NOMINATION FORM FOR PRODUCER MEMBERS AND ALTERNATE PRODUCER MEMBERS

TO  PISTACHIO PRODUCERS:

Marketing Order 983 (Order), regulating the handling of pistachios grown in California became effective on                 .  Subsequently, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is conducting the nomination process for membership on the 11-member Pistachio Administrative Committee (Committee) for the initial terms of office.  The Committee will consist of 8 producer members, 2 handler members, 1 public member and their alternates.  Of the 8 producer members, 4 will be producer members and their respective alternates from District 1 (Southern California), 3 will be producer members and their respective alternates from District 2  (Central California), and 1 will be a producer member and his/her respective alternate from District 3 (Northern California).  The order provides authority for pistachio producers in each of the three districts to submit the names of candidates for nomination for membership on the Committee.  If you are interested in nominating yourself or another producer to serve on the Committee for Districts 1, 2, or 3 for the initial term of office, please read the following information and submit the completed nomination form to the California Marketing Field Office.   The completed nomination form must be postmarked, faxed, or hand-delivered no later                                   than                      .  

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE	
Agricultural Marketing Service
Fruit and Vegetable Programs
California Marketing Field Office
2202 Monterey St. Suite 102B
Fresno, CA  93721

                                      
ADMINISTRATIVE
COMMITTEE FOR
PISTACHIOS

OFFICIAL NOMINATION MATERIAL

FIRST CLASS 

PISTACHIO PRODUCER NOMINATION MATERIAL

PISTACHIO ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
PRODUCER MEMBERS AND ALTERNATE PRODUCER MEMBER

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE ATTACHED NOMINATION FORM

1.	Please complete the attached form if you wish to nominate yourself or another eligible producer to run for office on the Pistachio Administrative Committee (Committee) for the initial term of office.  List the name of your nominee and accompanying information in the spaces provided on the form.  Only producers, including duly authorized officers or employees of producers, may participate in the nomination of candidates for producer members and their alternates.  If you produce pistachios in more than one district, you may nominate a candidate from only one district of your choice.  If you are both a producer and a handler of pistachios, you may participate in both producer and handler nominations.

2  	The Order prescribes that:  (a)  Not more than two members and not more than two alternate members shall be persons employed by, or affiliated with producers or handlers that are affiliated with the same handler and/or producer; (b) Only one handler member and one alternate member representing handlers shall be employed by, or affiliated with the same handler; (c) No handler, and all of its affiliated handlers, can be represented by more than one handler member; (d)  A cooperative that has as its members one or more other cooperatives that are handlers shall not be considered as a handler for the purpose of nominating.  Affiliation is defined as:  normally appears as "affiliate of", or "affiliated with", and means a person such as a producer or handler who is: a producer or handler that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, owns or controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with the producer or handler specified; or a producer or handler that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, is connected in a proprietary capacity, or shares the ownership or control of the specified producer or handler with one or more other producers or handlers.  As used in this part, the term “control” (including the terms “controlling”, “controlled by”, and “under the common control with” )means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a handler or a producer, whether through voting securities, membership in a cooperative, by contract or otherwise.					
3.	Once all nomination forms are received, nominees will be notified of nomination, requested to complete a confidential qualification and acceptance statement, and provided an opportunity to submit a short biographical statement, not to exceed one half page in length.  The short biographical information statement will be sent to eligible handlers with balloting material.	
4.	The Order specifies that a 2-year term of office shall be staggered for elected handler members and alternate handler members serving on the Committee.  For the initial committee, one handler member and one alternate handler member shall, by a drawing, be seated for one year so that approximately half of the membership’s terms will expire each year.  The eligible handler receiving the highest number of votes by position will be selected as the handler member and the eligible handler receiving the next highest number of votes by position will be selected as the alternate handler member.  Each handler member and alternate handler member on the Committee shall be, at the time of selection and during the term of office, a pistachio handler or an officer, employee, or agent of the handler.
            
5.	The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)  Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). We request that you be mindful of the USDA=s policy regarding Civil Rights and consider eligible women, minorities, and the physically challenged for membership on the Committee.
 	
6.	The completed nomination form must be received by the USDA no later than the close of business on________ .  Submit the form by mail in the envelope provided, fax, or hand deliver to: CAMFO-USDA-AMS-F&V, 2202 Monterey Street, Suite 102B, Fresno, California  93721, Telephone (559) 487-5901.

					
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REPRODUCE LOCALLY.  Include form number and date on all reproductions.		                       OMB No. 0581-0215

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE
FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROGRAMS

ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE FOR PISTACHIOS 
	PRODUCER MEMBERS AND ALTERNATE PRODUCER MEMBER’S NOMINATION FORM
	(See attached instructions)

You may nominate yourself or another candidate for membership on the Pistachio Administrative Committee.  You may nominate only one candidate for one district in which you or your candidate produce(s) pistachios.

DISTRICT 1 (SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA) - Tulare, Kern, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Imperial counties. 

 Name of Producer Member Nominee	Phone Number	   	Fax Number		 Mailing Address    

											                                            
E-mail Address

				
DISTRICT 2 (CENTRAL CALIFORNIA) - Kings, Fresno, Madera, and Merced counties.  You may nominate three producers and their respective alternates.  

Name of Producer Member Nominee	 Phone Number		  Fax Number		 Mailing Address	   

											                                               
E-mail Address

DISTRICT 3 (NORTHERN CALIFORNIA) - consists of all counties in California where pistachios are produced that are not included in Districts 1 and 2.  You may nominate one producer and their respective alternate.

Name of Producer Member Nominee	Phone Number    	 Fax Number 	 	 Mailing Address

										                                                      

                                                                                

CERTIFICATION:				

I certify that I or my employer currently produce pistachios for market in District (1, 2, 3)_______________ indicated above.								                                                                                                                      			
(You may nominate a candidate in only one district)

Producer’s Name			          Address				                     Telephone Number 

 (Signature)                                      (Print Name)                                                   (Date)                        
														
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number.  The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0581-0215.  The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 20 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.  

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)  Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).  To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C.  20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).  USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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