fran USDA
we No

Do You Recognize These Shields and Logos?

If so, you are probably participating in one of AMS’s
leading-edge quality assurance programs.

We can help you publicize your participation by providing logo
and shield art work and printed material, such as brochures

and fact sheets, to fully explain the program benefits to your
customers. We can also produce placards to display at your place
of business or while exhibiting your products at a trade show.

Please contact Christopher Purdy at (202) 720-3209 or
christopher.purdy@ams.usda.gov for additional details about the
marketing tools available or to find out what these programs can
do for you.

U.S. Department of Agriculture
Marketing and Regulatory Programs
Agricultural Marketing Service

Fruit and Vegetable Programs
1400 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-0235

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

Serving the produce industry since the early 1900s, AMS Fruit and
Vegetable Programs' fee-for-service offerings are delivered via

a network of trained and experienced staff. Our clients include
growers, shippers, brokers, receivers, distributors, processors,
retailers and restaurants, among others.

Our services include:

© Audit-based programs

© Inspection and grading

¢ Establishment of U.S. grade standards
© Industry training

© Quality systems and process auditing
¢ “Market News”

© Self-help marketing programs

© Commodity purchases

© International representation

Telephone: (202) 720-4722
Fax: (202) 720-0016
Email: FVinfo@ams.usda.gov.

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, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call
(800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity
provider and employer.

GeO’ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 2009—352—448


United States
USDA Department of

ME isricuture

AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROGRAMS

Produce Industry News

Volume |, Issue 1

Summer 2009

A Window into Your AMS,

Fruit and Vegetable Programs 5 60: so.

Robert C. Keeney
is the Deputy
Administrator

of AMS Fruit

& Vegetable
Programs. Bob
can be reached at
robert.keeney@
ams.usda.gov

arket forces are
driving changes
in the produce

industry that are causing us,
like you, to change the way
we do business.
Our goal in publishing
Produce Industry News is
to open a window into
our program so that we
can tell you about some of
the innovative ways we are
responding to your changing
needs and those of the
produce industry as a whole.
Wich its roots in the

early 1900s, AMS Fruit and
Vegetable Programs has a
long and proud history of
serving the needs of the U.S.
fruit and vegetable industry,
domestically and abroad.

Today, AMS Fruit
and Vegetable Programs
consists of more than 1,200
employees, as well as our state
partners, located nationwide
who service the U.S. fresh
and processed produce
industry.

AMS Fruit and Vegetable
Programs has worked
closely with all segments
of the industry to design
and implement solutions
to address the challenges of
buying and selling a highly
perishable commodity. The
inspection and grading
services, as well as the
regulatory and self-help
programs, among others,
have evolved as solutions to
particular industry challenges.

Some of the programs we

USS. Department of Agriculture
Marketing and Regulatory
Programs

Agricultural Marketing Service
Fruit and Vegetable Programs
1400 Independence Avenue SW

administer are mandated by
law, such as the Perishable
Agricultural Commodities
Act (PACA), but many of
the other services we offer
are either voluntary, fee-for-
service, or industry requested
self-help efforts.

Whether we are
administering a federal
regulation, or providing a
voluntary service, we strive
to respond to your requests
for support in the same way
your customers demand it:
rapidly and with creativity
and flexibility.

About four times per year,
you will receive Produce
Industry News via mail and
e-mail, and it will be posted
to our Web site. Throughout
this and subsequent issues,
you will be meeting just a
few of our dedicated staff.
Please feel free to reach out
to any of us with questions
and comments about issues of
importance to you.

Fax: (202) 720-0016

Washington, D.C. 20250-0235

Telephone: (202) 720-4722

Email: FVinfo@ams.usta.gov

Inside this issue:

= Introduction to Newsletter

= National Leafy Greens
Agreement

= Market News Introduces
Expansion to National Fruit and
Vegetable Retail Report

= Innovations to Meet Unique
Industry Needs

= PACA—Much More than the
“Produce Police”

= Do You Recognize These
Shields and Logos?

We want to hear from you.
What topics would you like

to see covered in future edi-
tions of the newsletter? Are
there questions you can’t find
answers to on our Web site?
Send your questions and
suggestions to FVInfo@ams.
usda.gov.

www.ams.usda.gov/fv


Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement o5 wei ouranio

Michael Durando
is Chief of the
Marketing Order
Administration
Branch. He can
be reached at
(202) 720-2491
or michael.
durando@ams.
usda.gov

MS expects to
conduct public
hearings in 2009 on

a proposed nationwide leafy
greens marketing agreement.
These hearings, which will
allow for public input on the
details of the proposed federal
program, are contingent

upon a recommendation to
be submitted to AMS by a
team of produce industry
representatives who are now
drafting the framework for
the marketing agreement.
This program would help

minimize the chance of
unsafe lettuce, spinach,
cabbage, greens, and related
products from reaching
consumers, and is similar to
programs now operating in
Arizona and California.

The process of developing
and implementing a
nationwide leafy greens
marketing agreement will
be fully transparent. The
industry team will conduct
outreach activities to gauge
industry-wide support,
while USDA, when the time

comes, will gather further
public comment and evidence
during the formal hearing
process.

This USDA-authorized
marketing agreement
would reinforce leafy green
marketers’ abilities to meet
food safety and sanitation
requirements, and thus
reduce the risk of product
contamination. However, the
program would not replace
or supersede the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration's
authority.

Market News Introduces Expansion to National
Fruit and Vegetable Retail Report sy 2: .ov:

Terry Long is

Chief of the
" Market News
Branch. He can
be reached at
(202) 720-2745
or terry.long@
ams.usda.gov

tii

ince 1915, the Fruit
S and Vegetable Market

News Service has been
providing reliable, timely,
and unbiased shipping
point and wholesale market
information.

Market News routinely
looks to improve its service
and expand market coverage
in response to trends in the
industry and requests from
customers. The most recent
expansion in market coverage
adds an entirely new level of
trading to the offerings of

market reports. In October
2007, Market News began
tracking and reporting
advertised specials at the

retail level on fresh fruit and
vegetables with the release

of the weekly report, National
Fruit and Vegetable Retail
Report.

In October 2008, Market
News expanded the retail
report by adding in year-
ago comparisons each week
on a national basis for the
regularly reported items.
Additionally, Market News

The process of develop-
ing and implementing a
nationwide leafy greens
marketing agreement
will be fully transparent.

Applying marketing
agreements to address the
produce industry's auditing
and sanitation needs is a
new venture at USDA and is
creating interest among other
commodity groups, besides
the leafy greens industry.
Marketing agreements,
along with similar marketing
orders, are flexible enough to
be tailored to the particular
needs of growers, handlers
and other marketers of fruits
and vegetables.

Please feel free to contact
me with your questions.

added a national snapshot

of advertised prices for

organically grown produce,

including a description

of the product and the

corresponding price range.
National Fruit and Vegetable

Retail Report is available

free to the public and can

be accessed online at www.

marketnews.ams.usda.gov/

portal/fv, For questions about

this report or other market

information, please feel free

to contact me.


Innovations to Meet Unique Industry Needs—
Identity Preservation Program sy caine sketon

Leanne Skelton
is the Chief

of the Fresh
Products
Branch. She
can be reached
at (202) 720-
5870 or leanne.
skelton@ams.
usda.gov

PACA—Much More than the “Produce Police” sy orenzo riniex

Lorenzo Tribbett
is the Assistant
Chief of the
PACA Branch.
He can be

* reached at
(202) 720-2272
or lorenzo.
tribbett@ams.
usda.gov

he branch that
oversees the Perishable
Agricultural

Commodities Act (PACA)
is often viewed as the
“Produce Police” because of
the belief that all we do is
enforce PACA regulations.
Enforcement is indeed an
important function, but only
a part of the story. Here is a
deeper look into how PACA
serves you.

PACA proactively works
for the fruit and vegetable

ruit and Vegetable
Programs is offering
a new and exciting

service to the produce
industry, the Identity
Preservation (IP) Program.
Produce marketers that have
developed unique varieties of
fruit or vegetables can use the
IP Program to ensure their
products stand out in the
market. Whether it is a new
variety of grapes or an old
heirloom vegetable variety,

industry promoting interstate
and foreign commerce
through dispute resolution,
mediation, arbitration,
licensing, and outreach
programs facilitating fair
trade practices.

A great way to steer clear
of problems for your fruit
and vegetable business is
to know your rights and
responsibilities under PACA,
but also to reach out and talk
to one of our experts when
you need us.

In 2006, the PACA Branch
underwent a restructuring
to bring our costs in line
with revenue-generated
licensing fees. Although we
closed several offices, we
committed to the industry
that there would be little
impact on service. Through
process improvements, we
have been able to significantly
enhance your ability to access
information about PACA,
such as how you need it

the IP Program may make
the difference in establishing
a market for unique produce
items.

The IP Program is a
voluntary service that
provides sellers with
independent, unbiased
verification of the
identification, segregation,
and traceability of a
company’s unique or value-
added product by USDA
personnel.

and when you need it, For
example:

National Call Center.
To provide rapid access to a
PACA specialist, our PACA
“Good Delivery” toll-free
hotline (800) 495-7222 is
staffed Monday through
Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
EST.

Online Access. PACA’s
Web site provides 24/7
access to valuable tools when
you need them, such asa
free online PACA training
program.

‘Additionally, informing
industry about PACA
through educational sessions
and other outreach is critical
to encouraging the use of
fair trade practices. Our
staff offers PACA-related.
training and educational
sessions delivered around the
country. Last year, PACA
specialists made more than
60 presentations nationwide,
including conducting

USDA

TDENTITY.

[PRESERVATION}
Prins veces rocens

When USDA's IP program
logo is applied to your
packaging, promotional
materials and your company’s
Web site, customers can
buy with confidence in
the knowledge that they
are receiving truly unique
products.

Please feel free to contact
me if you have questions
regarding the benefits of the
IP Program.

seminars at produce terminal
markets such as Atlanta,
Philadelphia, and New York
City. We can provide training
at your place of business as
well, or in conjunction with
other industry events. Take

a look at what we offer on
www.ams.usda.gov/paca.

We are continuously
enhancing the ways that you
can access PACA information
and our staff, both online and
via the phone. By being there
when you need us, PACA
helps address challenges you
face daily in your business.

Please feel free to contact
me if you have questions. We
look forward to continuing
to be much more than the
“Produce Police.” We are
your “Partners in Produce.”