Cranney elected chairman of Minor Crop Farmer Alliance

Jim Cranney has been elected chairman of the Minor Crop Farmer Alliance.

Cranney, president of the California Citrus Quality Council, succeeds Phil Korson, who stepped down after three years as chairman of the alliance. Korson is president of the Cherry Marketing Institute.

Korson said in a news release that the alliance, created in 1991 to preserve access to crop protection tools for specialty crop growers, has plenty of work ahead.

“The future, I believe, will be about informing the federal services’ work to protect endangered species, to find a reasonable balance that makes sense for both protected species and specialty crop agriculture,” Korson said.

Other leadership positions for the alliance include:

• Vice-chairman: Terry Humfeld, executive director of the Cranberry Institute;
• Secretary: Marcy Martin, director of trade for the California Fresh Fruit Association; and
• Treasurer: Robert Guenther, senior vice president of public policy for the United Fresh Produce Association.