The Association has recently received information on the cotton acreage in California including the breakdown between upland and pima.  Preliminary acreages as determined by the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Pink Bollworm Program are 54,440 acres of upland and 153,325 acres of pima, for a total of 207,765 acres.  This does not include the cotton acreage for the Sacramento Valley, which will be all upland and is estimated to be between 2,000 and 3,000 acres.  The breakdown in the San Joaquin Valley is as follows:

In Southern California, the breakdown is as follows:

Please be advised that the acres listed are based on Pink Bollworm Program field mapping techniques are intended for use on PBW Program detection and control activities and are not assumed to represent exact cotton acreage planted in California.

Did you miss the whitefly meetings in early June or need a refresher on whitefly management? No Problem…As part of the educational program to raise the awareness of sticky cotton as a serious industry concern, the linked presentation using materials from June’s whitefly meetings is now available to all growers, PCA’s and interested parties. Please share to all those who grow, manage, or treat cotton fields! Below is a summary of what the presentation will cover:

“This presentation will help cotton growers, consultants and Pest Control Advisers in California and Arizona understand the importance of managing whiteflies and aphids to prevent sticky cotton. The high quality of cotton in the California and Arizona requires that it be free of all contaminates, especially sugars deposited by aphids and whiteflies.”

Three major areas will be discussed:

• The problem to spinning mill customers caused by sugars on cotton lint
• Identification, scouting, assessing and managing sweet potato whitely, biotype B
• Identification, scouting, assessing and managing cotton aphid

http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/edcenter/seminars/cotton/stickycotton/

Completing the I-9 form can be a timely and confusing process. If not done correctly it can result in major repercussions for your business. Form I-9 In a Nutshell will provide guidance on the process for completing the form, and compliance requirements through the Department of Homeland Security. This webinar will provide you with information on what documents are acceptable when trying to establish identity for employees whether U.S. citizens or non U.S. citizens, acceptable procedures for storing forms, and what to do
when unforeseen situations may arise.

Form I-9 In a Nutshell Webinar Flyer

The drought has been tough on valley farms but it has been especially tough on valley families. You can help! On July 15^th, 2014 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. the Community Food Bank will try to make history with the largest food drive to directly help those most affected by the drought. The Food Bank is requesting numerous food items and personal hygiene items which are listed on the flyer attached.

Four locations have been chosen for dropping off donations:

• Fig Garden Village parking lot
• Manchester Center parking lot
• River Park parking lot
• Sierra Vista Mall parking lot

In addition to food donations, financial resources are also needed. Differing levels of sponsorship are available on the attached flyer. All checks can be made payable to: The Community Food Bank. Online donations are also welcome and can be found at www.communityfoodbank.net/howtohelp.aspx or over the phone at 559.237.3663.

We hope you can take this opportunity to help those who rely on agriculture for their livelihood.

Sponsorship Forms_Community Food Bank

Community Food Bank Donation List

Tuesday July 22: The Exporter’s Tax Incentive

Upcoming Event: Exporter’s Webinar
July 22, 2014
10:30 am – 12:00 pm

Sign up now for a webinar with IC-DISC expert Doug Wright and learn about how your company can take advantage of this valuable tax incentive for companies that export products outside of the U.S.

Who should attend: U.S. manufacturers, growers and processors whose products are ultimately exported from the U.S.
What: Webinar about the IC-DISC, a federal tax incentive for exporters that can offer substantial permanent U.S. tax savings
When: Tues, July 22, 10:30am – 12:00pm

Registration closes July 21 — learn more and sign up today.

Please join us to review, comment, and approve the six guide boxes of the 2014 American Pima Grade Standards.  Once approved, the guide boxes will be used as the reference to match all of the 2014 American Pima Grade Standards.  The guide box review and the standards matching will both take place the morning of July 16. 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:

Greg Townsend, Area Director
E-mail: greg.townsend@ams.usda.gov
Visalia Classing Office
7100 West Sunnyview Avenue
Visalia, CA 93291
Phone: (559) 651-3015

OR

James Knowlton, Director
E-mail:  james.knowlton@ams.usda.gov
Standardization Division
3275 Appling Road
Memphis, TN 38133
Phone: (901) 384-3030

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Anita Brown (530) 792-5644
Sarah Marquat  (916) 798-9295

DAVIS, CA, June 10, 2014–The new 2014 Farm Bill brought changes in conservation, commodity programs, crop insurance, rural development programs, loans, disaster programs, energy opportunities and much more. Many of these changes will take full effect in fiscal year 2015, beginning October 1, 2014.  Interested farmers, ranchers, agencies and organizations are welcome to attend workshops to hear about these and other Farm Bill changes from four USDA agencies.  Most of the workshops will be devoted to answering questions and providing one-on-one assistance to attendees.

The June workshops will be held as follows: 

Yuba City on June 24^th, 2014 at 9:30 a.m. at the Farm Bureau 475 Palora Ave

Fresno on June 25^th, 2014 at 9:30 a.m. at Farm Bureau 1274 W Hedges Ave

The four USDA Agencies listed below will be available to discuss new, broadened and ongoing program opportunities and new eligibility requirements.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service: New streamlined program structure; a new Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), and new adjusted gross income (SGI) requirements.

The Farm Service Agency: Significant changes and more options available in commodity programs, disaster programs, and a new milk income loss program.

Risk Management Agency: Broadened federal crop options, especially for organic and specialty crop producers; new supplemental coverage options for cotton producers.

Rural Development: Simplified application for several programs. New home loan eligibility for rural areas with population up to 35,000.  New grant program for business development with priority for local food projects, new partnership with community colleges.

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