June 2010 NHC NEWS A Monthly Bulletin of the Northwest Horticultural Council ANNUAL MEETING The annual meeting of the Northwest Horticultural Council was held on May 20 at the W. L. Hansen Building in Yakima.  A new fiscal year (July 1-June 30) budget of $1,062,145 was adopted, an amount 2% over the current year’s budget.  The only new expenditure item was $5,000 set aside to pay anticipated dues to the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance.  New officers elected were Mark Zirkle, chairman, and David Smeltzer, vice chairman.  Dar Symms, the immediate past chairman, joins these two as members of the NHC’s Executive Committee. In other Council business, trustees voted to change the funding formula contained in the NHC by-laws in a way to achieve greater equity between the industry promotional commissions that help fund our work.  The net effect will be to modestly raise the level of annual dues imposed on the Washington State Fruit Commission. Making up the full roster of the nine trustees serving on the Northwest Horticultural Council’s governing board are Brian Alegria (CPC International Apple Company, Tieton, Washington); Fred Duckwall (Duckwall-Pooley Fruit Company, Odell, Oregon); Bob Price (Price Cold Storage & Packing Company, Inc., Gleed, Washington); Eric Shrum (Orchard View Farms, The Dalles, Oregon); David Smeltzer (Custom Apple Packers, Inc., Wenatchee, Washington); Dar Symms (Symms Fruit Ranch, Caldwell, Idaho); Richard Thomason (Maverick Orchards, Inc., Brewster, Washington); Mike Wade (Columbia Fruit, Wenatchee, Washington);  and Mark Zirkle (Rainier Fruit Company, Selah) ♦ FARM BILL Since 1933 a blue print for federal policy related to agriculture has been developed by Congress every three to six years in the form of legislation known as the Farm Bill.  The current Farm Bill was passed in 2008 as the Food, Conservation and Energy Act. In the past Farm Bills mainly focused on the needs of major commodity crops like rice, corn, sugar, and wheat.  In 2008 Congress made its first significant policy provisions related to specialty crops, mainly fruits and vegetables.  This was done at the behest of a new player in the Washington, D.C. Farm Bill game, the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance.  New policies and additional funding were secured for agricultural research, nutrition, export promotion, and other such areas of special interest to the specialty crop growers. Congress has now initiated its early planning process for the next Farm Bill, likely to be enacted in 2012 or 2013.  The leadership of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance has decided to stay in business in order to contribute to the debate over the policies to be embraced by the next Farm Bill.  The Northwest Horticultural Council will play an active role in this renewed effort, as will fellow organizations as the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, Western Growers, United Fresh Produce Association, California Grape and Tree Fruit League, California Citrus Mutual, and many others. ♦ Travel   Christian Schlect June 1 – 2010 Washington Apple Education Foundation Golf Tournament, Orondo, Washington. June 2-3 – Annual meetings of the Pear Bureau Northwest, Portland, Oregon. June 10 – Continuing Legal Education Seminar: Modern Corporate and Business Transactions, Seattle, Washington. June 21-25 –Center for Produce Safety’s Advisory Board meeting and Produce Research Symposium, Davis, California.   Mike Willett June 2-3 – Annual meetings of the Pear Bureau Northwest, Portland, Oregon. Deborah Carter June 7-8 - Center for Produce Safety’s Technical Committee meeting, Davis, California. He discovered a sort of strolling meditation technique: When I walk alone in the beautiful orchard, if my thoughts have been dwelling on extraneous incidents for some part of the time, for some other part I bring them back to the walk, to the orchard, to the sweetness of this solitude, and to me. How to Live:  A Life of Montaigne Sarah Bakewell Northwest Horticultural Council 105 South 18th Street, Suite 105 Yakima, Washington 98901, USA Voice: (509) 453-3193, Fax: (509) 457-7615 E-mail general@nwhort.org