**Testimony of**

**Manuel Eduardo Vieira**

**A.V. Thomas Produce**

**Livingston, California**

**For the committee on Agriculture**

**subcommittee on**

**Horticulture and organic agriculture**

**Hearing on Economic Development Impacts of Organic Production and
Processing**

**U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTITIVES**

**APRIL 18, 2007**

**Chairman Cardoza and Members of the Subcommittee:**

My name is Manuel Eduardo Vieira. I live in Livingston, California where
I own A.V. Thomas Produce. We are growers, packers and shippers of
organic yams and sweet potatoes. We started with 10 acres of organic in
1988 and now grow over 1500 acres of organic yams and sweet potatoes. We
ship our organic product all over the United States, Canada, Mexico and
Europe. A.V. Thomas Produce has been in business since 1960.

I would like to start by first expressing my thanks to Chairman Cardoza
and Ranking Member Neugebauer and the rest of the Subcommittee for your
commitment and dedication to agriculture as a whole and especially to
organic farming as of recent. I would also like to express thanks of our
organic community for holding this hearing so that all may have a better
understanding on how truly important organic farming and sustainability
is for the future and well being of all.

[History:]{.underline}

California\'s Central San Joaquin Valley is long known for its prime
weather and growing conditions for many fruits and vegetables. The dry,
sandy soils, mild weather in the spring and hot, dry summers in
Livingston, California are all necessary and crucial elements in the
farming production of quality sweet potatoes and yams.

A.V. Thomas Produce is in our 47th year of growing, packing, marketing
and shipping California sweet potatoes and yams. The story of A.V.
Thomas Produce began in 1920

when my Uncle, Antonio Vieira Tomas, emigrated from the Azores Islands
to the United States, and settled in Livingston, California. In 1960 he
began packing conventional sweet potatoes in a small packing shed. I was
also an emigrant of the Azores Islands and completed a degree in
Business Administration in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1972, I joined my
uncle. Over the next few years I spent many hours listening and learning
how to grow and market sweet potatoes. In 1977 my uncle offered me the
opportunity to buy A.V. Thomas Produce.

The next 12 years I spent learning how to improve our farming techniques
and how to grow our sales. What was also growing was the amount of
synthetic chemicals and fertilizers we were putting into the ground. As
I traveled the country to meet with customers, I met a lot of wonderful
people. Many of our conversations seemed to eventually lead to how we
were continuing to wrongly impact our earth. This is where my idea of
starting an organic program within our company started and by 1988 we
were farming 10 acres of organic ground.

We are now dual-certified organic by California Organic Farmer's
Association (COFA) and Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA).
Today we are growing over 1500 acres in organic yams and sweet potatoes.
2007 marks the first year that we are 100% organic in farming acreage.
We have our own seed program and are dedicated to the continuation of
providing healthy organic food.

A.V. Thomas Produce employs 150 to over 600 people in our community
throughout the year. We are very involved with fundraisers and providing
sponsorships to the many organizations that are in and around our area.
We are also members of important organizations such as The California
Sweet Potato Council, Organic Trade Association (OTA), Organic Farmer's
Research Foundation (OFRF) and ATTRA- National Sustainable Agriculture
Information Service.

[Challenges:]{.underline}

Economically, we are being directly impacted as organic sweet potato
farmers. One of our major challenges that we face is the cost related to
farming, production and transportation. Another challenge that we face
is the need for more crop-specific research.

Organic farming has come a long way since 1988, when we first started
our small program. We have seen tremendous advances in the whole organic
process. With this change also come increased costs associated with
every facet of the operation. The cost of land is one of our major
challenges. Most of the land that we farm is rented. Owners of this land
want top dollar for their property. Many times we have to rent land and
transition it into organic where we might farm it for 1 or 2 years after
the initial 3-year conversion into organic period. What this means for
us is a lot of time invested into many acres where the process has to
keep repeating itself. In rare instances do we have the opportunity to
control the rented land for more than 5-6 years. The problem is

that we don't have much of a choice because land around our area is
becoming so expensive. The average farmer cannot buy land to farm and
expect to make a living. The land that is prime for growing sweet
potatoes now has to compete with the local housing market and new
university that is transitioning into our area over the next 5 years.

The cost of organically approved fertilizers, nutrients and other import
inputs are substantially more than their conventional counterparts. We
put a lot of money into our fertilization program in order to adhere to
the strict requirements put forth by the National Organic Program (NOP).
It is a vicious circle that we face. With increased costs come the need
for bigger yields, but in order to get bigger yields we must invest a
lot of money into a responsive fertilization program.

The cost of fuel in our organic operation, as you know, is also rising.
Not only do our operational costs jump through the roof with increased
fuel prices, but so to do our shipping costs because the trucking
companies are also suffering. We use fuel in our service trucks,
irrigation pumps and tractors. We ship our product daily to the major
distribution centers and markets in California.

The cost of irrigation water in our area has been another challenge.
Pumping large amounts of water into our fields requires the use of a lot
of energy. We depend on water that is provided through reservoirs and a
complex canal system to be delivered to our organic fields. Along with
this water comes rising fees from our local county irrigation districts.

Lastly, there is a tremendous need for organic research with sweet
potato varieties. We currently have University of California, Davis
working with the California Sweet Potato Council to provide minimal
research and plant stock on conventional Sweet Potatoes. The Council
receives money from each of the shippers; depending on how many acres
they farm. This money is used by U.C. Davis to create new varieties that
are pest and disease resistant. U.C. Davis also provides limited
virus-free plant for our purchase. We currently have no source for
research on organic sweet potatoes.

I would like to see more money devoted to research in creating
virus-free and pest resistant varieties of sweet potatoes for organic
farmers in California. This type of technology is available for
conventional product, but has yet to see its way into the specialized
sector of organic farming. This would allow us to not be at the mercy of
pest damage. It would also save money in planting costs and labor costs
associated with pest management and losses associated with sweet
potatoes that cannot be marketed due to pest damage.

I would like to conclude by once again thanking Chairman Cardoza and
Members of the Subcommittee for the opportunity to share with you a
little about my company, and some of the important economic issues that
we face. We realize the many challenges that congress faces during these
important times and are pleased that we the people have a voice and that
these issues are being addressed.

Manuel Eduardo Vieira

President

A.V. Thomas Produce