Trip Report: NOA in DC

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By René Hardwick, National Onion Association Director of Public and Industry Relations

Members of the National Onion Association (NOA) recently returned from their annual trip to Washington D.C., leaving legislators and policymakers with lasting impressions of the serious issues the onion industry faces daily. This year’s trip included the largest group yet, with 18 members delivering the onion message loud and clear.

In their weeklong visit to the nation’s capital, NOA members visited their members of Congress armed with several key issues on which the onion industry is focusing. As a group, they advocated strongly for everything from farm labor to food safety practices with agencies such as the United States Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Senate Agriculture Committee.

For the last few years, many attendees felt as if they were spinning broken records to educate their policymakers about the onion industry. This year, they saw that change.

The group’s meeting with the FDA, in particular, was much different than in previous years, said Brette Wagstaff, who attended with her husband, Tyler Wagstaff, of Central Produce Distributing in Idaho, for their fourth straight year.

“In previous years, we often walked into a conference room with just one person attempting to answer a variety of questions – questions they either couldn’t answer or couldn’t discuss. But this year was different,” Wagstaff said. “We were greeted by a team of 13 representatives from various sectors, including microbiology, incident response and communications. It was clear they were there to engage with us and address our concerns directly. This felt like a genuine effort at transparency and collaboration, and it was incredibly encouraging.”

The NOA’s advocacy last year helped fund an additional onion breeder position in Washington state and hire a replacement for the current position at the University of Wisconsin for the Agricultural Research Service. The current administration, however, has frozen that, along with other research funding across the country. But during this recent trip, the NOA was able to convey to the Senate Ag Committee the importance of that position to the onion industry, which could help reinstate that funding.

NOA President Jared Gutierrez with Gumz Farms’ Washington office said the personal connections members make in D.C. will continue to make a difference for the onion industry.  

“I wish more people could come and experience this to gain a better understanding of the impact our group makes. As we move forward, we will continue to seek more members to help us bring a unified voice to Washington D.C.” 

This year, the NOA’s summer convention will be held July 9-12 at the Holiday Inn Richland on the River in Richland, Washington. We have speakers lined up from the FDA, and Oregon State University’s Stuart Reitz will give an overview of what is known and not known about recent outbreaks associated with onions, what research has shown and how growers can use that knowledge in their food safety practices.

If you want to hear the latest information, come to the convention. If you are not a member of the NOA, you can attend a convention to dip your toe in the waters. Just call René in the NOA office at (970) 353-5895 to register.

Members can register online at https://bit.ly/4kwke1U.

If you’d like to become a member, download our membership brochure at onions-usa.org/members/membership.