The California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA) is pleased to announce the hiring of Clayton Smith, as its new Director of Government Relations. He comes to the Association after serving as a Legislative Assistant in the United States House of Representatives.
CFFA Board Chairwoman Melissa Frank of the Wonderful Company stated, “On behalf of CFFA’s leadership, we are thrilled to welcome Clayton to the Association. His experience working in Washington, DC, along with his background and education will be of great value to our membership.”
Association President Daniel Hartwig added, “I am delighted to welcome Clayton to the CFFA team. He brings extensive professional experience working on issues such as water, labor and trade and I am confident he will be a strong voice for our membership in Sacramento and Washington, DC. I am confident that Clayton will work collaboratively in conjunction with our current staff to continue to serve the needs of the California fresh fruit industry.“
Clayton is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Business. He served as an intern for CFFA the summer following his college graduation. Clayton’s first day at the Association was Monday, July 7.
California FFA is proud to announce the 2025 winners of the prestigious State Star Awards. Winners were announced at the closing session of the 97th State FFA Leadership Conference on April 6 in Sacramento.
The State Star Awards are designed to recognize exceptional FFA members who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in their supervised agricultural experiences (SAEs). SAEs, which have been a part of agricultural education since 1917, offer students an individualized application of the career and life skills taught in agricultural education courses beyond scheduled class time.
After an extensive application process, finalists demonstrating outstanding management abilities in production, agribusiness, agricultural placement, and agriscience were selected in each of the six regions. These FFA members represent the best of the best, exhibiting excellence in all aspects of their agricultural endeavors, demonstrating strong leadership skills, and participating in their local FFA chapter. California FFA is proud to announce this year’s winners:
Star Farmer: The Star Farmer Award recognizes an FFA member who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in an entrepreneurial production agriculture SAE. This award celebrates those who have exhibited excellence in agricultural production, finance, and management while maintaining active involvement in FFA. This year’s Star Farmer is Peyton Wood from Yreka FFA. Wood owns and operates a registered cow/calf operation as well as numerous market projects in beef, sheep, and poultry in Siskiyou County. Wood has developed production techniques to maximize livestock quality and efficiency through breeding, nutrition, pasture management, maintenance of breed association records, and marketing her registered breeding animals and finished market projects.
Star Agribusiness, Adrian Sanchez, Madera FFA
Star in Agribusiness: The Star in Agribusiness Award honors a student for exceptional achievement in an entrepreneurial agribusiness SAE. This award is presented to individuals who focus on agricultural sales, services, or other entrepreneurial endeavors. Whether through sales, service, or innovation, the recipient must demonstrate outstanding business acumen and leadership. The 2025 Star in Agribusiness Award goes to Adrian Sanchez from Madera FFA, who has excelled in his fabrication business, where he designs and builds custom orders for customers all over the state. Through his SAE, Sanchez has successfully developed and managed all aspects of his business, including working with customers, financial record-keeping, ordering supplies, and designing and building projects.
Star Placement, Alden Hansard, Atwater
Star in Agricultural Placement: The Star in Agricultural Placement Award celebrates a student who has excelled in an employment-based SAE, including work-based learning opportunities. The awardee should gain real-world experience throughout his or her SAE, all while contributing to the greater agricultural workforce. The 2025 recipient of the Star in Agricultural Placement Award is Alden Hansard from Atwater FFA. Hansard started working at Cal Farm in 2020 as a part-time mechanic and salesman, where he was responsible for inspecting equipment and ordering parts. In 2022, he joined Diamond J Custom Farming as a repair mechanic, servicing and restoring farm equipment. Through his employment, Hansard has gained invaluable skills and work ethic through his daily duties of maintaining tractors and trucks, troubleshooting issues, and ordering parts.
Star Agriscience, Salyn Meas, El Capitan FFA
Star in Agriscience Award: The Star in Agriscience Award recognizes an FFA member whose SAE is focused on advancing agricultural science, research, and innovation. This award is designed for students who apply their curiosity to solve problems and answer questions within the agricultural industry. The 2025 Star in Agriscience Award goes to Salyn Meas from Lakeside-El Capitan FFA. Throughout her FFA career, Meas has successfully completed four agriscience projects, each contributing to groundbreaking research. Through each experiment, she has demonstrated a passion for scientific exploration in agriculture, furthering the impact of innovation and student research.
About California FFA: California FFA serves more than 105,000 students and strives to make a difference in their lives by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education. To learn more about the California FFA, visit calaged.org.
Today, Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-22) introduced two bipartisan bills to improve the domestic specialty crop industry – the Specialty Crop Domestic Market Promotion Program Act and the Specialty Crop Mechanization Assistance Act. Specialty crops are a cornerstone of California agriculture – the state produces the most specialty crops in the country both in quantity and diversity, with over 400 different commodities produced in the state per year.
“Our specialty crop producers in California have faced many challenges over the last few years. From supply chain backlogs at our ports, rising input costs, labor shortages, and drought – farmers have continued growing our nation’s food despite these obstacles,” said Congressman Valadao. “Specialty crop producers face unique challenges, and we need to ensure they are better equipped to handle them. These bills make technology and resources available to our specialty crop producers so they can access new markets and remain competitive.”
“American farmers produce some of the best quality and nutritious food in the world. Our fresh fruit and vegetable industries are critical to our food security and rural economies,” said Congressman LaMalfa. “I’m pleased to join my colleagues in cosponsoring these important pieces of legislation for our specialty crop producers and California agriculture.”
“California produces over half of the nation’s fresh produce. But supply chain disruptions, COVID-19, and the drought have made it more difficult for specialty crop producers to put food on America’s dinner table,” said Congressman Costa. “I’m proud to support these pieces of legislation to equip producers with the tools they need to access new markets and safeguard our food supply chain.”
“CFFA is proud to have worked with the California Table Grape Commission to co-lead this effort to expand the promotion of the U.S. specialty crop industry domestically. Many healthy specialty crops are grown in the U.S. and should be enjoyed by all Americans. The Specialty Crop Domestic Market Promotion and Development Program Act of 2023 will enhance the opportunity of American growers, including CFFA members, to better market their produce to U.S. consumers. CFFA thanks Congressman Valadao and Congressman Costa for their bipartisan partnership to support American farmers and consumers,” said President of the California Fresh Fruit Association Ian Lemay.
California Fresh Fruit Association President Ian LeMay (Photo by Matthew Malcolm)
“CFFA is proud to have worked with the California Table Grape Commission to co-lead this collaborative effort to help equip farmers with the tools and technologies they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world. I would like to thank Congressman Valadao and Congressman Costa for their partnership to support the needs of American agriculture. This bill will not only support farmers, but also their employees, to ensure that America continues to a global leader in agricultural production,” said President of the California Fresh Fruit Association Ian Lemay.
The Specialty Crop Domestic Market Promotion Program Act would create a program that helps specialty crop producers market their products to access American markets. It replicates the popular Market Access Program (MAP) through USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) specifically for specialty crop producers to break into niche domestic markets. Rep. Valadao was joined in introduction of the bill by Reps. Darren Soto (FL-09), Jim Costa (CA-21), and Doug LaMalfa (CA-01).
The Specialty Crop Mechanization Assistance Act makes it easier for specialty crop producers to remain competitive in the face of labor shortages by making expensive automation technology more accessible to producers. This bill aims to create a reimbursement-based cost-share program which would permit growers and processors to invest more in these time and money-saving technologies. Rep. Valadao was joined in introduction of the bill by Reps. Jim Costa (CA-21), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), and Dough LaMalfa (CA-01).
The California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA) has announced a strategic partnership with George Nikolich Consulting, Inc. The agreement will focus on providing food safety services to Association members and their operations. George Nikolich has been a longtime partner of CFFA and has served the fresh fruit industry for over three decades. As determined by the CFFA Executive Committee in 2019, a focus in food safety has been a top priority area for the Association to take part in and this strategic partnership will provide an opportunity to engage with industry members in a way that has not been done before.
CFFA President Ian LeMay stated “The Association is excited to partner with George and bring a service to our membership that is of great need. Our shippers and growers work tirelessly throughout the year to produce the freshest and healthiest fruits they can. Having George as a resource will allow them to continue to be proactive in bringing a safe product to markets and consumers homes.”
George Nikolich of George Nikolich Consulting, Inc., added “I look forward to continuing my support of CFFA goals in translating the latest food safety science and information into effective, practical application for members. Thank you all for your commitment to this project.”
As the Association’s new fiscal year kicks off, a series of roundtables and webinars have already been scheduled, and more will continue to be added as this strategic partnership continues to evolve. CFFA and George Nikolich Consulting look forward to engaging with the fresh fruit industry through this valuable joint venture.
The California Fresh Fruit Association is voluntary public policy organization that represents growers, packers, and shippers of the California table grape, blueberry, kiwi, pomegranate, and deciduous tree fruit communities. CFFA serves as a representative for these growers, shippers, and packers, on issues at both the state and federal levels. More information on the Association can be found at www.cafreshfruit.com.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that Japan has granted market access for California plums. Eliminating the phytosanitary barriers keeping California plums out of the Japanese market required multiple rounds of technical negotiations that were somewhat hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA) would like to extend its appreciation to the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service and Agricultural Research Service’s negotiators and experts, as well as the Fresno County and Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner offices for their invaluable contributions to this process.
There will be strict packing and fumigation protocols in place but given the success of the existing California nectarine program for Japan, California stone fruit exporters have already demonstrated a commitment to meeting Japan’s requirements.
“Trade barriers threaten the health and viability of the industry. This represents a significant opportunity for California plums, as Japanese consumers value premium fruit and recognize California fruit’s superior quality. As the global economy rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic, expanding market access will continue to be critical to the industry’s success,” said Ian LeMay, CFFA President.
The California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA) is a voluntary, nonprofit agricultural trade association that represents California’s fresh fruit industry. CFFA promotes California nectarines, peaches, and plums (stone fruit) around the world by reducing trade barriers and expanding markets. The California stone fruit industry, based predominantly in the San Joaquin Valley, is dependent on opening new markets and maintaining access to approximately 50 countries around the world.
Marcy L. Martin was named today as the new president of the Citrus Research Board (CRB). The appointment was announced by CRB Chairman Dan Dreyer, who said that Martin was selected after a nearly year-long national search for the very best candidate to lead the organization.
Martin joins the CRB with more than 25 years of experience with California commodity organizations. She most recently served for 14 years as director of trade for the California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA), where she advocated on behalf of the state’s fresh grape, blueberry, pomegranate and deciduous tree fruit production in governmental, legislative and policy issues. Prior to that, she had been controller of the California Apple Commission for ten years.
In 2015, then U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack appointed Martin to the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC) for Trade in Fruits and Vegetables. In his announcement, Vilsack said of those who were appointed, “They are an invaluable asset as we work to enact trade agreements and trade policies that deliver the greatest economic benefit for U.S. agriculture and for our nation as a whole.”
“California’s citrus growers, packers and shippers have demonstrated through their keen understanding that an industry must invest in sound research to meet the challenges of a constantly evolving environment, marketplace and consumer,” said Martin. “The Citrus Research Board, industry, staff and research community have stepped up to take on looming challenges, specifically huanglongbing, that have devastated citrus production within other regions, both domestically and globally. This is an area I am passionate about, and I look forward to bringing my experience in the technical and regulatory arena to the team.”
Dreyer said, “The Board is pleased to have Marcy Martin taking the helm of CRB. Her extensive experience with commodity organizations and local, state and federal regulatory agencies will be a key ingredient to the success of CRB projects and priorities. She comes to the CRB with extensive knowledge of fresh tree fruit production and the agricultural use of plant protection products. Our Board members were impressed by her dedication to and passion for agriculture.”
“The California citrus industry is an important economic contributor and an icon of the Golden State,” Martin said. “Citrus is part of our American and Californian agricultural footprint – a commodity we need to preserve and foster. I’m honored to be part of this continuing tradition.”
Martin officially will join the CRB on October 1 and will be based out of the CRB headquarters in Visalia, California. She will take the reins from Interim President Franco Bernardi.
“We cannot thank Franco enough for his dedicated service to the CRB throughout the past year,” said Dreyer. “He did an excellent job in guiding the organization through a challenging period, and the Board has been truly grateful for his leadership.”
About the Citrus Research Board
The CRB administers the California Citrus Research Program, the grower-funded and grower-directed program established in 1968 enabling the State’s citrus producers to sponsor and support needed research. More information about the Citrus Research Board may be found at www.citrusresearch.org.
