In Memoriam
It is with deep sadness that we report the passing of longtime gin manager Frank Cooley.  He was 75.  As manager with Growers’ Cotton Gins in Brawley, California, Cooley was one of the original founding board members of the California Cotton Ginners Association, and served on the board from its incorporation in 1973 until 1975, and then again from 1983 until 1990.  He worked as manager of Growers’ Cotton Gins for 40 years and Green Valley Farms for 10 years. He retired several years ago.  Frank served on many board of directors, including BUHS School Board for 12 years, IVROP, Del Rio Country Club and PIC Council.  He loved fishing, golfing and spending time with his wife and family.  Visitation will be held Wednesday, May 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Frye Chapel and Mortuary in Brawley.  Rosary will be said at 7 p.m.  Funeral Mass will commence at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 8 at Sacred Heart Church in Brawley with Father Bernardo Ranoa officiating.  Burial will immediately follow at Riverview Cemetery.   In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to a favorite charity.

Agricultural Labor and Employment Summit
The Ag labor and employment summit will be held at the Harris Ranch on Wednesday June 11th. The cost to attend is as follows: AgSafe Member Rate -- $45 with a Late or Walk-in Rate of $55 / Non-member Rate -- $55 with a Late or Walk-in Rate of $65
Breakfast Buffet starts at 7:30am until 8am when the program will start. End time is Noon. 
Please see the attached flyer for all the details. Ag Labor & Employment Summit

Environmentalists Attack Agriculture at PM2.5 Hearing
Once again, the environmentalists took full aim at the agricultural community calling for mandatory electrification of all diesel-fired agricultural irrigation pumps, operational controls (no farm days), new controls on dairies, and early implementation of the ARB’s proposed truck rule and farm equipment rule.  These comments were made during the recent hearing by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District to discuss their PM2.5 state implementation plan (SIP).  Over 70 activists testified in opposition to the District’s proposed plan.  The Nisei Farmers League joined the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations as the only agricultural groups to stand up and defend agriculture and urge the District to not adopt these draconian measures.  Already included in the plan were proposals to consider additional conservation management practices, additional controls on cotton gins and fugitive dust sources, as well as a tightening of all of the District’s current rules on combustion sources, such as boilers, heaters and steam generators.  Changes to the plan were narrowly avoided when the board voted 8 to 3 to approve the plan as is, without the environmentalist recommendations.  A minimum of 8 votes is required to pass any action by the District’s Governing Board.  This was complicated by the actions of new Board Member Dr. John Telles, who voted against the plan saying it didn’t have enough control measures and the plan “could fail” to achieve attainment by the prescribed date of 2015.  Dr. Telles, who was raised on a Westside farm, even questioned the District on why mandatory electrification of ag pumps wouldn’t work. 

National Mall Event to Make Cotton "A Natural Part of Everyday Life"
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) – Continuing their effort to relate cotton’s natural attributes to consumers in order to increase demand for cotton, Cotton Incorporated has launched a consumer-directed marketing campaign to maximize exposure of their recently introduced “Natural” Seal of Cotton trademark. “With the average consumer visiting a mall 2.9 times a month, malls are an excellent venue for this campaign,” states J. Berrye Worhsam, president & CEO, Cotton Incorporated.
One of the central objectives of the branded campaign is to break through the clutter in sustainability marketing that seems to be confusing consumers. “Delivering a clear, relevant message using the tagline ‘A Natural Part of Everyday Life,’ we think will help consumers remember cotton’s many attributes and in general, encourage them to choose cotton and cotton products when shopping ,” adds Worsham.
A total of 85 malls (at least one in each of the 50 states) will host the campaign in a rolling format from April through December. The campaign itself will be brought to life through large-scale mediums like sky banners, elevator door art and floor graphics. “We are also partnering with retailers who are providing sales incentives and sweepstakes messaging that will drive consumers to TheFabricofOurLives.com to submit an entry in a drawing for an iPod,” concludes Worsham.
To gauge the success of the campaign, Cotton Incorporated will evaluate attendance, gift-with-purchase sales results and impression numbers as well as monitor website visits in qualitative research.
About the Cotton Board:
The Cotton Board administers and oversees the Cotton Research & Promotion Program conducted by Cotton Incorporated and funded by America’s cotton producers and importers. The Program works to increase the demand for and improve the market position of cotton. For more information about the Cotton Board, visit www.cottonboard.org . You can also see the quick Fact Sheet regarding this program.

Appeals Court Orders Release of FSA Farm Data
WASHINGTON, DC – April 28, 2008 – As required by a February 15, 2008, decision of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) today is releasing sets of complex and statistically detailed databases from FSA files about farming operations throughout the United States.  The release is in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by a commercial vendor and includes FSA data for all operations owned and operated by individual agricultural producers and closely held family-owned business entities.
These files can be used to reveal details of farming operations at a specific geographical location.
The plaintiff had appealed FSA’s denial of its July 2005 FOIA request for the farmers’ data.  FSA denied the request based on FOIA statute exempting the release of information that “would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”  The U.S. district court initially upheld FSA’s denial of the request in August 2006, but in a 2 to 1 decision the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed the lower court, finding that the farming operation data requested was not exempt from disclosure under FOIA.  Upon return of the case to the district court, the parties agreed to release the information on April 28, 2008, in compliance with the appellate court’s decision.
Records of compliance information to be released include all information in a producer’s Farm Compliance Record such as: planting date; reported acreage; official acreage measurements; insurance coverage; type of crop; whether or not the crop is irrigated; intended use of the crop;
crop status, including double crop program acreage, experimental, repeat crop acreage, prevented planting or failed crop.
Farm Field Common Land Unit information to be released includes digitized farm field boundaries, classified as farm and/or field boundaries, farm numbers, field numbers, tract numbers, acres, at specific geographic locations using spatial attributes and coordinates.

Air District to Change Permit Requirements
As required by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District’s request to be reclassified as “extreme” non-attainment for ozone, the District held a workshop this week to unveil necessary changes to their New Source Review (NSR) Rule.  The NSR rule determines when a source needs a permit and when and how much offsets are required for a new or modified source.  This includes stationary ag irrigation pump engines.  Also included in this process are proposed changes to the District’s Title V permitting rule.  The changes proposed include lowering the Title V threshold for all sources to 10 tons per year of NOx, and lowering the local permitting threshold for ag irrigation pump engines to 5 tons per year of NOx.  The local permitting for all sources except agriculture is two (2) pounds per day of NOx.  This rule is scheduled for adoption in September and could become effective immediately.  If so, then those sources now triggering local permits would be require applications to be submitted within 6 months of the effective date, probably some time in March of 2009.  For Title V permit applications they would have to be submitted within 12 months of the effective date, probably some time in September of 2009.  Stay tuned for additional information on these proposed changes and for future guidance on how best to comply with these new requirements. 

Proposed Changes to Permitting Thresholds
Sources	Current		Proposed		Estimated Application Due Date
	Local Permit Threshold	Title V Permit Threshold	Local Permit Threshold	Title V Permit Threshold
All sources, exc. Ag	2 lbs/day	25 tons/yr	2 lbs/day	10 tons/yr	March 18, 2009
Ag sources	12.5 tons/yr	25 tons/yr	5 tons/yr	10 tons/yr	Sept. 18, 2009

 

 

 

 

Irrigation of Field and Row Crops
The University of California Cooperative Extension will be holding a irrigation seminar on Thursday, April 24th at the West Side Research and Extension Center.  The session will begin at 8:00 am and will cover a full range of topics on Irrigation efficiency, drip irrigation, and groundwater management.  Please see attached flyer for full schedule.

DHS ISSUES SUPPLEMENT TO NO-MATCH RULE
By Michael C. Saqui and Anthony P. Raimondo

            In August of 2007, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a regulation that for the first time used an employer’s receipt of notice from the Social Security Administration (SSA) of an employee’s mismatched Social Security Number to show that the employer had knowledge that an employee lacked legal authorization to work in the United States.  Essentially, the regulation informed employers that they must terminate an employee who does not correct a mismatch within 90 days, or they could be found to have knowledge of that worker’s lack of legal authorization.  By following the step by step procedure laid out in the regulation, the employer could find “safe harbor” from immigration violations.  A number of groups representing both workers and employers sued to block the regulation, and a federal court blocked implementation of the regulation while the lawsuit was pending.  DHS appealed the decision blocking implementation while the lawsuit was pending, and in the meantime, promised to issue a revised regulation that would address the court’s concerns and allow the regulation to take effect.  The court stayed the case until March 28, 2008 in order for the DHS to rewrite the regulation. 
            Late on Friday, March 21, 2008, DHS released a new document regarding the so-called “safe harbor” regulation.  The document does not rewrite the rule, rather, it addresses some of the concerns raised by the court.  DHS explained that it was not conceding to the court, and that it did not agree with the court’s position, but felt that it had to address some of the issues raised in the order blocking the regulation.  DHS explained that worksite enforcement is a critical component of immigration enforcement, and that the agency’s believes that mismatched Social Security numbers are a possible indicator of illegal employment.   According to DHS, there is a clear connection between mismatched Social Security numbers and a lack of work authorization.  DHS explained that despite employers’ awareness that a mismatch notice may indicate lack of legal status, mismatch letters do not deter employers from hiring undocumented immigrants.  DHS also observed that while some employers retained employees who were included in mismatch notifications because of a lack of concern about immigration violations, others retained them because they were unclear regarding their legal obligations with respect to mismatch notifications.
            DHS explained that the “safe harbor” regulation was designed to address these issues by providing clear steps for employers to follow after receiving no match letters.  Those who were unsure of what to do would now have a direction to follow, and those who chose to ignore the regulation would do so at their peril.  DHS went on to address the court’s specific concerns.
            First, the court felt that DHS had failed to provide a reasoned analysis to support a change in enforcement position.  Historically, the law recognized that there are a number of issues unrelated to immigration status that could trigger a Social Security mismatch, and no-match letters had never been used as a basis for immigration violations.   DHS now explains that it does not feel that it has changed position, as it has always taken the position that employers cannot ignore mismatch letters, and must take reasonable steps to correct mismatches.  According to DHS, even if it has changed position, such a change is justified.  
            DHS emphasized the need for clarification of the steps that employers must take when they receive a no match letter.   According to DHS, there was a great deal of ambiguity in this area because the law had essentially been established by the issuance of guidance letters from the federal government in response to employer inquiries.  DHS felt that there needed to be a clear and authoritative rule establishing an employer’s obligations with respect to no match letters.   DHS explained that many law abiding employers felt stuck between their obligations under immigration laws and the risk of discrimination charges, and chose to retain workers with unresolved mismatches as a result.    In short, the agency wanted to provide clear guidance to employers regarding the significance of the no match letters for immigration purposes and employer obligations once such a letter is received.  According to DHS, the rule embraces the common understanding that a mismatch letter likely has a connection to an employee’s legal status.
            Second, the court felt that DHS exceeded its authority by interpreting the anti-discrimination provisions of immigration laws to conclude that the greater scrutiny in the regulations for employees with mismatches would not expose an employer to discrimination charges.  DHS explained that it does recognize the authority of the Department of Justice to interpret and enforce the anti-discrimination rules, but pointed out that the safe harbor regulation was reviewed by a number of agencies.  DHS also explained that it does not feel that an expression of opinion regarding laws outside of its jurisdiction is equivalent to overstepping its regulatory authority.  Ultimately, DHS withdrew all statements to the effect that employers following the safe harbor rules would not face liability for discrimination.
            Third, the court felt that DHS did not follow proper regulatory procedures in drafting the regulation.  Specifically, certain regulations require an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis to ensure that the agency has considered all regulatory alternatives that will minimize the economic impact of the regulation on smaller entities. Without conceding that the additional regulatory analysis expected by the court was required, DHS agreed to publish the analysis in order to satisfy the court’s concerns, and provided an explanation of the impact of the rule on small entities, and the alternatives that were considered to minimize that impact.  Ultimately, DHS concluded that the rule was necessary for immigration enforcement, and that any economic impact on small entities could not be avoided.
            Finally, DHS provided some clarification of the safe harbor procedures.  The first step in the procedure is for the employer to check for clerical errors.  DHS explained that the employer should notify the employee within five days of completing its records check, but emphasized that the employer does not need to wait until it has finished checking for internal errors to notify the employee.  Also, DHS explained that the safe harbor procedures do not apply to workers who were protected by the grandfather clause of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). Accordingly, workers who have been continuously employed since before IRCA may not be subject to the safe harbor procedure.  Employers should consult with legal counsel regarding such workers.

COUNSEL TO MANAGEMENT:

            While many observers expected a rewrite of the regulation, DHS has instead left the regulation intact as written.  Instead, DHS has amended its explanation of the regulation to address the concerns raised by the court.  The stay of the lawsuit will expire on March 28, 2008, and employers should monitor progress closely to ensure that they are prepared to implement appropriate protocols if the regulation takes effect.  Protocols are available at www.srlaborlaw.com.

The goal of this article is to provide employers with current labor and employment law information. The contents should not be interpreted or construed as legal advice or opinion. For individual responses to questions or concerns regarding any given situation, the reader should consult with Saqui & Raimondo at (831) 443-7100 in Salinas, or (916) 782-8555 in Sacramento.

EPA Announces New Ozone Air Quality Standard
In keeping with tradition, EPA has announced yet another tightening of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Ozone.  The new primary 8-hour standard is 0.075 parts per million (ppm), which replaces the current 8-hour standards, set at 0.08 ppm. Because ozone is measured out to three decimal places, the standard effectively became 0.084 ppm: areas with ozone levels as high as 0.084 ppm were considered as meeting the 0.08 ppm standard, because of rounding.  This new standard will increase the number of counties that are classified as “non-attainment for ozone” from 85 under the current standard to 345 under the new standard, based on monitoring data from 2004 – 2006.  The United States has made significant progress reducing ground-level ozone across the country. Since 1980, ozone levels have dropped 21 percent.  While this new standard is not the lowest that EPA was considering, it will be difficult for counties in California to achieve, and brings a lot of areas in the U.S. to the air quality arena that have never heard of smog.  This includes states like Oklahoma, Maine, New Hampshire, Utah and South Carolina, to name a few.  For detailed maps showing the non-attainment areas, click on the following links:

Counties violating the current 8-hour ozone standard of 0.08 ppm

Counties violating the new 8-hour ozone standard of 0.075 ppm

Sheely Named Chairman
At the 2007 December Board of Directors meeting, California cotton producer Ted Sheely was selected as the new Chairman of Cotton Incorporated.  Owner of Ted Sheely Farms in Lemoore, California, Sheely is no stranger to cotton or farming innovation.  His farm has been proving ground for countless technologies including spatial imaging and precision agriculture.  He is a past National Cotton Council Director, past President of the Kings County Farm Bureau and participated in the California Ag Leadership Program from 1980-1982, and is currently an Advisor to the California Cotton Growers Association Board of Directors.  Sheely will serve a two-year term as Chairman.  “I am honored to be Chairman of Cotton Incorporated and look forward to working with our board and Cotton Incorporated staff to maintain cotton’s market position across the globe and shape the development of research innovations that improve the profitability of cotton production,” states Sheely.  On his farms, Sheely currently grows upland and pima cotton, tomatoes, wheat, pistachios, garlic, grapes, safflower, barley and triticale.  One of Sheely’s first public appearances was at this year’s Beltwide Cotton Conferences giving a presentation during a Cotton Board press conference detailing the sustainability aspects of his California farming operation.

Improving Your Bottom Line Through Risk Management
Long-term cotton market forecasts are indicating stronger prices.  While that optimism is needed and welcomed by many cotton producers across the country, there are additional ways to improve your bottom line from each season's cotton harvest, even when prices may not be so bullish.  How?  By attending, learning and applying information that will be presented in a series of Cotton Incorporated-sponsored seminars related to "Cotton Price Risk Management and Pricing Strategies".  Dr. Jeanne Reeves, Cotton Incorporated's Ag division's staff economist, is coordinating the seminar that will be held at Harris Ranch on March 26th.  She has secured some of the cotton industries most respected agricultural economists and cotton analysts to be instructors and speakers including Dr. Carl Anderson, Dr. O.A. Cleveland, Dr. John Robinson, Mr. Jarral Neeper, CALCOT and Ms. Kelli Merritt from CropMark, Inc.  Learn from these seasoned cotton marketing professionals and benefit from their years of experience to improve your own price risk management and pricing strategies.  Although risk management and pricing strategies can be difficult subject matter, these seminars will offer both basic and intermediate workshops on using options on futures to manage price risk.  Contact Kay Wriedt at 919-678-2271 to register.

National Ginners Schools – Time to Register
The dates and locations for this year’s National Ginners Schools have now been announced, and on-line registration is now available.  The dates and locations are as follows: Southwest Ginners School from March 31-April 2, 2008; Western Ginners School from May 13-15, 2008; and the Stoneville Ginners School from June 17-19, 2008.  Registration forms are being sent to each gin, or you can register on-line at http://ncga.cotton.org.  All three levels of training will be provided at each location, as well as Continuing Education (CE) courses.  This year’s CE courses will include PLC Controllers and Electrical Components at the Bale Press, Harvesting Equipment and Ginning of Modules Produced by on-board Moduling Systems, Safety Training, and Regulatory Issues.  There will be a special class at the Western Ginners School (Mesilla Park, NM) for High Speed Roller Ginning.  For more information, please contact Harrison Ashley at the National Cotton Ginners Association. Course outline and registration information.

New I-9 Form Released
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued an updated and re-branded I-9 form.  The new form is dated (rev. 06/05/07)N.  The updated version can be downloaded at www.uscis.gov/i-9/.  Please note the following changes from the previous version:
- Five documents have been removed from List A of the List of Acceptable Documents:
- Certificate of U.S. Citizenship
- Certificate of Naturalization
- Alien Registration Receipt Card
- Unexpired Reentry Permit
- Unexpired Refugee Travel Document Form
- One document was added to List A of the List of Acceptable Documents:
- Unexpired Employment Authorization Document
- Instructions regarding Section 1 of the Form I-9 now indicate that the employee is not obliged to provide his or her Social Security number in Section 1 of the Form I-9, unless he or she is employed by an employer who participates in E-Verify.
- Employers may now sign and retain Forms I-9 electronically.
- A Spanish version of Form I-9 is also available at www.uscis.gov/i-9/ for the employers and employees reference, but cannot be used to meet employment eligibility verification.  The English version is the only acceptable document.
All U.S. employers are responsible for completion and retention of Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States.  Form I-9 must be kept by the employer either for three years after the date of hire or for one year after employment is terminated, whichever is later.  The form must be available for inspection by authorized U.S. Government officials (e.g., ICE, Department of Labor).

Fusarium Race 4 Brochure Published
The California Cotton Ginners and Growers in collaboration with Bob Hutmacher, State Cotton Specialist, UC Davis researchers, farm advisors, USDA/ARS researchers, seed companies and many others throughout the cotton industry have published a brochure entitled “Race 4 FOV in California Cotton”.  It’s meant to be an educational piece to better inform the cotton growers, cotton ginners and all other interested industry affiliates about this problem as to:  its basic biology, containment practices to limit spread, scouting fields and descriptions to help identify potentially infected plants, and managing this disease once presence is confirmed in a field or on a farm.  This will be a continuing work in progress as more research is conducted and more answers gained regarding this disease, but what we have included in this first publication is what we believe is known and best understood about this problem at the time of its printing.  As new developments or information are gathered, we will update this informational brochure periodically.  Copies will be made available at all upcoming Ca cotton industry meetings.  For additional copies please contact the Associations offices at (559) 252-0684.