FORUM ON 2002 FARM BILL TOMORROW IN WOODLAND

Sacramento, January 29, 2001—The California Department of Food and Agriculture and NFACT will hold the next facilitated forum on the 2002 Farm Bill tomorrow in Woodland at the Yolo County Fair Grounds. Congress uses the Farm Bill as a guide for directing federal agricultural policy. These forums will provide California’s farmers, ranchers and the public an opportunity to provide input into the development of this important document.

The panel will include CDFA Secretary William (Bill) J. Lyons Jr., Jim Lazarus, State Director for Senator Diane Feinstein, Robert Marez, Field Representative of Senator Barbara Boxer, Field Representatives of John Doolittle, Doug Ose, Richard Pombo and Wally Herger, and other distinguished representatives of California government.

NFACT is a coalition of the New Mexico, Florida, Arizona, California and Texas Departments of Agriculture. The group was formed in 1999 to bring due attention to specialty crop and livestock issues. Priority issues to be discussed at each forum will include animal and plant health, conservation, international and domestic marketing, research and risk management. There will also be an opportunity for public comment on any other issue impacted by the Farm Bill. These comments will be limited to 3 minutes per person, with sign-up the day of the forum.

All forums will start at 8:00 a. m. at the following locations:


•Woodland - January 30, 2001, Yolo County Fairgrounds, 1250 East Gum Avenue
•Paso Robles - February 8, 2001, CA Mid-State Fairgrounds, 2198 Riverside Avenue


For more information regarding NFACT, visit CDFA’s website at www.cdfa.ca.gov.

-30-