The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking nominees for the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Marketing Committee to fill two producer member seats, three alternate producer member seats, one handler member seat, and one alternate handler member seat whose terms will begin June 1, 2025. The appointed members will serve two-year terms, except for one alternate producer member, who will serve a one-year term.
Nominations can be made Jan. 28, 2025, during the Nominations Committee meeting, which starts noon PT at the El Sombrero Restaurant, 4 W. Oak St., Walla Walla, Wash.
To be eligible to serve, producer nominees must have three years of experience producing onions and must be a producer who grows Walla Walla sweet onions for market. Handler nominees must handle Walla Walla Sweet Onions or cause Walla Walla Sweet Onions to be handled for market.
For nomination information, contact Walla Walla Sweet Onion Marketing Committee Manager Kim Brunson at (509) 585-5460 or kimb@agmgt.com, or contact USDA Marketing Specialist Virginia Tjemsland at (971) 416-6472 or Virginia.L.Tjemsland@usda.gov.
The marketing order authorizes research and promotion programs, quality regulations, and marking, pack, and container regulations. The Committee administers the order locally and consists of a total of fourteen members and alternates. Four members are producers, two members are handlers, and one member is a public member. Each member has an alternate with the same qualifications as the member. More information about the Committees is available on the Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) 956 Walla Walla Onions webpage.
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 fruit, vegetable and specialty crop marketing orders and agreements to help ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.
AMS policy is that diversity of the boards, councils, and committees it oversees should reflect the diversity of their industries in terms of the experience of members, methods of production and distribution, marketing strategies, and other distinguishing factors, including but not limited to individuals from historically underserved communities, that will bring different perspectives and ideas to the table. Throughout the full nomination process, the industry must conduct extensive outreach, paying particular attention to reaching underserved communities, and consider the diversity of the population served and the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the members to serve a diverse population.
