VNLA Newsletter Spring 2018

News - Governor Northam Announces Administration Appointments Secretariat of Agriculture and Forestry Brad Copenhaver Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Brad Copenhaver has been appointed Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry. Brad grew up on his family’s beef cattle and burley tobacco farm in Washington County. After working on Capitol Hill as a legislative correspondent for Congressman H. Morgan Griffith (VA-9 ), he was the Di- rector of Government Affairs at the Virginia Agribusi- ness Council , where he worked closely with the General Assembly and Virginia congressional delegation on a vari- ety of issues including animal welfare, food safety and la- beling, the environment and water quality, and international trade. Brad was a Pamplin Scholar at Virginia Tech and graduated with degrees in political science and agricultural economics, and he is currently completing his MBA at the University of Washington. During his education career, Brad has served as a National Beef Ambassador, Virginia 4-H President, and treasurer of the UWGraduate and Professional Student Sen- ate, and he spent summers working with the U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Meat Ex- port Federation in Tokyo, and Bryant Christie, Inc., an ag- ricultural exports consulting firm in Seattle. Heidi Hertz Assistant Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Heidi Hertz has been appointed Assistant Secretary of Ag- riculture and Forestry. Prior to her appointment, Heidi served as Obesity Prevention Coordinator with the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, where she developed initia- tives and partnerships throughout Virginia to increase ac- cess to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity. Heidi has previously held roles in the Office of the First Lady of Virginia Dorothy McAuliffe and for the Virginia Department of Health. Heidi serves as the Vice President of the Alumni Board of the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for Shalom Farms. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and a Mas- ter of Science degree from James Madison University and serves as an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a native of Lunenburg County and a res- ident of the City of Richmond.

Legislation - Farm Bill: Why it Matters to Green Industry This piece of legislation addresses key priorities for spe- cialty crops and horticulture, mainly focused around re- search and innovation. Some highlights of the bill include: Funding would be $80 million per year, though $25 million is dedicated to research addressing severe threats to the cit- rus industry. We seek full funding ($80 million) for all spe- cialty crops. Priorities for research are refined and expanded to include mechanization and automation of labor-intensive tasks, decision support systems, and prevention and moni- toring systems for pests, including quarantine pests. Funding would continue at $80 million per year. These pro- grams provide 'first dollars' for responding to and mitigating invasive plant pest threats and providing access to clean, pathogen tested accessions of tree fruit, small fruit, grape- vines, hops, and roses for evaluation, development, and propagation. These grants, mostly administered by the states, have funded numerous research, statistical, and marketing pro- grams benefiting the green industry. The legislative pro- posal would fund this program at $85 million per year and seeks to clarify eligible projects and performance evaluation language that has hampered use of the program. Other areas of special interest for AmericanHort during the Farm Bill process are to expand options for protecting plant breeders' rights to spur innovation, and to ensure that "safety net" disaster programs work better for nursery and Christ- mas tree producers. Provided by AmericanHort Lighthouse Program in partnership with the VNLA 4/17/18 News - AmericanHort Welcomes Farm Bill Pest and Disease Funding AmericanHort enthusiastically welcomed Agriculture Secre- tary Sonny Purdue’s announcement earlier today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating almost $70 million in new funding for invasive plant pests and disease pro- jects. The funding is intended to prevent the introduction or spread of pests that threaten U.S. agriculture and the environ- ment, and to sustain the infrastructure necessary to ensure that disease-free, certified planting materials are available to U.S. nurseries and specialty crop producers.

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