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Ben Lyons | Lockewood Acres | Vacaville, CA

Subject: Rust

I wanted to ask folks a couple questions about Rust in garlic. I treated early with Horticultural oil and sulfur. I even cut the heavy stuff out. But now two weeks later the whole patch is rusted! Question #1 Is there a PCA that specializes in organic solutions in the Solano/Yolo area. And question #2, at this late stage in the garlic life will it effect the final product. The plants are just now setting out flowers of which i will be cutting back. Thanks in advance.

ben

In Topics Pest & Disease Management

In General FarmsReach community

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05/21/19

FarmsReach Team | FarmsReach | Berkeley, CA

Subject: Calling all Storytellers from Rural California! ~ $2000 stipend

Cal Ag Roots is looking for people from rural California who want to partner with them in 2019 to produce a podcast that tells a story about their community--and an important moment in the history of farming in California.

Selected story co-producers will be paid a $2000 stipend for working with the Cal Ag Roots Team from June-December, 2019, to produce a twenty-minute podcast that will be released in the fall of 2019. Story co-producers will identify a potential story and work with Cal Ag Roots to conduct interviews, write podcast scripts, record narration and edit audio for the piece. No podcast or audio production experience necessary! Time spent on the story will vary, but we anticipate each podcast will require a time commitment of approximately 4-6 hours/week, over roughly 6 months.

To apply to be a story co-producer, please send an email to Project Director Ildi Carlisle-Cummins at

In General FarmsReach community

Comment 0

05/17/19, updated

Jeff Mitchell | UC Cooperative Extension | Parlier, CA

Subject: New video series to spark interest in vegetable production of the future

We are pleased to announce that a new series of 26 instructional videos on vegetable production is being launched through the University of California’s Agricultural and Natural Resources You Tube channel beginning this coming Monday, May 13^th. We encourage you to sign up at the You Tube channel to begin receiving weekly reminders of new video “premieres” that will be released every Monday morning at 8 o’clock.

Professors from four California universities, UC Davis, Fresno State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Chico State, at which vegetable production courses are offered, teamed up to prepare and produce the videos. The series covers a full range of related topics and while primarily focusing on California, also includes topics from beyond the State as well.

We encourage your help in getting the word out about this series.
If I can be of further help, please call me at (559) 303-9689.

Farm

We encourage your help in getting the word out about this series.
If I can be of further help, please call me at (559) 303-9689.

Farm Progress article coverage: https://www.farmprogress.com/extension/uc-video-series-teach-about-vegetable-production?NL=WFP-01&Issue=WFP-01_20190510_WFP-01_37&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2&utm_rid=CPG020000030

Press release copy is below:

New video series to spark interest in vegetable production of the future

A 26-episode weekly video series will debut May 13 on YouTube to help train the next generation of vegetable crop workers and increase their use of effective stewardship practices in vegetable production.

Projections for near-future retirements of people working in California’s agricultural production, marketing and post-harvest handling sectors indicate severe re-staffing needs in the coming years. Technological advances have reduced manual labor in agriculture, but increased the need for skilled labor to maintain the sustainability of the vegetable industry.

“We already see it happening,” said Jeff Mitchell , UC Cooperative Extension vegetable crops specialist. “Robotic machines are now used for lettuce-thinning in Salinas, but these technologies must be serviced by an educated workforce with knowledge in both mechanics and science.”

Mitchell assembled a team of professors from California’s public universities with agricultural programs – UC Davis, Chico State, Fresno State and CalPoly San Luis Obispo - to pull together a series of videos designed to spark the interest and begin training future farmers and ag workers in sound agronomic, economic and environmental stewardship skills. The team received financial support from the California Department of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crops Block Grant Program.

“We know that maintaining California’s leading role in producing abundant, safe vegetables is critical not only to Americans’ health, but also to the state’s economy,” Mitchell said.

The video series is offered on the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) YouTube page on a playlist titled “Expanding the Capacity and Training of a New Generation of California Vegetable Producers.” UC ANR is the outreach arm of the University of California which, among other services, provides agricultural research, teaching and advising in all California counties.

Each Monday morning from May 13 through Nov. 4, a new video will premiere in the playlist. The video length ranges from 47 minutes to 7 minutes. The videos will also be made available to high school and college ag professors to use in the classroom.

“We believe that this series of videos on vegetable production will have broad interest beyond the classrooms,” Mitchell said. “The agricultural industry, students in other parts of the United States and the world, and the broader public all have an interest in understanding how the vegetables we eat are produced at the ever-increasing scale at which they are needed.”

The videos depict state-of-the-art technologies and techniques that are in use in many production regions of California today, vegetable farming systems used in other parts of the world, and increasingly popular cottage farming systems that are popping up in urban areas for easy access to healthful foods.

To receive a notification of each video premiere, follow the UC ANR Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/UCANR .

In Topics Soil Fertility Management, Seed & Planting, Trees, Vines & Planting, Pest & Disease Management, Water & Irrigation, Harvesting, Washing, Packing & Packaging, Waste Management, Food Safety, Equipment, Growing Structures: Greenhouses, Hoop Houses, etc., Facilities, Cooling & Energy Systems, Beginning Farmers & Ranchers, Weather & Climate Change, Urban Agriculture

In General FarmsReach community

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05/17/19

Camille Sanandaji | Foodstems | San Francisco, CA

Subject: Vermicomposting

Have you tried vermicomposting? What was your experience like?

Vermicompost is the heterogeneous product of the decomposition of food, vegetable, and plant material along with vermicast (an earthworm’s by-product of the breakdown of organic matter). Vermicompost is an excellent organic fertilizer or used as simply a soil conditioner, as it is rich in readily-available, water-soluble nutrients. Vermicomposting also has various commercial uses besides fertilizer, such as its ability to function as sewage treatment. With all of these benefits, one might perceive vermicomposting as a daunting process, yet with a bit of research and knowledge, the system can be simple to maintain once established. There is an entire internet community with amazing how-to guides. Here is one example: http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/vermicompost107.shtml

In Topics Soil Fertility Management, Growing Structures: Greenhouses, Hoop Houses, etc., Beginning Farmers & Ranchers, Urban Agriculture

In General FarmsReach community, CA Women, Food and Agriculture Network

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04/04/17

FarmsReach Team | FarmsReach | Berkeley, CA

Subject: Future Organic Farmer Grants available for students

From CCOF: Do you know students who are interested in pursuing a career in organic agriculture? Encourage them to apply for a Future Organic Farmer Grant! The Grant Fund offers financial support to students pursuing a career in organic agriculture (or livestock management) in a junior college, undergraduate, or a vocational training program. Please share this email with your students and let them know they are welcome to apply for a $2,500 vocational and higher education grant from the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) Foundation. Last year’s grants supported students participating in programs like Go Farm Hawai'i, Animal Science at West Virginia University, and the Organic Production major at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, among others. Applications are available on the CCOF Foundation website starting April 1, 2019. The deadline for applications is May 6, 2019.

In Topics Funding Opportunities, Beginning Farmers & Ranchers

In General FarmsReach community

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04/19/19

Ken Kimes | Greensward / New Natives LLC | Aptos, CA

Subject: No match SSA letters

Hello

Some of you may have received no match letters from the Social Security Administration. If you don't know what this is, great one less thing to worry about.

If you did get one, what's to do? This PDF is the best advice I've seen yet. Read it carefully. Don't make life harder by doing too much.

https://www.fels.net/1/images/Social-Security-Briefing-l-Final-4.12.2019.pdf

I'm unable to upload the pdf or create a link so you can copy the link above, or read the document below

SOCIAL SECURITY MISMATCH AND IMMIGRATION: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Frequently Asked Questions on All Things Social Security

This collaborative briefing was written by Michael C. Saqui of Dowling Aaron Incorporated, Chris Schulte of CJ Lake, LLC, and Rob Roy, President and General Counsel of Ventura County Agricultural Association

In 2018, employers and third-party payroll providers were sent an Educational Correspondence (EDCOR)

Hello

Some of you may have received no match letters from the Social Security Administration. If you don't know what this is, great one less thing to worry about.

If you did get one, what's to do? This PDF is the best advice I've seen yet. Read it carefully. Don't make life harder by doing too much.

https://www.fels.net/1/images/Social-Security-Briefing-l-Final-4.12.2019.pdf

I'm unable to upload the pdf or create a link so you can copy the link above, or read the document below

SOCIAL SECURITY MISMATCH AND IMMIGRATION: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Frequently Asked Questions on All Things Social Security

In 2018, employers and third-party payroll providers were sent an Educational Correspondence (EDCOR) Announcement notice from the Social Security Administration (SSA) informing employers that one of your W-2 forms for 2017 contains a name and social security number (SSN) combination that does not match SSA's records a SSN “mis-match” or “no-match”. This was a courtesy precursor announcement. In 2019, SSA will be mailing EDCOR notifications to employers who submit at least one 2018 W-2 with a SSN mis-match or “no-match”. These notices differ from previous "no- match" letters as they will not include names or SSNs. Instead, employers will merely receive a letter with the raw number of W-2 forms the employer submitted that do not match. The employer will be encouraged to determine which forms are inaccurate by registering for the Social Security Verification System (SSNVS) or a similar service. Registration on this SSA website is merely for gaining access to the employees’ names and SSNs and is not a registration for E-Verify!

EDCOR announcement received in 2018. https://www.ssa.gov/employer/notices/EDCOR.pdf.

(Do’s/Dont’s) https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2014/12/04/Employers.pdf

(FAQs) https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2010/12/29/FAQs.pdf

To view the full announcements and notices the SSA will plans to mail for 2018 and Spring of 2019 go to: https://www.ssa.gov/employer/notices.html.

A sample letter is available here:

https://www.ssa.gov/employer/notices/EmployerCorrectionRequest.pdf

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SS Mismatch Briefing | Page 1

Frequently Asked Questions: Social Security No-Match Letter

A Resource for Workers and Employers (National Immigration Law Center)

The Social Security Administration (SSA), beginning in April 2019, is now sending "Employer Correction Request" letters, also known as "no-match letters," to every employer that has at least one Social Security "no-match”. The letters are likely meant to intimidate employers, but explicitly state that they do not have anything to do with any employee’s work authorization or immigration status.

What are SSA no-match letters?

Each year, employers file a Wage and Tax Statement (Form W-2) with the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to report how much they paid their employees and how much they deducted in taxes from employees' wages throughout the year. SSA sends a no-match letter when the names or Social Security numbers (SSNs) listed on an employer's Form W-2 do not match SSA's records. The no-match letter may list one or more workers whose personal information does not match SSA's records.

The letter's stated purpose is to notify workers and employers of the discrepancy and to alert workers that they are not receiving proper credit for their earnings, which can affect future retirement or disability benefits administered by SSA.

Who receives no-match letters?

In the past, SSA has sent two types of no-match letters: (1) a letter sent directly to workers at their home, and (2) a letter sent directly to employers listing an employee (or multiple employees) with no-match issues. The current round of letters beginning in April 2019, are directed at employers and gives a total number of possible no-match issues but does not identify any specific employee.

Why does the SSA send a no-match letter about a worker?

According to SSA, there may be several reasons why information submitted for a worker does not match SSA records, including:

A typographical or clerical error was made on a Form W-2 or Form W-4, such as misspelling a name or transposing a number in the SSN;
The worker's name has changed (due to marriage, divorce, or other reason);
Information provided on either the Form W-2 or W-4 Is incomplete or incorrect; or
The worker's middle name was transposed (for example, "David Juan Jimenez" instead of ''Juan David Jimenez").

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SS Mismatch Briefing | Page 2

What actions does SSA want an employer to take in response to receiving a no-match letter?

The no-match letter directs employers to:

Review the names and SSN information submitted by the employer to SSA;
Provide any necessary corrections to SSA on the Form W2-C within 60 days of receiving the no-match, or
Respond to SSA that the employer has confirmed that the names and SSN information provided match the information provided by its employees
What actions should an employer take in response to receiving a no-match letter?

HOWEVER, since the new no match letters only provide the total number of “no matches” without the employee name, it is up to the employer whether to login to the SSN portal online (Business Services Online (“BSO”)) to get the actual employee names at issue.

At this time, we are recommending that employers take no further action after receiving a no match letter beyond the three steps described above. If an employer elects to create a BSO account and use the Social Security Number Verification Service, the employer will be given the names of the affected employees.

The letters do not provide the names and numbers of the employees that allegedly do not match as the SSA should be prohibited from disclosing numbers. That information only comes from the employer voluntarily utilizing the website cited to conduct a match process him or herself. That is electronic verification and technically is not required by law or the no match letter. The catch is that once employers do access the website, which the government is intending them to believe they have to by using this tool, and start comparing, they are now with direct knowledge of the specific employee and number with an issue and at that point become exposed for potential unlawful employment. The only responsibility under the SSA for the employer is to ensure that the records provided to the IRS/SSA match the records provided by the employee so that accurate deposits are made to the individual SSA accounts. Nothing more.

Unlike the SSA no-match letters from a decade ago, these new letters do not carry a requirement to retain them in your personnel records. Retaining the letter creates an unnecessary risk in the event of a future ICE document audit. As such, we recommend that you not retain the no-match letter once you have taken the steps described above.

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SS Mismatch Briefing | Page 3

FAQ’S: IF AN EMPLOYER CHOOSES TO USE SSNVS OR IF SSA STARTS NAMING NAMES

If the law changes and SSA begins specifically identifying employees with a no-match, or if the employer voluntarily chooses to use the SSNVS system or otherwise learns of a specific employee having a no-match situation, what should the employer do and what should they avoid doing?

Does being named in a no-match letter indicate that a worker lacks work authorization or is undocumented?

NO. The no-match letter itself states that it does not make any statement about an employee's immigration status, and there is agency guidance and legal authority stating that an SSA no- match makes no statement about the worker's immigration status.

In fact, according to a 2006 report by the SSA Office of the Inspector General, errors in SSA's database impact immigrants and native-born U.S. citizens. At the time of the report, the Inspector General noted that out of the estimated 17.8 million records in SSA's database that would generate a no-match letter, 12.7 million (or over 70 percent of the records with errors) pertained to native-born U.S. citizens.

Should an employer terminate an employee based solely on the employee being named in a no-match letter?

NO. An employer should not terminate a worker based solely upon the employee being named in one or more SSA no-match letters received by the employer. The SSA itself advises employers not to take adverse action against an employee named in a no-match letter.

Such adverse action may include "laying off, suspending, firing, or discriminating against that individual" just because their Information does not match SSA records.

According to the SSA, "Any of those actions could, in fact, violate State or Federal law and subject [the employer] to legal consequences. Specifically, taking such adverse actions could violate the Immigration and Nationality Act's (INA's) antidiscrimination provisions and subject an employer to enforcement from the U.S. Department of Justice and monetary penalties. In addition, an employer could be found liable and subjected to monetary penalties under other state and federal employment laws.

That a person is named in an SSA no-match letter does not provide information about the person's immigration status. The SSA does not maintain immigration status records and is not an immigration enforcement authority. Therefore, if an employer receives multiple no-match letters for the same worker (using the same SSN), this indicates only that a discrepancy at SSA remains unresolved, not that the worker lacks employment authorization.

Do no-match letters affect workers' employment or labor rights?

NO. For workers who have filed an administrative labor claim or workplace-based lawsuit against an employer, the no-match letter does not impact the worker's right to continue the proceeding, nor does it diminish the worker's right to engage in protected concerted activity.

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SS Mismatch Briefing | Page 4

Workers who are members of a labor union may have additional rights (in addition to those discussed here) and should contact their union representative immediately when they learn that they have been named in a no-match letter.

In the past, employers have misunderstood the letter's Implications and unnecessarily fired workers named in no-match letters. In addition, unscrupulous employers have misused receiving the letter as an excuse to interfere with labor organizing campaigns or to retaliate against workers who have been injured on the job or who complain of unpaid wages or other labor violations. The fact that one or more employees are named in a no-match letter does not warrant or justify such actions by their employer and, depending on the underlying facts, It's likely that such actions are unlawful.

Should an Employer re-verify an employee’s I-9 immigration status if that Employee is named in an SSA no-match letter?

Employers have no legal obligation to re-verify a worker's immigration status based solely on having received an SSA no-match letter that names the worker. In fact, an employer who requires employees of certain national origin, racial, or ethnic groups to re-verify their Immigration status or employment eligibility based solely on having received a no-match letter may be liable for committing national origin discrimination in violation of the anti- discrimination provisions of federal immigration law.

If an employer conducts a non-discriminatory workplace-wide reverification, then employees must be allowed to choose which documents to provide their employer in that process. Workers do not have to provide an SSN to legally obtain or maintain employment in the United States, unless their employer uses E-Verify.

What Does our Company Do If We Decide to Use SSNVS or If We Receive A No-Match Letter From The Social Security Administration Naming Names?

If your company receives a SSA letter that identifies specific names of the affected employees, ignoring it may be at great risk. ICE enforcement officials and plaintiff lawyers bringing immigration-related RICO lawsuits routinely seek no-match letters and related personnel documents in their efforts to establish that employers had constructive knowledge they were hiring unauthorized workers. Employers should consider taking certain practical steps when they receive no-match letters, including the following:

1. Establish Company Policy and Apply it Consistently. Establish and implement a written policy and procedure for responding to no-match letters and for maintaining records of your response to mismatch letters. However, you must be careful to apply the policy consistently to all employees in order to avoid claims of discrimination.

2. Verify Your Records. Compare the employee's SSN with your records. If your records do not match the W-4 form, then correct the W-4 form and report the correction to the SSA. Maintain copies of correspondence submitting corrected Information to the SSA.

3. Notify the Employee of the Discrepancy. If checking your records show you have been reporting the number as provided by the employee, then inform the employee that the SSA has

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SS Mismatch Briefing | Page 5

notified you of the problem and that he or she must resolve it with the SSA. Tell the employee to report the correct information to you once it has been resolved with the SSA.

4. Confirm your Instructions In Writing. Write a letter directing the employee to resolve the Issue with SSA and asking the employee to provide updated information. Also provide the company's written no-match policy. Place copies of the letters in the employee's personnel file. Maintain a list of the names of employees who received the written instructions. Remember, you must continue to pay payroll taxes for each employee, regardless of any mismatch.

5. Do Not Terminate an Employee Just Because They Get a No Match Letter. Employers should never assume an employee with a reported mis-match is an undocumented immigrant, and should never terminate an employee because of a no-match letter. By the same token, employers cannot ignore information they receive when following up on mis-matches and must act in a reasonably prompt and prudent manner following receipt of such information to attempt to resolve the issue.

Remember that there are good reasons for a no-match and suspicious ones: Did the employee provide a good reason for the discrepancy? Was there a name change that was not recorded properly? Is the employee's name difficult to spell? Was a number transposed in the documents submitted to SSA? Has there been an intervening immigration-related proceeding that resulted in a name change?

If an employee returns with an entirely different social security number, but the same name, this should be a red flag. The SSA usually issues one number to an individual over a lifetime; in extremely limited circumstances related to domestic violence or identity theft SSA will issue a different number. Similarly, an employee who presents a social security card that has the social security number previously provided, but a completely different name should also be a red flag. In these circumstances the employer should inquire about the name and/or social security number change and request documentation showing how/why the change. For example, was there an immigration proceeding such as naturalization resulting in a name change? Was there a court order for a name change? Was there a request to the SSA for a new number?

6. Give Employees a Reasonable Amount of Time to Resolve the Problem. There is no specific number as to how many days to give an employee to resolve the issue. Keep in mind that dealing with the bureaucracy of the Social Security Administration is not a quick process. Consideration should be given to suspending the employee without pay or termination after an employee has had enough time to correct the problem and fails to do so or shows up on more than one no-match letter.

A self-imposed window to resolve the problem that does not exceed the 120 period that USCIS gives itself to address non-confirmation of work eligibility under E-Verify is probably a reasonable period, but the circumstances of each individual may vary. Most commentators believe that a 30-day time frame with extensions based on good cause is sufficient.

As a reminder – this advice is only in the event that the employer acquires information identifying specific employees. The current SSA letters do not provide any such information, and the only action required is checking the employer’s own records for accuracy.

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SS Mismatch Briefing | Page 6

In Topics Staff, HR & Worker Safety, Immigration & Farmworker Rights

In General FarmsReach community

Comment 0

04/28/19

2.5

Lalitha Vish | Jellicles Farm | Sunol , CA

Subject: Central Valley Olive shake up..thoughts about future trends?

I have cut and pasted what came to me. Thoughts?

[..]My name is John Werner, and I am a small olive farmer in the Visalia area. I have packed my olives with Bell-Carter Olives since 2010. I grow manzanillo olives which are used to make black table olives. Maybe you have had them. If you have every bought Lindsay Olives (red label on the can) then you have likely eaten olives grown right here in the valley and packed by Bell-Carter. Maybe you have even eaten an olive I grew. Maybe your kids have stuck one of my olives on their fingers…like my kids do.

I have cut and pasted what came to me. Thoughts?

On evening of Monday, March 4th, I started getting some troubling phone calls and text messages. The first was from the labor contractor I use to prune olive trees in the spring and harvest in the fall. He asked me if I had heard anything about Bell-Carter canceling contracts to buy fruit from growers. He was actually in an olive orchard that day with a crew pruning when the grower came out said, "Stop work. We are done." The grower had just gone to get his mail and had a contact cancellation notice from Bell-Carter.

I was scheduled to start pruning my orchard within the next two weeks and my contractor was calling to find out if we would be cancelling the work. We have since cancelled our plans to prune.

The next thing I received was a text from my ag consultant. He was asking a similar question: had I heard and did I get a letter, too. Well I was starting to hear, but I didn't have a letter yet.

I went online at about 6PM that evening and posted on the My Job Depends on Ag FB group, and my own feed later that night, to see what was happening out there. There have been many replies, and people started to connect the dots on what just happened to the California Olive industry. Bell-Carter had cancelled almost all of the contracts they had with California Olive growers. Farmers were already starting to schedule appointments with bankruptcy attorneys.

The next morning I e-mailed my field representative from Bell-Carter, Jacob Peters, asking about my letter. Is it coming? He replied shortly and apologetically broke it to me: I would be receiving a letter soon. I had been cancelled. I told my wife and kids. We were done.

As I started to talk with folks from around the area, I found out that all but about 7 growers in Tulare County had had their contracts cancelled. Bell-Carter is only keeping 1,500 acres in the Tulare County area and 1,500 acres in the Corning area under contract for the 2019 season. Tulare County Ag and livestock Report, 2017, shows that there are 10,600 acres planted to olives. As growers, we estimate that Bell-Carter had contracts with approximately 6,000 of those acres. It is a difficult number to know from our perspective, but Bell-Carter could provide an accurate total of acres cancelled.

These cancelled contracts will have many impacts. With an average annual production of 7 ton per acre, we estimate that 31,500 tons of Tulare County olives will not be harvested and brought to market this year. A conservative estimate based on the average price per ton (after grading) paid to growers is a loss of gross revenues totaling $37,800,000 in Tulare County alone. That total loss will be realized across the county as lost income to the region. It will not be paid out, in turn by growers, to other supporting sectors. Olive growers operate on very, very tight profit/loss margins and the majority of their gross income is paid out in costs. The largest portion (between 55-60%) being paid to labor just for harvest. That labor percent does not include other cultural costs like pruning, general orchard maintenance, or other farming costs. We harvest in September and October. This means that right before Christmas time, Tulare County workers will lose an estimated $21,735,000 in income from the growers they have worked with for years. All of this is exacerbated by the natural alternated bearing cycle of olive tree fruit production.

[..]

So what, exactly, happened to cause all of this? Currently, there is a U.S. tariff on imported, black olives of 37.5%. However, green, or uncured, olives are not subject to the tariff. Bell-Carter has benefited from this loophole in the tariff as they grow olives in Mexico. The loophole has allowed them to grow olives in Mexico and then finish processing at their Corning, CA processing plant, and thus not be subject to the tariff themselves. Enter Dcoop, A Spanish cooperative the largest producer of table olives and olive oil in the world.

Dcoop bought a 20% share in the largest table olive cannery in the US, Bell-Carter in the summer of 2018. At the time of the 20% acquisition, Bell-Carter had assured everyone that this would be a great benefit because it would mean that Bell-Carter had access to a global market through Dcoop and would need more olives from its domestic growers. Dcoop gained exclusive supply of uncured olives to Bell-Carter in the deal. Bell-Carter denied this claim of exclusive supply in an August 2018 article in Olive Times. Dcoop was set to import its uncured olives through the tariff loophole and now had a processor complicit in assisting them with the imports and final processing of the olives.

Furthermore, the California olive farmer cannot begin to compete with Dcoop. Dcoop relies on subsidies from the Spanish government to support wages and low, near criminal, wages for workers in olives in Morocco and Argentina. The US Department of Labor has been monitoring child labor abuses in the Argentine olive industry for years. This is well documented. Dcoop can import a ton of olives to the US for $400.00 per ton. I spent $650.00 per ton just to harvest my olives last year. That $650.00 doesn’t include all my other cultural costs and farming expenses. It is unfair competition propped up by foreign government subsidies and labor abuse in other countries. I cannot compete against subsidized Spanish olive growers and Argentine olive growers using child labor. I should never be asked to compete against the latter. And to that end, if this continues, there is a high likelihood that the American consumer will be eating olives from Argentina and all that entails. From the fingers of their children to the fingers of ours. We cannot support that.

I have compiled a list of articles to help others understand Dcoop's business model. The California olive grower is the indicator species in the California agricultural sector. We are the canary in the coal mine.

https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oil-business/spains-dcoop-acquires-stake-in-california-table-olive-producer-bell-carter/64237

https://www.pompeian.com/pompeian-group-and-dcoop-group-spain-announce-expansion-partnership-strengthen-leadership-position?fbclid=IwAR3JWuRuhXNMd-jaIzO3XC4wJwTKDW0NymVLnT8yDtMMoZmjkplZ6tEr1bY

http://www.usspainexecutives.org/en/2017/12/22/english-importing-spanish-olives-and-olive-oil-into-the-us-interview-with-enrique-escudero-ceo-of-acorsa-usa/?fbclid=IwAR32MzP_oaCBog2j85e-huiC8zoq0mDGc1rGQ9t8bMKEA7TAki6AlohKR2Y

https://www.cargill.com/news/releases/2014/NA31706781.jsp?fbclid=IwAR36wMLUSv8yx3Igq5bHZGNCU215Zt6PP93W3fyxo3PekvoNhBveqMuNefs

http://www.usitc.gov/publications/701_731/pub4718.pdf

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods?items_per_page=10&combine=argentina

A large number California olive growers have just become unnecessary and have almost no alternative methods of seeking relief. We grow for an industry that operates on very tight income/loss margins. Just about every one of them is small farmer. They do not have the resources to start a new processing plant on their own or through a cooperative. Even if they did, it would take years to establish such a plant. We need relief now. Most will struggle just to remove their orchards, let alone replant to a substitute crop. The other olive processor, Musco, is not taking any new growers. Musco is physically not able to take all of the displaced growers as they lack the capacity to process the magnitude of tonnage released by Bell-Carter. Musco has told growers that they are not taking any new growers. We cannot switch our production to olive oil because olive trees pruned for table olive production are not compatible with the methods used to harvest for olive oil. Furthermore, our orchards are not planted on a spacing to make harvesting for oil economically feasible. There are not many options available.

So, I have this orchard that is worthless, but that is not the only impact. It will become a vector for disease and pests to the remaining olive growers and other crops in my region as it sits idle. My trees will set fruit, but that fruit will not be picked. I, and every other olive grower, will stop maintaining our orchards. Most will not be able to remove their orchards on their own because of the cost. We will have an agricultural crisis that stretches far beyond the affected olive growers as their orchards sit and become invested with pests and disease.

This specific issue is affecting small farmers, labor, consumers, supporting business, and, in time, other areas of the agriculture sector. Furthermore, the plight California olive grower is an indicator for things to come in other areas of California agriculture as the California olive grower operates in a delicate, fragile space and is subject to many factors beyond a tariff loophole. The actions taken by Bell-Carter and Dcoop to leverage the loophole are simply the straw that broke my back.

[..]

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03/18/19

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Sue Beckwith | Texas Center for Local Food | Elgin, TX commented

Nilson, Your lack of empathy is striking. Farmers do what they think is best with the information they have at the time. I would suggest you hold your judgment for another time. SB, Texas

04/09/19 8:29 AM

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