California Table Grape Growers Offer Scholarships
Three categories of scholarships, offered by California table grape growers, are available to graduating high school seniors from the table grape growing regions of California.
Of the three categories of scholarships, two are available to field workers and their families.
The first category is a Bridge Scholarship for $14,500 and is available to graduating seniors who will attend two years of a community college and transfer to a four-year university.
The second category is a $25,000 scholarship for graduating seniors who will attend a four-year university.
The third category of scholarship is a $25,000 Agricultural Scholarship available to students residing in the Coachella or San Joaquin valleys who will attend a four-year university and are interested in a field of study applicable to the table grape industry.
Three scholarships from each category are available. Applicants for all scholarships must plan to attend a California college or university. The deadline to apply for all scholarships is Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 at 5 p.m.
Since 1985, California table grape growers have aided nearly 200 students in attending college.
To hear recent scholarship recipients in their own words, please visit: https://www.grapesfromcalifornia.com/community-outreach/scholarship-recipients/
For more information on the scholarship program, please visit: https://www.grapesfromcalifornia.com/community-outreach/ or email: Scholarships@grapesfromcalifornia.com.
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NatureSweet, Tomato Groups Urge Saving 2019 Agreement
With broad support from tomato producers, trade associations, state and local leaders, and beyond, NatureSweet has submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Commerce strongly urging the government to preserve the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement, which is critical to ensuring stability and fair practices in the market for fresh tomatoes.
A small group of domestic tomato producers is petitioning the Department of Commerce to terminate a longstanding trade agreement between the United States and importers of fresh tomatoes from Mexico. The Tomato Suspension Agreement, which has been in place in various forms since 1996 and was most recently renegotiated in 2019, ensures fair trade practices and a stable market for imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico to the United States. Without the 2019 Suspension Agreement in place, NatureSweet and countless other companies would face tariffs of more than 20 percent on the import of fresh tomatoes into the United States.
“The suspension agreement is critical to keeping specialty tomato varieties on American grocery store shelves,” says Skip Hulett, vice president of general counsel for NatureSweet. “Nearly all of the grape and cherry tomatoes consumed by American families come from Mexico, where growing conditions are ideal for year-round production.”
NatureSweet, an agricultural company headquartered in Texas, has been producing high-quality, flavor-rich produce for more than 30 years. The company has operations in both the United States and Mexico and employs more than 6,000 agricultural workers. Terminating the suspension agreement would not only impact NatureSweet’s ability to provide fresh produce to Americans, but it would also jeopardize jobs and the company’s ability to continue transforming the lives of agricultural workers in North America.
“We provide year-round jobs, pay our employees almost 40 percent above the median wage for agricultural workers, we help our workers obtain access to improved medical care services, education, and develop careers,” says Hulett. “This tariff would punish companies like NatureSweet, which are doing the right thing.”
In a compliance audit released this month, the Department of Commerce found zero consequential violations of the agreement by importers of fresh tomatoes. Importers continue to play by the rules to deliver fresh, quality tomatoes to American families.
Recently, a coalition of more than 400 companies across the supply chain representing 32 states signed a letter to the Commerce Department urging the Department to keep the agreement in place. NatureSweet will continue to partner with industry leaders to encourage Commerce to reach a resolution that allows economies on both sides of the border to continue thriving.
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Braga to Receive Grower of the Year Award at OGS
The Organic Grower Summit presented by Western Growers and OPN will honor longtime organic grower Rod Braga as the recipient of the sixth annual Grower of the Year award. Braga, president and CEO of Braga Fresh, was selected based on his ongoing commitment and dedication to excellence in organic production, organic industry leadership, and innovation.
The Grower of the Year award, sponsored by AGCO, will be presented to Braga as part of the keynote presentation at the Organic Grower Summit on Nov. 29-30 in Monterey, Calif. The Grower of the Year presentation is part of an extensive educational program designed to inform and engage organic producers and their service providers and supply chain partners.
“We are honored to present the annual Grower of the Year award to Rod Braga — truly a grower’s grower,” said Matt Seeley, CEO of Organic Produce Network. “His decades-long work exemplifies what hardworking, passionate organic farming means to the success of Sledge, regional sales director for AGCO. Previous winners of the award have been Jeff Huckaby, CEO of Grimmway Farms (2022); Vic Smith, CEO of JV Smith Company (2021); the Lundberg Family (2019); Thaddeus Barsotti of Capay Organic (2018); and Vernon Peterson of Peterson Family Farms (2017).
The sixth annual OGS is designed to provide information vital to organic growers and producers, including an overview of the opportunities and challenges in the production of organic fresh food.
In addition to the annual Grower of the Year award, the other keynote presentation at OGS 2023 will be Grower Roundtable: The State of Organic Growing. Panelists for the keynote roundtable include leadership from three prominent organic companies, who will be announced later this month.
Other educational sessions slated for OGS 2023 include:
- SOE Deadline Looms — Are You Ready?
- Understanding Evolving Production Challenges for Organic Growers
- Regenerative — What Does it Mean for Organic?
- Unlocking the Value of AI on the Digital Farming Journey
- Meet the Ag Sharks
- Roadmap to a Sustainable Pest Management Future for Organics
- How Organic Growers Are Using Ag Tech: Obstacles & Opportunities
OGS 2023 will be held Nov. 29-30 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa in Monterey, Calif., and general registration is open. The sold-out OGS trade show floor will feature soil amendment, ag tech, food safety, packaging, and equipment exhibitors who will have the opportunity to connect with organic field production staff, supply chain managers, pest management advisors, and food safety experts.
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