The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that growers of dried prunes grown in California have voted in favor of suspending the federal marketing mandate regulating the handling of dried prunes grown in California. This suspension will take effect on August 1, 2023 and extend until July 31, 2030.
The Prune Management Board recommended that the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) suspend the marketing order after 18 years of operating without addressing regulations. This recommendation was unanimously supported at the Committee's public meeting held on March 22, 2023.
After considering the Commission's recommendations, AMS determined that a regulatory suspension with a seven-year sunset provision is appropriate. This seven-year period extends from 2029 to the end of his 2030 crop year, providing the industry with sufficient time to assess whether reinstatement of the marketing mandate would be beneficial. If there is no recommendation from the commission to restart the program by the end of the 2029-2030 crop year, AMS will proceed to terminate the marketing order and commission operations.
The final suspension rule was published in the Federal Register on February 23, 2024.
More information about marketing orders can be found on the 993 California Dried Prunes webpage on the AMS website. Information about federal marketing orders is available on the AMS Marketing Orders and Contracts web page or by contacting the Market Development Division at (202) 720-8085.
Authorized by the Agricultural Marketing Agreements Act of 1937, marketing orders enable producers and dealers to use their own funds to achieve marketing success by designing and implementing programs that cannot be implemented by individuals. A helpful industry-led program. AMS oversees fruit vegetable and specialty crop marketing orders to ensure fiscal responsibility and program integrity.USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
