DATE: November 14, 2017
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Les Wright, Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures
SUBJECT: Retroactive Revenue Agreement for the inspection of bulk citrus shipments
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a Retroactive Revenue Agreement with the California Department of Food and Agriculture for citrus shipment inspections, effective October 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018 ($98,176).
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will allow the County to enter into an agreement with the California Department of Food and Agriculture to reimburse the Department’s costs for bulk citrus shipment inspections.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board not approve the recommended action, the Department will not receive funding from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) for the bulk citrus inspection program.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
This revenue Agreement is retroactive to October 1, 2017. The Department received the Agreement from the CDFA on October 10, 2017.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Fresno County will receive approximately $98,176 in revenue from CDFA to fund this program. The estimated revenues and appropriations to fund the full cost of the program are included in the FY2017-18 Adopted Budget for Department of Agriculture Org 40101017.
DISCUSSION:
The Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) is one of the most serious pests of citrus known in the world. This insect pest is a vector for the bacterium that causes the citrus disease known as huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening. In Florida HLB has spread to all 32 citrus growing counties across the state. As a result, Florida citrus production is now less than a third of what it was 20 years ago, resulting in the closure of 80 packing houses and the loss of over 8,000 jobs.
The first detection of ACP in California occurred in 2008 near San Diego along the international border with Mexico. Despite eradication efforts, ACP quickly spread through southern California. The first detection of ACP in Fresno County occurred in 2011 and in 2016 the entire county was placed under quarantine. Currently under quarantine are 10 entire counties and portions of another 19 counties; encompassing the vast majority of the commercial citrus growing regions of the state.
In 2012, HLB was confirmed to be infecting a lemon tree in the Hacienda Heights area of Los Angeles County. To date, over 200 trees have been confirmed positive for HLB and a quarantine area is in effect for parts of Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties. Due to the high population of ACP in the HLB quarantine area and the latency period between infection of trees and the detection of those trees, the risk for further spread is high.
Earlier this year, the CDFA developed regulations to prevent the spread of HLB infected psyllids from HLB quarantine areas. The new regulations require all citrus growers, harvesters, transporters, and packers to be under a compliance agreement with the CDFA in order to move bulk harvested citrus either within or out of a quarantine area.
This Agreement provides funds for Department staff to enforce the provisions of the compliance agreements; predominantly focusing on inspecting vehicles transporting citrus to ensure tarps are in place and completely enclose the shipment.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with California Department of Food and Agriculture
CAO ANALYST:
Ronald Alexander