Jan 11, 2011

Growers in California vote down order

The California Tree Free Fruit Agreement (CTFA) recently announced the elimination of several programs and staff positions after one of the state orders was voted down by growers. California nectarine and peach grower-shippers have voted to terminate the state’s tree fruit marketing board, initiated by the order. The board was established five years ago, said Gary Van Sickle, CTFA president.

Among the many things the board did was instituting random inspections for every peach and nectarine grower-shipper

Because of the vote, domestic marketing, which was done through category management, has been completely eliminated. Research funding was cut 40 percent as well, Van Sickle said.

The vote against the marketing board, Van Sickle said, may be tied to market prices this season, especially those for peaches.