Pistachio commission voted down
Pistachio commission voted down
The California Department of Food & Agriculture announced the results of the continuation referendum for the California Pistachio Commission and confirmed that California pistachio producers did not achieve the required threshold vote to continue the commission.
"The CPC has served the industry extremely well for the past 26 years, and I know that many of my fellow growers share my profound disappointment that we could not resolve our differences that have ultimately resulted in this vote that terminates the CPC," commission Chairman Kevin Herman said in a statement. "I have always been a strong believer in the democratic system, and therefore we must accept the fact that the voice of the growers has been heard."
A constitutional challenge was filed against the commission in October 2005, and since that time it has been embroiled in litigation while attempting to negotiate a settlement resolution with the plaintiffs in the case.
CDFA oversees the CPC and had conducted a public hearing in December to allow the members of the industry to express their opinions regarding potential structural and governance changes for the CPC that were enacted by the state Legislature in 1981.
Referendum ballots were mailed to all assessed growers on Jan. 25 and included options to restructure the CPC for the purpose of resolving the current litigation. The referendum results revealed that 61 percent of the producers voted in the referendum. Of those voting, 66 percent of the producers representing 41 percent of the volume voted to continue the CPC. However, this was short of the requirement that at least 65 percent of the producers representing a majority of the volume vote in favor.
"This has been a very difficult time for the industry, and it is my sincere hope that the growers can move beyond their disappointment and start working together for the good of the industry," Karen Reinecke, president of the commission, said in the statement.
California produced its first commercial crop of pistachios in 1976. The state is the largest producer of pistachios in the United States and the second largest in the world.
A total of 734 growers farm 112,000 bearing acres, with 40,000 non-bearing acres. The 2006 harvest produced 237 million pounds; the record to date was 347 million pounds in 2004.
"The CPC has served the industry extremely well for the past 26 years, and I know that many of my fellow growers share my profound disappointment that we could not resolve our differences that have ultimately resulted in this vote that terminates the CPC," commission Chairman Kevin Herman said in a statement. "I have always been a strong believer in the democratic system, and therefore we must accept the fact that the voice of the growers has been heard."
A constitutional challenge was filed against the commission in October 2005, and since that time it has been embroiled in litigation while attempting to negotiate a settlement resolution with the plaintiffs in the case.
CDFA oversees the CPC and had conducted a public hearing in December to allow the members of the industry to express their opinions regarding potential structural and governance changes for the CPC that were enacted by the state Legislature in 1981.
Referendum ballots were mailed to all assessed growers on Jan. 25 and included options to restructure the CPC for the purpose of resolving the current litigation. The referendum results revealed that 61 percent of the producers voted in the referendum. Of those voting, 66 percent of the producers representing 41 percent of the volume voted to continue the CPC. However, this was short of the requirement that at least 65 percent of the producers representing a majority of the volume vote in favor.
"This has been a very difficult time for the industry, and it is my sincere hope that the growers can move beyond their disappointment and start working together for the good of the industry," Karen Reinecke, president of the commission, said in the statement.
California produced its first commercial crop of pistachios in 1976. The state is the largest producer of pistachios in the United States and the second largest in the world.
A total of 734 growers farm 112,000 bearing acres, with 40,000 non-bearing acres. The 2006 harvest produced 237 million pounds; the record to date was 347 million pounds in 2004.
