitoring this bill, as we have all session long and will continue to do so.

Who: Growers, consultants, and allied industry for field crop production in California

What: a 15-20 minute online questionnaire to gather information about your concerns, challenges, and preferences for extension information and approaches. Can be taken from a phone or computer. The first $100 participants will receive a $10 giftcard to Starbucks.

Participate Here

Why: We want your needs and interests to better guide UCCE research and extension efforts. Your input will highlight the most important issues facing field crop production in California and help us set priorities for future programming.

Thank you for your time. Your responses are incredibly important in helping UCCE identify how we can better serve your needs and interests. 

All responses are anonymous and your answers will be kept confidential. The results will be shared in an aggregate form via reports and presentations. The questionnaire is open until Friday, August 21, 2020.

If you have questions, please contact the project team at fieldcrops@ucdavis.edu (Nick Clark, Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, Mark Lundy, Bruce Linquist, Whitney Brim-DeForest, Sarah Light, Vikram Koundinya, Bob Hutmacher, Cameron PIttelkow, and Jessie Kanter)

As employers deal with the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, having proper guidance, information, and resources are vital to protecting their business and the health of their employees. These webinars are being offered to California Agribusiness Association members who have responsibility for COVID-19 safety related issues, and are offered complimentary in partnership with California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association and Zenith Insurance. Click this link.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Pink Bollworm Program has released its report for monitoring Silverleaf Whitefly. The program monitored for whitefly and other cotton pests from June 29, 2020 to July 10, 2020. For the full report, please click this link.

The California Cotton Industry Research Committee (CCIRC) will be sending out a Request for Proposals in mid to late July seeking research projects related to the cotton production industry. The CCIRC is made up of representatives from California Cotton Ginners & Growers Association, California Cotton Alliance as well as the Cotton Incorporated: State Support Committee. Projects should address the following priorities as recommended by the CCGGA Board of Directors:

2020-2021 Research Priorities

• Diseases (FOV resistance, variety screening, seed and soil treatments, pathology work in lab and field plus Seedling Disease issues)
• Sticky Cotton (Development of better detection and measurement system and standards and continue educational efforts)
• Contamination (Research ways to detect plastic in the seed cotton and eliminate where possible)
• Insect Management and Control (Efficacy screening of new and old products and promote intro of new chemistries with low VOC, focus on Lygus and Aphid control)
• Water Management (Regional with varying soil types and Page 3—The Cotton Chronicle irrigation methods with emphasis on efficiencies, conservation, nitrogen, and salt management)
• Weed Management (Resistance Management to existing products and introduction of new chemistries)
• Nutrient Management (Focus on nutrient management while taking into account factors of soil type, irrigation method, efficiencies, etc.)

The deadline to submit projects will be Monday, August 24^th. Projects will be reviewed by the committee on Tuesday, September 8^th to make funding decisions. With this advance notice, we hope that researchers can begin reviewing the prioritized research topics and have ample time to submit projects. If you have any questions, please contact Priscilla Rodriguez at (559) 252-0684 or priscilla@ccgga.org. 

California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association has joined 51 organizations, urging Gov. Newsom, Lt. Gov. Kounalakis, and the Legislature to take action to reverse the decline in West Coast ports’ market share before CA permanently loses jobs and direly needed state revenue. See the letter here.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) seeks nominations of domestic cotton producers from Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas, and importers of cotton and cotton-containing products for positions on the Cotton Board. The producers and importers will fill positions for 13 members and 13 alternates. USDA will appoint members and alternates to serve three-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2023.   The mission of Research and Promotion (R&P) programs is to expand, maintain and develop markets for individual commodities in the United States and abroad. This mission is an important contributor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) overall vision related to “providing economic opportunity through innovation and helping rural America thrive and promote agriculture production that better nourishes Americans while helping to feed others throughout the world.” Through the guidance of the R&P board members, appointed by Secretary Perdue, these programs execute a variety of activities benefitting agriculture.  Consequently, the input and decision making provided by the board members is the foundation for success of these R&P programs.

Certified producer organizations (CPOs) and certified importer organizations (CIOs) will hold caucuses to nominate two qualified persons for each open position in their respective industry segment.  Producer caucuses are scheduled as follows and all times are local times:

• Arkansas: Wednesday, July 8 at noon
• California: Wednesday, July 15 at 10 a.m.
• Louisiana: Thursday, July 16 at 10 a.m.
• Mississippi: Friday, July 10 at noon
• North Carolina: Monday, July 20 at 3:20 p.m.
• Texas: Wednesday, July 22 at 10 a.m.

For nominating and caucus information, including organizations seeking certification and a list of CPOs and CIOs, contact Cotton Research and Promotion at (540) 361-2726 or CottonRP@usda.gov.
More information is available on the Agricultural Marketing Service Cotton Board webpage or on the board’s website at www.cottonboard.org.

Through combined efforts by the Agricultural Industry, DPR, CDFA, and County Agricultural Commissioners (CAC), the CAC’s will be distributing a limited supply of no-cost N-95 masks throughout the state to agricultural businesses within their counties. The shipment of the N-95 masks should happen in the next 1 to 3 weeks. The limited supply of N-95 masks will be at no cost to you. Contact your local county agricultural commissioner to schedule a pickup time to receive these N-95 masks for your business.

The Association has developed a COVID-19 management resources list of companies that provide services on cleaning and decontamination of facilities and local county testing sites. For mobile onsite testing for COVID-19, consult with your local health department or industrial medical provider. The information provided is advisory in nature and intended to assist our members in providing a safe and healthy workplace. We encourage you to check with your local health department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for additional guidance and recommendations on cleaning and disinfecting your facility and testing recommendations. Click here.

Now that children are home it’s a great opportunity for them to learn more about Cotton and other ag commodities. The California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating youth throughout California about the importance of agriculture in their daily lives. Their mission is to increase awareness and understanding of agriculture among California’s educators and students. They do so through the following:

• Developing materials that are accurate, teacher-tested and scientifically sound to enhance the educational experience of K-12 students.
• Providing programs, inspiration and training opportunities for educators.
• Partnering with like-minded organizations to create awareness about the significance of agriculture in our everyday lives.
• Recognizing teachers and students for their achievements in agricultural literacy.
• Supporting the pursuit of agricultural careers and continuing education.

Fact sheets are one of their most popular resources and are designed to be easily printed and copied for teachers to use in their classrooms. The back of the Fact Sheet includes lessons that meet California State Content Standards and activities that teachers can bring to life simply by reviewing the front page and sharing the lesson with their students. For the latest Cotton Fact sheet and others you can click on this link or visit here. You will find a total of 44 Commodity Fact Sheets on their website.