PNW Pear Referendum Set

WASHINGTON - Mar 8/05 - SNS -- The USDA will hold a referendum on proposed amendments to marketing order 927, which regulates the handling of winter pears grown in Oregon and Washington State.

The referendum will be held from March 22 through April 8 to determine industry support for the amendments. Ballot material will be mailed to all known pear growers in Oregon and Washington State. To be eligible to vote, a grower must have produced pears within the production area during the representative period of July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004.

The proposed amendments are based on the hearing record and evidence presented at a USDA public hearing held on April 13 and 14, 2004, in Yakima, Wash., and on April 16, 2004, in Portland, Ore. The proposed amendments were jointly submitted by the Winter Pear Control Committee (marketing order 927) and the Northwest Fresh Bartlett Marketing Committee (marketing order 931), which are responsible for local administration of their marketing orders. The Northwest Fresh Bartlett Marketing Committee regulates the handling of fresh Bartlett pears grown in Oregon and Washington State.

The amendments would combine the two fresh pear marketing orders under a single program –- marketing order 927 -– and extend coverage to pears for processing. The marketing order’s authority to establish minimum quality and size requirements for fresh pears would continue, while processing pears would be subject only to assessments for research and promotion.

The amended program would be administered by two committees: the Fresh Pear Committee and the Processing Pear Committee. Other sections of the order also would be revised to reflect the proposed dual committee structure.

The referendum will be conducted according to federal eligibility rules. Federal rules will accompany ballots mailed out to growers. Under these rules, any pear grower wishing to vote may request a ballot by mail from: USDA Northwest Marketing Field Office, AMS Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 1220 S.W. Third Avenue, Suite 385, Portland, OR 97204; or by telephone at (503) 326-2724.

The proposed amendments would become effective only if approved either by two-thirds of the growers voting in the referendum, or by those representing at least two-thirds of the pears grown by those voting in the referendum. Authority for the order rests in the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937.