USDA Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee 

Meeting Minutes 

Agency/Program Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) | Specialty Crops Program (SCP) 

Meeting Purpose 

To examine the full spectrum of fruit and vegetable industry issues and provide 

recommendations and ideas to the Secretary of Agriculture on how the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) can tailor programs and services to better meet the needs of the U.S. 

produce industry. 

Date/Time Tuesday, April 06, 2021 | 10:00 AM Eastern Time 

Meeting Location Virtual Webinar 

Meeting Facilitator FVIAC Chair Paul Lightfoot and FVIAC Designated Federal Officer (DFO) Darrell Hughes 

Attendees See attendance report (page 2) 

Next Steps (Task, Assigned To) Owner Due Date 

Distribute workgroup survey (questionnaire) to full FVIAC body. CHAIR and DFO Within 30 days 

Determine which subcommittees (workgroups) to be established. CHAIR and DFO Within 60 days 

Schedule subcommittee/workgroup administrative meeting(s). CHAIR and DFO Within 90 days 

Decisions Made (What, Why, Impacts) 

• The FVIAC Chair recommended this meeting be used as an information gathering mechanism. No decisions 

were made regarding the development of USDA recommendations. 

• The FVIAC membership body would need to determine which agricultural issues they plan to explore. FVIAC 

workgroups should be established prior to developing recommendations. 

Discussion 

• FVIAC representatives were provided one minute each to share comments of their preference. 

• The representative body concurred with the FVIAC Chair’s suggestion to decide which workgroup 

(subcommittee) using email communication and electronic surveys. 

• FVIAC DFO provided insights on establishing focused subcommittees and ways the FVIAC can collaborate with 

other USDA advisory groups, which could help curtail the submission of duplicative or conflicting 

recommendations from USDA advisory groups that have common goals and objectives. 

Miscellaneous Items 

• FVIAC representatives and public participants received a series of presentations from various USDA subject 

matter experts. The presentations are available via the Resources section of the following link: 

o https://www.ams.usda.gov/event/fruit-and-vegetable-industry-advisory-committee-april-2021-

virtual-meeting 

Page 1 of 2 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

USDA Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee 

Attendee Report 

Panelist (Speaker) Details Attendee (Public) Details 

ASL-Brenda Wharton (Brenda Wharton) 

Sonia Jimenez, USDA AMS SCP Deputy Administrator 

Audrey Draper, USDA-FDA Liaison 

Tara Ponds, USDA RMA Liaison 

Bruce Summers, USDA AMS Administrator 

Carl Purvis, USDA AMS Public Affairs 

David Zapf, FVIAC Representative 

Charles Wingard, FVIAC Representative 

Michael Janis, FVIAC Representative 

Reade Sievert, FVIAC Representative 

Mae Wu, USDA MRP Deputy Under Secretary 

Marc McFetridge, USDA-AMS 

Lorenzo Tribbett, USDA AMS SCP Assoc. Deputy Administrator 

Kay Riley, FVIAC Representative 

ASL- Heidi Johnson (Heidi Johnson) 

Andrea DeJesus, Registered Public Comments Speaker 

Judith Rudman Director, USDA AMS PACA 

Bret Erickson, FVIAC Representative 

Closed Captioner (Beverly Early (Closed Captioner)) 

Heather Pichelman, USDA-MRP 

Kumar Chandran, USDA 

Karla Stockli (Karla Stockli) 

Shaun McKinney, USDA 

Paul Palmby, FVIAC Representative 

Travis Hubbs, USDA 

George Hamner, FVIAC Representative 

Paul Teague, FVIAC Representative 

Brian Kirschenmann, FVIAC Representative 

Derrin Wheeler, FVIAC Representative 

Julie Masser Bailey, FVIAC Representative 

Christopher Purdy, USDA AMS CPP 

Charles Stephens, USDA-AMS 

Robert Bonnie, USDA 

Tommy Wilkins, FVIAC Vice-Chair 

Ronnie Maurer, USDA 

K.C. Ely, FVIAC Representative 

Paul Lightfoot, FVIAC Chairman 

Kiley Harper-Larsen, FVIAC Representative 

Ken Petersen (Ken Petersen, Deputy Director, USDA AMS SCP SCI) 

Angela Britt, Registered Public Comments Speaker 

Clayton Myers, USDA Pest SME 

Nicole Nelson Miller 

David Einstandig, FVIAC Representative 

Daniel Whitley, USDA FAS Acting Administrator 

Tom Lipetzky, FVIAC Representative 

Donn Zea, FVIAC Representative 

Gabriel Bernal, Seasons Farm Fresh 

Marc Phillips, PPQ/APHIS/USDA 

Nathaniel Taylor, USDA 

Dudley Hoskins, Senate Ag Committee 

Mark Rasmussen, USDA/FAS 

Tyra Whelton, Farm Credit Funding 

Allison Moore, Fresh Produce Association of the Americas 

Justin Machell, Highland Ag Solutions 

Jason Tabatchnick, Tabatchnick Fine Foods 

Patricia Petrella, SCP-PED 

Mason, Valliwide Marketing Inc 

Charles Gagne, BrightFarms 

Jennifer, CA Leafy Greens Research Program 

Andrew Hatch, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service 

Manuel Ramos Gandia, MANUEL RAMOS GANDIA INC 

Adam Mefrakis, MDA 

Ken Henderson, Missouri Dept., Agriculture - Grain Inspection & 

Warehouse Div. 

Thomas, Castellini 

Cameron Douglass, USDA/OCE/OPMP 

Jodi Devaurs, California Table Grape Commission 

Adam Mefrakis, Missouri Grain Inspection Services 

Clint Thompson, AgNet Media 

Lorren Walker, Elias Walker, Inc. 

Robert Guenther, United Fresh Produce Association 

Jeannette Matetzschk, USDA - FSA 

Dianna Todd, McLeod Farms, Inc. 

Jeremy Witte, Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

Committee 

Suzanne Thornsbury, USDA 

Alyssa, California Citrus Mutual 

Ryan Terrell, Steele Communications Inc 

Carmen Rottenberg, Groundswell Strategy 

Katie Jennings, NC State University 

Jodi Emtman, Roloff Farms, Inc. 

Michelle Person, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service 

David Spitzer, Dependable Food 

Terry Long, USDA-AMS- SCMN 

Kate Lewis, USDA OSEC OCS 

David Marve, lFruit and Vegetable Growers Association, Delaware 

Angela Tiwari, United Fresh Produce Association 

Cheryl Birden, Jodi & Associates 

Shirley Morgan-Jordan, USDA 

Lori Apodaca, California Citrus Mutual 

Fatma Aliyaeva, Premio International Services, Inc 

Kelly Robertson, USDA 

Joan Murphy, IHS Markit 

Page 2 of 2 
From: Paul Lightfoot 

To: AMS - SCP FVIAC 

Cc: "Tommy Wilkins"; Jballay@masserspuds.com; Katie Connors 

Subject: Re: Please Approve - FVIAC April 2021 Meeting Minutes 

Date: Wednesday, April 14, 2021 3:00:07 PM 

Attachments: image001.png 

I approve 

Thanks Darrell. 

From: AMS - SCP FVIAC <SCPFVIAC@usda.gov> 

Date: Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 2:49 PM 

To: Paul Lightfoot <plightfoot@brightfarms.com> 

Cc: 'Tommy Wilkins' <tommy@growfarmstx.com>, "Jballay@masserspuds.com" 

<Jballay@masserspuds.com>, Katie Connors <kconnors@brightfarms.com> 

Subject: Please Approve - FVIAC April 2021 Meeting Minutes 

Good afternoon Paul: 

I’ve attached the April 6 meeting minutes for review and approval. Please respond to this email 

approving the minutes. A simple “I approve” will suffice. 

Thank you, 

Darrell 

Darrell A. Hughes | Designated Federal Officer 

Fruit & Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee 

U.S. Department of Agriculture | Agricultural Marketing Service 

Desk: (202) 378-2576 

SCPFVIAC@usda.gov 

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