USDA gives South Texas onion growers another chance to support marketing order
Following a failed vote in 2020, a producer vote on the future of the South Texas onion marketing order will occur from Sept. 1 to Oct. 3, the USDA reports.
The USDA said the results of a referendum the agency conducted of South Texas onion producers in 2020 failed to reach the level of support for continuing the marketing order, but comments from the industry persuaded the USDA to hold a second vote.
The 2020 referendum showed 57% of the eligible growers who voted, representing 53% of production volume voted, favored continuing the program.
Voting results prompted Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, as authorized in marketing order regulations, to consider termination of the marketing order because it received less than two-thirds support among growers voting.
Following the 2020 vote, the USDA invited comments on its proposed termination of the marketing order.
“Feedback received during the public comment period demonstrated support for keeping the order,” the USDA said in a Federal Register notice, with the agency receiving 90 comments, 85 of which opposed termination. Thirty-three of the comments were from the production area, with 31 opposing termination of the order.
“After reviewing the results of the continuance referendum, and the comments received in response to the proposed termination, [Vilsack] has determined a second referendum is appropriate to assess the true level of producer support for the program,” the USDA said in the notice.
The USDA said only producers of South Texas onions who produced onions within the production area during the period of August 1, 2020, through July 31, 2021, are eligible to vote in this referendum. The USDA will provide the option for ballots to be returned electronically, according to the Federal Register notice.
Growers with questions can contact the USDA at Christian.Nissen@usda.gov.
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