USDA seeks fruit and vegetable committee members

Nominations are due Sept.1 for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee.

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service said in a Federal Register notice http://bit.ly/2vy13Pr it was looking to fill 10 vacancies for appointments in 2017, and also to have a pool of potential candidates if unexpected vacancies occur in the 25-member committee.

The current Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee’s charter expired at the end of July, but the agency said in the Federal Register notice it will renew the committee for another two-year term.

Nomination applications can be sent via e-mail — the preferred method — to Marlene Betts at Marlene.Betts@ams.usda.gov. Nominations also can be mailed to: USDA-AMS-SCP, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 2077-S., Stop 0235, Washington, D.C., 20250-0235. The application form is at http://bit.ly/2vIO1iE.

The purpose of the committee, according to the USDA, is to examine the full spectrum of issues faced by the fruit and vegetable industry and provide suggestions on how USDA can tailor its programs to better meet the fruit and vegetable industry’s needs.

According to the notice, industry members serve two-year terms, with a maximum of three terms.

The complete list of policy recommendations from the 2015-2017 Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee is available http://bit.ly/2wBJzhY at the USDA website.