The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is excited about one of our upcoming webinars. To date, AMS Fruit and Vegetable Programs has delivered nearly ten free online webinars for fruit and vegetable growers, handlers, and distributors of all sized operations. The webinars have been a big success, with an average of nearly 200 attendees benefiting from the extensive knowledge of AMS employees. So what’s got us so excited this time? On June 23, AMS will deliver our first ever Spanish language webinar.
The demographics of the U.S. agriculture industry are changing. According to the 2007 U.S. Census of Agriculture, there has been a 14 percent increase of farm operators reporting their ethnicity as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino origin. This segment is the second highest of all ethnic groups operating in agriculture. To meet the needs of our Spanish speaking customers in the U.S. and abroad, Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) employee Pat Romero will deliver “An Introduction to PACA – In Spanish.”
The PACA Branch promotes fair trading practices in the fruit and vegetable industry by establishing and enforcing a code of fair business practices and by helping companies resolve disputes. PACA employees support the produce industry through services such as interpreting inspection certificates and helping companies deal with delinquent debtors.
Romero, the webinar speaker, will explain how PACA helps companies resolve business disputes and protects the fruit and vegetable industry. Romero is the Regional Director in the Western Regional PACA office in Tucson, Ariz. He has been with PACA for 23 years. He has conducted numerous outreach seminars to growers and shippers from the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala.
Both domestic and international produce parties are cordially invited to participate. Internationally, the voice and video elements of the webinar can be accessed via the Internet. Thus, no international toll charges will be incurred. If using the domestic call-in number, toll charges may apply.
Following a formal presentation, webinar participants will have the opportunity to ask questions.
Date & Time: Thursday, June 23, 2011, at 2 p.m. ET
Registration: The webinar is free. Registration is required. The registration deadline is Monday, June 20, 2011.
To register for this online event follow this link.
To view some of our past webinars, find issues of our newsletter, and other news and information, please visit our website.