The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking nominees for the Raisin Administrative Committee to fill twenty-one independent producer member seats and twenty-one alternate member seats whose terms will begin May 1, 2024. Nominations must be made during the nomination meetings being held virtually in each district on November 16.
Independent producers’ seats for the 2024-2026 term are based on deliveries for the 2022-2023 crop year and there will be a total of twenty-one seats to be divided among the districts as follows:
District 1 – North of Fresno County will have 1 member and 1 alternate.
District 2 – South of Fresno County will have 1 member and 1 alternate.
District 3 – Fresno County will have 19 members and 19 alternates.
Nominations for independent producer seats will be accepted throughout the meeting times.
District 1 - North of Fresno County
Thursday, November 16, from 1-2 p.m. PT
Virtual Meeting
Visit www.raisins.org to join the meeting.
Dial-in number: +1 (646) 749-3122 Access Code 541-570-373
District 2 - South of Fresno County
Thursday, November 16, from 9-10 a.m. PT
Virtual Meeting
Visit www.raisins.org to join the meeting.
Dial-in number: +1 (408) 650-3123 Access Code 461-973-861
District 3 - Fresno County
Thursday, November 16, from 3-4 p.m. PT
Virtual Meeting
Visit www.raisins.org to join the meeting.
Dial-In Number: +1 (646) 749-3122 Access Code 785-719-237
Eligible nominees must be engaged in a proprietary capacity and produced grapes that have been made into raisins during the current crop year (2023-2024). To qualify to serve as an independent grower member, candidates must be actively engaged in a business of the group that they represent either in their own behalf, or as an officer, agent or an employee of a business unit engaged in such businesses. The appointed members will serve two-year terms.
For nomination information, contact Raisin Administrative Committee General Manager Debbie Powell at (559) 225-0520 or by email at debbie@raisins.org or USDA Marketing Specialist Jeremy Sasselli at (559) 487-5901 or by email at jeremy.sasselli@usda.gov.
The marketing order authorizes research and promotion programs for raisins grown in California. The California Raisin Committee administers the order locally and consists of 47 members of which 35 represent producers. More information about the committee is available on the Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) 989 Raisins webpage or on the committee’s website.
Authorized by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, marketing orders are industry-driven programs that help producers and handlers achieve marketing success by leveraging their own funds to design and execute programs that they would not be able to do individually. AMS provides oversight to fruit, vegetable and specialty crops marketing orders and agreements to help ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.
AMS policy is that diversity of the boards, councils, and committees it oversees should reflect the diversity of their industries in terms of the experience of members, methods of production and distribution, marketing strategies, and other distinguishing factors, including but not limited to individuals from historically underserved communities, that will bring different perspectives and ideas to the table. Throughout the full nomination process, the industry must conduct extensive outreach, paying particular attention to reaching underserved communities, and consider the diversity of the population served and the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the members to serve a diverse population.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.