Jun 2, 2015

Blueberry council seeking to expand membership

The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) recently submitted requested changes to its order which will allow for wider representation and clarification of a number of its administrative functions. At the USHBC meeting last fall, the council reviewed and unanimously approved modifications that were presented to USDA. These modifications have been listed in the Federal Register for comment. Comments are due by July 7. For more information, visit the Federal Register’s home page.

A major modification is to expand USHBC membership to include the top eight production states, which at this time would include the states of North Carolina and Florida, as well as the addition of one more importer and one more exporter position. This change will increase membership from the current total of 16 to 20. With the top eight blueberry production states representing 97 percent of total U.S. highbush blueberry production in 2013, this addition will bring state blueberry representation on the council more in line with the level represented at the implementation of USHBC back in 2000.

In addition to the changes to increase USHBC membership, the council is proposing administrative clarifications and modifications. Specifically, the definition of a public member has been expanded; a statement on our effort to have a diverse representation has been added; the regional representation definition has been updated; an expansion of state member, importer, exporter, handler and public member candidates beyond those recommended by the council or the state blueberry commission has been added, along with a statement that nominees must be current with their USHBC assessments; voting by telephone or other electronic means at council meetings has been included; and details on late payment charges have been expanded.