Starting in January, I will make a monthly visit to a couple of coffee shop locations. I think it will be a good way to interact with growers and meet new people. At 7:00 a.m. on the first Tuesday of the month, I will be at the Kerman McDonalds. On the second Tuesday, the Selma McDonalds. Some of the ‘regulars’ have great individual ideas on all kinds of world matters including politics and raisin industry issues. I hope to meet you there for coffee and some good conversation.

Steve

 

 

 

The 2009 PATR DIV1099 was mailed to all RBA growers who received a revolving fund check in July 2009. RBA Controller, Shirley Sons, encourages all growers to carefully examine your form to verify that the dollar amount, Social Security or Federal Identification numbers are accurate. If you have a correction or question regarding this form, please call Shirley at the RBA office as soon as possible and before February 15, 2010.  (559) 221-1925

 

 

 

 

The Federal Marketing Order, known as the Raisin Administrative Committee was established in 1949. Two provisions of the Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, minimum grade standards and volume control, prompted growers to join together and form the RAC.

Before the RAC was established, growers were subject to the quality standards of their raisin packer. Each packer had its own system for determining the minimum standards it would accept. Growers were at the mercy of the packer and the employees who drew and tested the samples. The RAC provided the mechanism allowing the industry to establish a minimum grade standard for both incoming raw product and outgoing processed product. A third-party system of inspection was also included in the Order with the USDA inspection service contracted to perform those services for the industry.

Volume controls are provided in marketing orders to allow for the orderly flow of supply to the market and to avoid unreasonable fluctuations of supplies and prices. The RAC regulates raisins after delivery, and the law specifically prohibits limiting a grower’s production. Because raisin-type grapes have several alternative usages, such as concentrate, there is an ongoing uncertainty of actual production during any harvest season. If wineries need raisin-type grape juice and pay an above average price, there would likely be less raisin production. On the other hand, if the wineries price offer is not considered fair, more raisins would likely be produced. In the past five years we have seen raisin-type grape crushes as high as 727,000 tons, and as low as 267,000 tons. That difference of 460,000 tons can represent a variability of over 100,000 tons of raisins in any particular season.

Volume regulation of raisins into the market and the creation of industry raisin reserve have allowed us to establish a program that provides packers the ability to be price competitive internationally. Since the inception of the export adjustment program, overseas sales have increased to over 35% of our annual shipments. A significant portion of our industry is reliant on the continuation of this program. It is necessary as long as we have the capability to produce more raisins than we can normally market in a season.

Quality control standards and volume regulation continue to be critical factors in the raisin industry. Since 2004, the industry has been able to cooperate and provide both an orderly marketplace for packers and the greatest possible free tonnage percentage for growers.

Through the RAC Formal Rulemaking Workgroup, we have the opportunity to forge changes to the Order that will allow us to be more efficient and provide the foundation for the continued orderly marketing and stability that the originators of the Federal Marketing Order envisioned.