2006

USHBC Industry Relations Committee Seeks Handler Member Candidates

The USHBC Industry Relations Committee will present a slate of nominees to the Council at the USHBC Spring Meeting on March 3, 2007.  At this meeting, the Council will recommend to the Secretary of Agriculture a final candidate for member and alternate, along with two additional candidates for consideration by the Secretary for final appointment. Blueberry handlers interested in being considered for the USHBC Handler Member and Alternate positions are encouraged to contact the USHBC office no later than Friday, January 12, 2007 by phone at (916) 983-0111, or by email to mvillata@ushbc.org.

USHBC Seeks Nominees for State Member Positions

November 20, 2006-  Members of the highbush (cultivated) blueberry industry are now seeking nominees to fill U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) state member and alternate positions.  The nomination period will begin on January 8, 2007. Current USHBC state member and alternate terms for the top six production states of Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, North Carolina, Georgia and Washington will expire on December 31, 2007. 

Potential nominees are required to complete a USHBC nomination application and forward their application on to the USHBC office by no later than February 12, 2007.  Nominations are to be received directly from growers in Michigan, North Carolina and Georgia.  Nominations for the final three state positions, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington will be completed by their respective state blueberry councils and commissions.

Nomination applications will be mailed directly to growers in Michigan, North Carolina and Georgia.  Applications are also available on line at the USHBC website www.blueberry.org., or can be requested by contacting the USHBC office by phone at (916) 983-0111 or by fax at (916) 983-9022.  Eligible producer nominees are those who produced 2,000 pounds or more of highbush (cultivated) blueberries in the United States during the period of January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006. 

Once the nomination period is closed, a ballot will be prepared listing all nominees by state.  Ballots will then be mailed to growers in Michigan, North Carolina and Georgia on April 23, 2007.  The voting period will be open for 35 days and close on May 29, 2007. 

Those receiving the most votes for each producer seat will be recommended to the Secretary of Agriculture as council members.  Those who earn the second most votes for each position will be recommended as the alternate.  The names of those who receive the third and fourth most votes will be sent on to the Secretary for consideration as well.  Council members and alternates will serve a term of three years beginning January 1, 2008.  Members and alternates can serve for a maximum of two consecutive terms.

The USHBC has adopted a diversity outreach plan to attempt to achieve a diverse representation on the Council.  USHBC programs are open to all individuals without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, genetic information, parental status and marital or family status. It is USHBC policy that membership on the Council and its committees reflect the diversity of individuals served by its programs.

 To accomplish this objective, the USHBC will strive to attain representation of growers and other industry participants from diverse backgrounds on the Council and USHBC committees.  To this end, the USHBC strongly encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to seek nominations to the USHBC and to participate in Council and USHBC committee activities.

 Producers and importers of highbush blueberries approved the establishment of the USHBC through a referendum conducted by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service in the year 2000.  The USHBC program was formally established in August of 2000. Support of the Council was reconfirmed by a majority of producers and importers in a continuance referendum conducted this past August.  The program is funded by an assessment of $12 per ton on domestic highbush (cultivated) blueberries and $12 per ton on fresh and processed imported cultivated blueberries.  Market promotion activities funded through the USHBC program began in January of 2002. 

USDA Announces Final Rule to Change the Name of the Blueberry Council

 WASHINGTON, Aug. 7, 2006 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced a final rule that changes the title of the U.S.A. Cultivated Blueberry Council to the “U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council.” The purpose of this change is to avoid any confusion in the industry regarding the specific type of blueberry, and the industry segment represented by the Council.

The rule was published in the Aug. 7, 2006, Federal Register. In addition, this rule adds one producer member and alternate to the council to represent the state of Washington, which is the sixth largest highbush blueberry producing state. This will increase the membership on the Council from 13 members and alternates to 14 members and alternates.

The council administers the Blueberry Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order under the supervision of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). The order, which became effective on July 17, 2000, authorizes the council to conduct a coordinated program of promotion, research, and consumer and industry information in order to maintain and expand the market for cultivated blueberries. Assessment obligations under the program began on Jan. 1, 2001.

More information about research and promotion programs can be found at:  http://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/rpb.html.

An electronic version of this document can be obtained via the World Wide Web at:

http://www.ams.usda.gov/news/newsrel.htm

AMS No. 180-06

 Jimmie Turner (202) 720-6179

jimmie.turner@usda.gov

Billy Cox (202) 720-8998

billy.cox@usda.gov

USHBC Continuation Referendum Scheduled for August 2006.

Folsom, Ca.- Blueberry growers and importers will have the opportunity to provide their evaluation of the effectiveness of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) program during the USHBC Continuation Referendum scheduled to take place over a three-week period from August 1 to August 22, 2006.  The Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires a continuation referendum for national research and promotion programs every five years. As the USHBC completed its first five years of operation in 2005, the USHBC continuation referendum is scheduled for this year. 

Referendum ballots will be mailed directly to blueberry growers and importers this July.  The USHBC referendum is planned to take place over a three-week period from August 1 to August 22, 2006.  Outcome will be based on a simple majority of the number of voters voting, and a majority of the volume voted.  Those who do not receive their ballot by July are encouraged to contact the USDA or phone the USHBC office at (916) 983-0111.

Folsom, Ca.- As required by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) must complete a formal program evaluation every five years.  Results of the initial USHBC evaluation show positive results and a strong endorsement of the USHBC program. USHBC program progress was evaluated based on data from 2001 to 2004. 

 The objective of this independent evaluation was to determine the domestic market impacts of USHBC generic promotion programs, and to compute an average benefit-cost ratio (BCR) for the promotion activities conducted by the USHBC.  The research examined whether the domestic promotion activities conducted by the USHBC since 2001 had a positive and statistically significant impact on domestic shipments of blueberries and grower profits.  The impact of all factors affecting domestic blueberry demand (where data was available) was measured statistically.  In this way, the impact of other important factors affecting domestic demand was accounted for over time.

The results indicated that generic blueberry promotion has had a positive and statistically significant impact on per capita blueberry demand. The evaluation also indicated that generic blueberry promotion by the USHBC had a positive impact on the blueberry growers’ price over this period.  The report notes increased per capita consumption of blueberries since the late 1970’s from a low of 5.1 ounces per person in 1978 to a high of 19.1 ounces per person in 2004.  According to the evaluation report, “there is significant evidence that the USHBC promotion programs have been beneficial for the domestic blueberry industry.  The average BCR over all supply responses was 7.86, i.e., the benefits of the promotion activities of the USHBC exceeded the costs by almost eight-fold.”

U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council Seeks Nominees for Regional Member Positions

The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) is seeking nominees to fill Regional Member and Alternate positions.  The nomination period will begin on May 1, 2006. Current USHBC Regional Member and Alternate terms for the Western, Midwest, Northeast and Southern regions will expire on December 31, 2006.  (details)

The US Highbush Blueberry Council held its Fall meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan and the current members posed for a group photo.  

Bottom row:  (L to R) Adair Chambers, Georgia; Kenneth Patterson, Florida;  Ron Bodtke, Michigan; Bob Carini, Michigan

Top Row: (L to R) John Shelford,   Florida; Henson Barnes, North Carolina; Mike Makara, British Columbia, Canada; Francisco Allende, New Jersey, Tim Wetherbee, New Jersey, Mark Hurst, Oregon; Amy Howell (public member), New Jersey; Dave Arena, New Jersey.

2004

Jan     Feb     Mar     Apr     May     Jun     Jul     Aug     Sep     Oct     Nov     Dec

August 5, 2004 -  The USHBC will once again receive Market Access Program (MAP) funds to conduct promotional activities around the world.  A total of $112,595 in US government funds have been allocated to the USHBC for market development activities in Japan, China, Taiwan and Korea.  This will include trade exhibitions, advertising and public relations activities.  The industry also funds web sites in foreigh markets and has a number of proposals into the USDA-Foreign Agricultural Service for further research and market expansion activities abroad.  (USDA award announcement)

August 1, 2004 - USHBC receives funding for market development activities in two new emerging markets: Hungary and India.  Research will be conducted for dried and preserved blueberries in Central Europe as well as for fresh blueberries in India.  (USDA-FAS Emerging Markets Program)

Members of the cultivated blueberry industry in the states of Michigan, North Carolina and Georgia are being asked to select representatives to fill state council member and alternate positions of the Blueberry Promotion, Research and Information Order (U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council).  As you will note, space is also made available on the ballot for write-in candidates.  Eligible voters are those who produced 2,000 pounds or more of cultivated blueberries in the United States during the period of January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003.

Voting begins August 2, 2004 and continues for a 36-day period ending on September 7, 2004. All completed ballots must arrive at the USHBC office by close of business on September 7, 2004.  Please contact the USHBC office at (916) 983-0111 with any questions you may have concerning this election procedure.  Those elected to state council member positions will serve a three-year term starting in 2005 and are allowed to serve a maximum of two consecutive terms.

Please note that USHBC programs are open to all individuals without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status.  It is USHBC policy that membership on the Council and its committees reflect the diversity of individuals served by its programs.  To accomplish this objective, the USHBC will strive to attain representation of growers and other industry participants from diverse backgrounds on the Council and USHBC committees.  To this end, the USHBC strongly encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to seek nominations to the USHBC and to participate in Council and USHBC committee activities.

USHBC Press Release - 6/30/2004  (view)

April 19, 2004-  Members of the Highbush (cultivated) blueberry industry are now seeking nominees to fill U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) state member and alternate positions on the Blueberry Promotion, Research and Information Order.  (details)  46.34KB (47453 bytes) pdf

To date, the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) has been posting all product inquiries on the USHBC website (http://www.ushbc.org/) for follow-up by industry members.  Inquiries will continue to be posted on the web, however in order to answer specific requests for a list of highbush blueberry suppliers a USHBC Blueberry Supplier Guide is being developed.  The guide will be placed in a downloadable format on the USHBC website and also be distributed directly to potential blueberry users as requested.

Handlers and Grower/Handlers who produce and/or pay a yearly USHBC assessment on 100,000 pounds or more of highbush blueberries each year are eligible to be listed in the supplier guide.  Those who meet this requirement, and are interested in a listing, must complete the attached USHBC Supplier Guide Worksheet and send a completed and signed copy of the worksheet back to the USHBC office.  Completed worksheets are due by December 15, 2003 for listing in the initial guide for 2004.

Data from the worksheet will be added to the USHBC Blueberry Supplier Guide and posted on the USHBC we

bsite. 

Suppliers are listed in alphabetical order by state.

Once listed in the guide, a supplier will remain listed each year for as long as they continue to pay their USHBC assessment, or until they specifically request to be removed from the guide. Listings of those handlers or grower/handlers who do not pay a USHBC assessment on the prior year crop will be removed from the supplier guide.

Contact information and the types of products offered and noted in the listing are the responsibility of the supplier. It will be the responsibility of the supplier to contact the USHBC should there be any necessary changes or updates to their listing. 

Please contact the USHBC office at (916) 983-0111 if you have any questions concerning the USHBC Supplier Guide or listing requirements.

Important Administrative Information Published by USDA.  Blueberry Promotion, Research, and Information Order; Amendment No. 2 To Change the Name of the U.S.A. Cultivated Blueberry Council and Increase Membership. Docket Number: FV-03-701 PR. Comments due by May 12, 2003 [Text] [PDF.  

Secretary of Agriculture Declares July Blueberry Month!  (proclamation

USHBC Solicits Research Proposals.  The Council has published a Request For Proposals Document that outlines research needs in health research, food safety, new product development and product improvement and horticultural research.  Visit the USHBC Research Page for more details.