A wise person once said, 

“You can’t expect to meet 

the challenges of today with 

yesterday’s tools and expect to be 

in business tomorrow.”

That’s certainly true here at the 

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).

Over the years, we’ve reorganized and 

redesigned our services to ensure that 

you always get the highest quality 

of service at nominal cost. We’re 

constantly looking for ways to increase 

efficiencies and maximize limited 

resources.

This year, we also took a hard look 

at our business processes. We 

conducted a study to determine how 

best to increase efficiencies within the 

inspection services for our Fresh and 

Processed Products Divisions. A major 

finding was the recommendation 

that we merge the two inspections 

divisions. The study noted that 

taking this action would translate 

into additional cost savings and 

efficiencies. That’s important because 

our organization is supported by you.

Your fees allow us to deliver services 

that enhance your ability to meet 

business objectives. While most of 

our services are optional and provided 

only at your request, it’s vital that you 

always get the best service and at a 

nominal cost. 

In May, I announced that we would 

move forward with our plan to 

merge the two inspection divisions. 

We’re committed to doing this 

conscientiously, so it will take some 

time - possibly up to a year - to 

complete. We will be looking at the 

financial, accounting, training and 

standardization operations of each 

division to streamline processes.

While there are no plans to increase 

fees this year, we may need to 

consider that possibility down the 

road.

Responding to a Changing Produce Marketplace

In this Issue

Market News, Serving U.S. 

Agriculture and Government

PACA Offers New Educational 

Tools

Misbranding/Misrepresentation 

Under PACA with COOL

Additional Resources for the 

Produce Industry

Robert C. Keeney is the Deputy Director 

of AMS Fruit and Vegetable Programs.

He can be reached at 

robert.keeney@ams.usda.gov.

The merger won’t impact your 

existing service. The changes will be 

transparent to you, our valued client.

The inspection staff you rely on to 

provide independent, quality services 

and those of our State partners will 

not be affected. We’ll keep you 

updated on our progress as we move 

ahead with this reorganization.

By Robert C. Keeney

& News Fruit Vegetable Programs

Fall/Winter 2011 Issue

United States Department of Agriculture

Cover photo by Camknows, photo page 3 by the Meeting Place North, back cover photo by Ali Karimian
Updates

Sign up for our next webinar! 

On Dec.15, from 2-3 p.m. EST, we 

will host a webinar highlighting 

USDA’s Specialty Crop Block Grant 

Program. Register online at 

http://bit.ly/v21Rfi.

Our webinars cover everything 

from Market News and 

the Perishable Agricultural 

Commodities Act, to our 

inspection and audits services, 

and more. If there is a subject 

that you would like to learn more 

about, contact Christopher Purdy 

at (202) 720-3209 or e-mail 

Christopher.purdy@ams.usda.gov. 

View our previous webinars at: 

www.ams.usda.gov/NewsArticlePage3.

Reduced PACA Backlog. We 

are very pleased to announce that 

the current backlog of Perishable 

Agricultural Commodities Act 

formal documentary disputes is 

significantly reduced. For the 

past year, the PACA Division of 

the Agricultural Marketing Service 

(AMS), Fruit and Vegetable 

Programs in partnership with 

USDA’s Office of the General 

Counsel (OGC) has reduced the 

backlog of its approximately 90 

cases to 10. 

The backlog was running 12-

18 months behind, and now 

there are only 9 cases older 

than 3 months. This positive 

step forward will place millions 

of dollars in unresolved PACA 

disputes back into the pockets of 

the fruit and vegetable industry 

members. 

USDA’s AMS Market News provides 

highly detailed daily information on 

prices, supplies, stocks, movement, 

and market conditions for hundreds 

of commodities. The market data 

provided by Market News facilitates 

the efficient, fair marketing of U.S. 

agricultural products, including food, 

fiber, and specialty crops. 

Market News information helps 

in building a full picture of the 

agricultural marketplace, helps 

businesses and government compete 

smarter, and helps in settling business 

disputes and insurance claims. Many 

government agencies, both within 

and outside USDA, would not be 

able to function properly without the 

timely, accurate, and unbiased market 

information supplied by Market News. 

Market News data is critical 

information for the staff that 

enforces the Perishable Agricultural 

Commodities Act for the AMS Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs. PACA staff use 

Market News data in every dispute 

between a grower and its agent as 

well as in consignment audits. In 

addition, PACA uses Market News data 

to: 

• Assist callers to the “Good 

Delivery” line in making educated 

sales and dispute decisions (In 

fiscal year 2010, the PACA Branch 

received 1,899 calls with claims 

valued at $27.8 million.); 

• Establish fair market value of 

commodities; 

• Establish a basis in settlement 

negotiations 

• Calculate damages to be paid out 

to a harmed produce dealer

Market News data is incredibly 

valuable to PACA. Based on the value 

of formal case orders of 

$11.4 million and informal 

cases claimed value of 

approximately $41.4 million, 

it is estimated that Market 

News contributed to the 

judicial finding in the amount 

of $4.9 million in formal 

reparation cases and $7.9 

million in informal reparation 

cases for a total of $12.8 million in 

fiscal year 2010. 

Visit www.marketnews.usda.gov/portal/fv 

for the latest reports and to see what’s 

new.

Market News — Serving the 

Informational Needs of U.S. 

Agriculture and Government

Terry Long is the Director of the Market 

News Division. He can be reached at 

(202) 720-2745 or 

terry.long@ams.usda.gov

By Terry Long
As the PACA Misbranding Officer, I 

often get phone calls with questions 

on misbranding or misrepresentation 

of fresh and frozen fruits and 

vegetables, and how the PACA statute 

is related to the Country of Origin 

Labeling (COOL) statute.

PACA prohibits any licensee from 

shipping, selling, or offering for sale 

a product in interstate or foreign 

commerce, which is misbranded or 

misrepresented. The PACA does not 

require containers to be marked with 

any descriptive terms. However, any 

information placed on a container 

must not give a false or misleading 

representation of the contents. Simply 

put, what is in the container must 

meet the statements on the container.

Inadvertent and unintentional 

misbranding or misrepresentation can 

be settled informally with either a 

written warning or a minor monetary 

penalty. The penalty is based on 

the regulations, the circumstances 

surrounding the violation, and a firm’s 

misbranding/misrepresentation history 

with PACA. Flagrant violations can 

result in suspension or revocation of a 

firm’s license. 

Congress passed COOL at the demand 

of a public interested in knowing 

where various agricultural products 

were grown. COOL requires retailers 

and distributors to maintain records 

or other documentary evidence that 

verifies origin. 

When a COOL review is conducted 

at a PACA-licensed retailer and the 

grocery store records are found to 

be in non-compliance, COOL notifies 

the PACA program of the possible 

misbranding violation under the 

act. The PACA Division will then 

investigate the matter to determine if 

a misbranding has occurred and take 

corrective action to get the retailer or 

distributor into compliance with the 

law.

PACA and COOL work hand-in-hand 

when fresh and frozen products are 

found to be misrepresented as to the 

country of origin. 

Misbranding/Misrepresentation Under PACA with 

Country of Origin Labeling

Cathy Hance is PACA’s Misbranding 

Officer and can be reached at 

(202) 720-5073 or 

cathy.hance@ams.usda.gov 

The Perishable Agricultural 

Commodities Act division constantly 

searches for new and creative ways 

to reach out to the public we serve. 

Our latest effort includes an online 

narrated presentation entitled “How to 

Complete a PACA License Application.” 

Hosted by Kelly Littell of PACA’s 

National License Center, this easyto-follow instructional tool helps you 

understand the act, explains how it 

applies to your business, and provides 

directions for completing the PACA 

application.

Whether you’re opening a new 

produce business, or expanding an 

existing firm, understanding which 

laws apply to your business can be a 

daunting task. By accessing the PACA 

website at www.ams.usda.gov/paca and 

clicking the link within the “Licensing” 

section of the homepage, we take the 

mystery out of applying for a PACA 

license. 

We walk you through the application 

process section by section and answer 

frequently asked questions. For 

example, in section five of the online 

tool we provide examples of trade 

names and how they should be listed. 

In the next section, we describe where 

to list corporate and limited liability 

information and what additional 

documentation (if any) is required. 

Yes, you are required to include the 

home address for all officers and 

owners in section nine. 

In the coming months, we’ll add a 

Spanish version of this presentation to 

the website.

The PACA National License Center is 

committed to the produce industry 

having a full understanding of the 

act, providing everyone the maximum 

protection under the law. We hope 

that through educational presentations 

like this, more businesses will take 

advantage of the tools available 

throughout USDA to grow and support 

their businesses.

PACA Offers New Online Educational Tools

Jeffrey Davis is the Director of the PACA 

National License Center. He can be 

reached at (703) 331-4575 or 

Jeffrey.davis4@ams.usda.gov

Visit www.ams.usda.gov/cool to learn more.

By Jeffrey Davis

By Cathy Hance
Agriculture Freight Forwarders 

Directory. Shippers of agricultural 

products of all sizes can now 

access over 600 freight forwarders 

from a single website with USDA’s 

comprehensive, newly organized 

forwarding agent directory. 

Recognizing a need to help agricultural 

exporters connect with forwarders 

that could reliably transport their 

products, the Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) compiled a list of 

freight forwarders familiar with moving 

agricultural exports and licensed with 

the Federal Maritime Commission. 

Now, the database is more 

comprehensive, ensuring the most 

up-to-date information is available 

for those who need to ship their 

products abroad. The directory can 

be searched according to commodity, 

destination markets, overseas offices, 

and additional services (e.g., customs 

broker, consolidator, non-vessel 

operating common carrier). 

AMS is pleased to maintain the 

database as part of its mission to 

provide the agricultural industry with 

services that optimize the industry’s 

ability to market its products in a 

viable marketplace. To connect with a 

freight forwarder, visit www.ams.usda.

gov/ATFreightForwarder.

Plant Protection and Quarantine 

(PPQ) Stakeholder Registry. 

USDA’s Plant Protection and 

Quarantine (PPQ) launched a new 

stakeholder registry to provide timely 

and tailored plant-health information 

to interested stakeholders. The 

registry will allow PPQ to establish 

regular channels of communication 

and enhance relationships with its 

many stakeholders. Subscribing is 

easy and it takes less than 5 minutes. 

To join the registry, visit https://

public.govdelivery.com/accounts/

USDAAPHIS/subscriber/new.

As part of the subscription process, 

you’ll have an opportunity to select 

whether you want to receive messages 

via e-mail or text and identify topics, 

such as “Import Requirements-FAVIR 

database” updates and “PPQ” hot 

issues and press releases that might 

interest you.

Additional Resources for the Produce Industry

Serving the produce industry since the early 1900s, USDA’s AMS Fruit and Vegetable Programs’ 

fee-for-service offerings are delivered via a network of trained and experienced staff. Our 

customers include growers, shippers, brokers, receivers, distributors, processors, retailers and 

restaurants, among others. Our services include:

• Audit-based programs

• Commodity purchases

• Markets News reports and 

information

• Industry training

• International representation 

• Establishment of U.S. grade 

standards

• Perishable Agricultural 

Commodities Act (PACA)

• Inspection and grading

• Self-help marketing 

programs

• Specialty Crop Block Grants

Additional information can be found at www.ams.usda.gov/fv or by contacting Christopher Purdy 

at 202-720-3209 or christopher.purdy@ams.usda.gov.

Fruit Vegetable Programs &

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, 

familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. 

(Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact 

USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800)795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.