USDA Announces South Texas Onion Referendum Results

Date
January 05, 2021

The South Texas Onion Committee will hold a virtual public meeting January 13, 2021 via Zoom to discuss results of the continuance referendum conducted Sept. 21 through Oct. 13, 2020. Referendum results show the marketing order is not favored by two-thirds of the producers voting, or by two-thirds of the representative onion volume, which is required for the program to continue.

The marketing order authorizes the committee to establish grade, size, quality, container and pack requirements for onions grown in South Texas, and conduct research and promotion initiatives under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) oversight. A continuance referendum is required every six years to determine producers’ level of support for the program.

During this public meeting, which the committee will schedule and conduct in the coming weeks, USDA will discuss the procedural actions under consideration given the results of the referendum. USDA will provide all interested parties with the opportunity to express their views and provide feedback.

Meeting Information:

Jan. 13, 2021 
11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89193223467?pwd=S3dRcEwwNkhGVUdpdEtQeHEyb2xGU…

Meeting ID: 891 9322 3467
Passcode: 362751

Find your local dial-in number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdJSb73yGe
More information about the marketing order regulating the handling of south Texas onions is available on the 959 South Texas Onion webpage. More information about federal marketing orders is available on the Marketing Orders and Agreements webpage or by contacting the Marketing Order and Agreement Division at (202) 720-2491.

Authorized by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, marketing orders are industry-driven programs that help producers and handlers achieve marketing success by leveraging their own funds to design and execute programs that they would not be able to do individually. AMS provides oversight to 29 fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop marketing orders and agreements, which helps ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.

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