FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
Roger A. Isom
California Cotton Ginners & Growers Associations
Phone: (559)252-0684
Fax: (559)252-0551
email: roger@ccgga.org

The California Cotton Ginners Association is pleased to announce its new slate of officers.  Tom Pires, of West Island Cotton Growers, Inc., was elected as Chairman of the Board.  Mike Davis, of Dos Palos Cooperative Gin, Inc., was elected as 1^st Vice Chairman.  Tom Gaffney, of the J.G. Boswell Company, will serve as 2^nd Vice Chairman, and Matt Toste, of Huron Ginning Company, will assume the role of Secretary/Treasurer.  Officers terms are for two (2) years.

The Board of Directors currently consists of 13 board members that includes John Colbert, Modern Ginning Company; Stan Creelman, Mid Valley Cotton Growers, Inc.; Michael Hooper, Farmers Cooperative Gin, Inc.; Don Van Schuyver, Semi Tropic Cooperative Gin, Inc.; Wayne Gilbert, Broadview Cooperative Gin, Inc.; Kirk Gilkey, Cross Creek Ginning Company; Ron Nimmo, Pacific Ginning Company, LLC; Louie Colombini, Westside Farmers Co-op Gin; and Immediate Past Chairman Greg Gillard, Olam Cotton.

The California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations are voluntary dues-based organizations representing cotton growers and cotton gins throughout California on regulatory and legislative issues ranging from energy and air quality to labor and water quality.

The preliminary acreages as determined by the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Pink Bollworm Program are in and slightly lower than predicted back in March.  The current estimate is now at a total of 160,000 acres statewide with 153,410 acres in the San Joaquin Valley, 4,755 acres in Southern California and an estimated 2,819 acres in the Sacramento Valley.  The breakdown in the San Joaquin Valley is as follows:

Fresno County –                38,140

Kern County –                    20,845

Kings County –                   51,385

Madera County –                    735

Merced County –               31,955

Tulare County –                    9,900

Total =                               160,806

In Southern California, the breakdown is as follows:

Imperial County –             1,262

Riverside County –           3,315

Total =                               4,577

In Northern California, acres are estimated to be at 2,819 in total.  In terms of variety, the pima vs. upland/acala has yet to be determined.  We will notify everyone when that becomes available.

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.

USDA AMS will be conducting the 2015 American Pima Grade Standards Guide Box Review and Standards Matching on Thursday, June 18, 2015 at the Visalia, California Classing Office beginning at 9:00 am.  Please join us to review, comment, and approve the six guide boxes of the 2015 American Pima Grade Standards.  Once approved, the guide boxes will be used as the reference to match all of the 2015 American Pima Grade Standards.  The guide box review and the standards matching will both take place the morning of June 18th.  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                       or         James Knowlton, Director

E-mail: greg.townsend@ams.usda.gov                      E-mail: james.knowlton@ams.usda.gov

Visalia Classing Office                                                   Standardization Division

7100 West Sunnyview Avenue                                    3275 Appling Road

Visalia, CA 93291                                                        Memphis, TN 38133

Phone: (559) 651-3015                                               Phone: (901) 384-3030

California’s recently enacted paid sick leave law, the Healthy Workplace, Healthy Family Act of 2014 (hereinafter the “Act”), goes into effect on July 1, 2015. This Act provides that all employees who work in California for 30 or more days within a year are entitled to paid sick leave (PSL). Under the Act, paid sick leave accrues at the rate of 1 hour per every 30 hours worked, paid at the employee’s current rate of pay, and employees are entitled to up to 24 hours or 3 days of PSL per year.

Q: Who is Covered Under the Act? 

A: The Act applies to all employees, including those who are seasonal, temporary, part-time, and full-time, except those who are covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement that expressly provides for paid sick leave, are in-home support services employees, or are airline flight deck or cabin crew.

Q: Are all employees who are covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement (CBA) exempt from PSL?

A: No. Only those employees who are covered by a CBA that expressly provides for paid sick days, premium wage rates for overtime hours worked, and a regular hourly rate of pay that is at least 30% more than the minimum wage are exempt from California’s PSL requirements.

Q: Are Employees of Out-of-State Employers Covered Under the Act? 

A: The Act applies to “any person employing another.” This sweeping language of the Act, and the stated purposes of protecting employees in California, read in conjunction with recent California court decisions stating that all employees who perform work within California are covered by state wage and hour laws, suggests that any employee, regardless of where the employer is located, who works at least 30 days within the State of California is covered by the Act, and is therefore entitled to PSL.

Written By: Jason Resnick V.P & General Counsel, Western Growers Association
Patrick S. Moody, Barsamian & Moody
Michael C. Saqui, The Saqui Law Group

Counsel to Management:
Now is the time to update your Employee Handbooks to ensure compliance with the new law beginning July 1, 2015. For questions regarding the new law and/or compliance issues, please contact The Saqui Law Group

As a U.S. cotton grower, you are committed and invested in responsible cotton production. Please help Cotton Incorporated promote the investments and the great strides U.S. farmers like you have made in environmental stewardship by completing the Natural Resources Survey.

Your participation in the Survey is important to the success of the Cotton Research and Promotion Program conducted on your behalf.  Your data will be included in the national average and your responses will be anonymous. Please, take the time to respond to the questions that only you, the producer, can answer.

The Maddy Report recently held a discussion on their weekly radio and television program entitled “Adapting to Climate Change: Implications for the Valley.”  Guests Carol D’Elia, Executive Director of California’s Little Hoover Commission, discussed climate change with Maddy Institute Executive Director Mark Keppler, and California Fresh Fruit Association President Barry Bedwell.  On the radio portion, commentary was provided by Roger Isom, President of the California Cotton Ginners & Growers Association and President & CEO of the Western Agricultural Processors Association, and Fresno Bee Environmental Reporter Mark Grossi.  To hear the report on the internet, please visit http://www.maddyinstitute.com/adapting-to-climate-change-implications-for-the-valley/.

The risks of chemical exposure are real and often a component of every workday.  The Hazard Communication Standard is OSHA’s #2 most frequently cited standard. Any employer whose employees handle, or are exposed to hazardous chemicals, must have a written hazard communication (HazCom) plan and provide training.

The Western Agricultural Processors Association is pleased to announce the HazCom & GHS workshops!  The workshop will cover what you need to know and how to comply with the requirement as an ‘End User’ of handling chemicals in the workplace (i.e. in house labeling requirements, proper secondary containers, and safety data sheets, etc.)

Session Topics:

• Required elements of a HazCom plan
• Responsibilities of employers and workers
• Safety Data Sheets (SDSs)
• Workplace labeling – What are the options?
• Training requirements

Who Should Attend: 
Owners and Managers
HR and Safety Personnel
Superintendents and Supervisors
Maintenance/Shop Personnel
Employees handling chemicals

2015 HazCom-GHS Workshops Flyer