Webinar: "Marketing Orders and Agreements: Helping Farmers Help Themselves"

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) invites you to a free interactive webinar on Federal marketing orders and agreements.  Find out how more than 25 commodity groups in different areas of the country have created handling regulations that allow them to better market their fruits, vegetables, nuts and specialty crops.

Marketing orders and agreements are industry-driven programs that help fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop producers and handlers achieve marketing success.  By working together, industry members leverage their own funds to design and execute programs that they would not be able to do as individuals.  If your commodity group participates in a marketing order or agreement, or is considering it, don’t miss this informative webinar.  USDA experts will answer your questions about these important marketing tools, including:

  • What are marketing orders and agreements?
  • Why would we establish one? What are the benefits?
  • How do we start a marketing order or agreement?
  • How can marketing orders or agreements be utilized in the onset of the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule?

“Producers use Federal marketing orders and agreements to promote their unique brand, establish a minimum quality level, and create efficiencies meant to enhance consumer sales,” says Michael Durando, Director of USDA’s Marketing Order and Agreement Division.

Over the next few years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will start enforcing regulations applicable to producers, packers, handlers and processors of specialty crops pursuant to Food Safety Modernization Act.  New requirements will affect facilities throughout the U.S. produce industry needing to demonstrate compliance with modern, science-based sanitation and food safety standards.

The webinar will fully address marketing orders and agreements; describe how these programs benefit fruit, vegetable and specialty crop industries; and explain how they could help commodity groups establish a set of commodity-specific practices to demonstrate compliance with FDA regulations.  Much more detail will be made available during the December 3, 2015 webinar.

Please register at the following website:

https://amsfv.webex.com/amsfv/onstage/g.php?MTID=ea88e67de3cdddbf7bee8eb0c5cd197e0