AMI 2008 year end report.

Thank you for allowing this time to share the AMI 2008 annual report. But first, in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Short Course, I would like to take a moment to congratulate Penn State on this achievement and to thank everyone who plans and participates in this event each year. You'll want to read Sara's outstanding article in the June issue of the Mushroom News, which draws on the remembrances of many who have attended over the years.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In a year that saw surging costs of production, AMI launched one of its most ambitious programs in recent history - a coordinated food safety initiative. If your farm or packinghouse is hit with a food safety problem, you won't have to worry about the price of diesel. You won't be shipping any mushrooms. Food safety is recognized throughout all food production systems as the most important factor in survival.

Continuing their efforts from last year, Dr. Luke LaBorde from Penn State, Dr. Sergio Nieto-Montenegro from Hispanic Workforce Management and the industry's food safety task force completed the Mushroom Industry Food Safety Training Kit. A copy of the kit was provided to each grower member of AMI. The kit was "unveiled" through a series of "train the trainer" sessions, which were held in Pennsylvania and California in both English and Spanish. Led by Nieto-Montenegro, these sessions provided an overview of the kit and a simulated training session. Over 125 people participated. Nieto-Montenegro continues to be available for individual on farm training. Additional training kits are available for purchase through AMI, contact Kim if you are interested. Again our special thanks goes to LaBorde and the members of the food safety task force for their assistance in developing the training kit; and we appreciate the financial contribution of the Mushroom Council in this endeavor.

Another goal of the food safety task force is the continued refinement of a mushroom-specific Good Agricultural Practices program with a mushroom-specific audit. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has accepted the basics of our audit, making it only the third commodity specific audit that USDA has approved. USDA representatives and LaBorde recently visited farms in Kennett Square to fine tune the audit. The Mushroom GAP program updates the standards and guidelines developed several years ago by LaBorde and the task force and now adds the audit component. We are now in the process of working with Penn State to develop templates for standard operating procedures, along with the forms and checklists needed for documentation during an audit.

Best Practices Web Site

Having easy access to the information you need like the Food Safety Training Kit was made a little easier this year with the introduction of the new "Best Practices for Mushroom Production and Marketing" Web site. It incorporates a lot of the topics previously found on the AGORA Web site. In addition to the most recent pesticide labeling and usage guidance the site contains tools and information on food safety, mushroom labeling, and pest management. The easiest way to access the site is though the AMI Web site. If you have any questions, comments or want more information, please contact Kim. And again, we thank the Mushroom Council for their support of this project.

IPM

As always, the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) committee had a busy year. Section 18 registrations for Topsin were renewed and additional screenings of insecticides were under-taken. We have recently filed a request with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) for a special registration for hydrogen peroxide, which will allow this product to be used legally as an approved sanitizer for use in all farms - including those with organic certification.

I'm very pleased to announce that soon we will have the Integrated Pest Management Handbook available in Spanish. A group from the mushroom industry in Mexico made the offer to translate the Handbook and worked with AMI Board member Charlee Kelly and Amycel employees in Mexico. So thanks to Kelly for getting this accomplished; it will be a great tool for our workers. It will be available on the Penn State and AMI Web sites, along with the English version.

CAC

The Community Awareness Committee (CAC) has been busy working on issues that affect the Southeastern Pennsylvania mushroom farm community. CAC's Economic Impact Report was presented to the business community at a Chester County Economic Development Council breakfast meeting in April. Penn State's Spiro E. Stefanou, author of the report gave the presentation. Chris Alonzo and Harold Brosius worked with Stefanou to gather and interpret the survey data. A copy of the report is available by contacting the AMI Avondale office.

The CAC Scholarship Committee is currently reviewing applications for high school scholarships. The Committee will award more than $8,000 to high school seniors this year. Annual donations include $3,000 to Penn State's Literacy Program, $3,500 to the Migrant Student Program and $10,000 to support the Mushroom Festival. These projects are made possible through proceeds from the CAC Golf Tournament.

This year AMI and OSHA have entered into an alliance to promote health and safety on the farm. CAC's Executive Director Gene Richard is the local organizer and facilitator of the program. This is a valuable program for all who are involved. A general meeting is planned on June 19 to explain the Alliance and how it can benefit employers.

For many years, AMI has received a marketing grant from PDA to promote Pennsylvania mushrooms. This program is guided by the PA Fresh Committee of AMI and is carried out for the most part by the Mushroom Council. Funds are used for public relations efforts, support of events at the Mushroom Festival, creating and printing recipe brochures, nutrition pamphlets, e-newsletters, brochure design and photography as well as local chef appearances.

CAC has once again received a grant from PDA to search for beneficial uses of Mushroom Compost/SMS. The Committee has several projects underway as part of this year's grant. We are working with Penn State on two crop production research projects. A new artillery fungus brochure is available as a result of grant money and we are planning landscaper and mulch producer meetings for the fall. The Committee continues to explore water quality issues, energy options and mine reclamation possibilities. In addition, a Committee meets monthly to plan for an update of the 10-year-old Best Practices for Environmental Protection in the Mushroom Farm Community.

With so much going on, CAC has created a quarterly newsletter, which will outline the activities, grant progress, scholarship awards and donations.

Sinden Scholarship

I'm pleased to report that Dr. Alma Rodriguez Estrada was the recipient of the James W. Sinden Scholarship award for 2007. She was enrolled as a doctoral candidate in the Department of Plant Pathology at Penn State last year. Her advisor was Dr. Dan Royse, and she successfully defended her dissertation a few weeks ago. Congratulations, Dr. Rodriguez Estrada.

Mushroom News

The Mushroom News continues to cover all the news on issues that impact AMI growers and suppliers. Topics covered this year include vitamin D2 enhanced mushrooms, updates on Country of Origin (COOL) rules, revisions to 1-9 documents, pesticide updates and farm sanitation strategies. Mushroom News continues to be a reliable source for legislative news, industry events and promotional programs, I want to thank and acknowledge Mushroom News Publisher Bill Barber, members of the Editorial Board and Committee for guidance on appropriate material, suggesting topics, reading drafts and offering editing suggestions. I would also like to acknowledge the important role our advertisers also play in keeping the issues colorful and informative. Without their support, we could not publish Mushroom News. Finally, thanks to Sara Manning, Editor and Lew Rossi, Art Director, who keep the magazine fresh, useful and newsworthy.

Government Relations

The past year has been an active one for our staff in Washington, culminating last month with the passage and an override of the President's veto of the farm bill, officially known as the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008. For the first time, the new law provides a wide range of programs for the specialty crop industry.

More specifically for the mushroom farm community are amendments to the Fresh Mushroom Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act changing the composition of the Mushroom Council to better reflect current production areas. By reducing the number of regions and changing the poundage requirements for regions, these amendments will lead to more equitable producer and importer representation on the Council by more effectively and accurately reflecting mushroom production.

Another change contained in the farm bill will allow the Mushroom Council to be involved in the development and implementation, including education and training, of food safety programs such as the Mushroom Good Agricultural Practices. It would allow for a GAP and GHP certification and verification program, if the Council deemed it appropriate.

The farm bill also makes modifications to the COOL labeling laws for fruits and vegetables that were passed in 2002 but never implemented. AMI will be there to guide us through the implementation of COOL and other components of the farm bill.