SECTIONS 58551-58565 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 58551-58565

58551. This act shall be known and may be cited as the N.
Waters-Nielsen-Vuich-Berryhill Foreign Market Development Export
Incentive Program for California Agriculture Act.

58552. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is the policy
of this state to actively encourage and promote the sale of
agricultural products of California in foreign markets and to assist
farmers, processors, distributors, and exporters in meeting world
market needs.
(b) The Legislature further finds and declares, as being
consistent with the Thurman Agricultural Policy Act (Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 801) of Part 1 of Division 1), both of the
following:
(1) The harvest from approximately one out of every four acres of
California cropland is now sold in foreign markets, thus the state's
agricultural economy is dependent upon international trade.
(2) It is in the public's best interest to assist California
agriculture in market development for agricultural products, and to
expand world trade in these products to maximize growth in the state'
s economy.

58553. The definitions in this article apply to this chapter.

58553.5. "Advisory committee" means the State Board of Food and
Agriculture.

58554. "Agricultural commodities" means the products of California
farms and ranches and items processed from these products, and
includes forest products, aquacultural products, and fish and fish
products produced in California and livestock fed in feedlots located
in California.

58555. "Constraint" means a condition in a particular country or
region which needs to be addressed in order to develop, expand, or
maintain agricultural commodity exports.

58556. "Cooperator" means a private or nonprofit agricultural
marketing organization; a nonprofit trade association, whose members
market agricultural commodities, which has demonstrated expertise in
the promotion of agricultural commodities that will coordinate a
foreign market development program for its members; a federal
marketing order board for California produced agricultural
commodities; or a state marketing order board or commission organized
pursuant to this code operating in California which is actively
engaged in the marketing of agricultural commodities and has entered
into a project agreement with the department to contribute cash,
goods, or services to a foreign market development program.

58557. "Marketing" means the advertising, sale, and distribution of
agricultural commodities, including private brands and trade names,
in foreign markets.

58558. "Marketing plan" means the primary annual document prepared
by cooperators and approved by the director which defines activities
and budgets addressing constraints and the marketing of agricultural
commodities.

58559. "Project agreement" means a contract between the department
and a cooperator under which the cooperator agrees to conduct
activities that both address constraints and encourage the
development or maintenance of agricultural commodity export sales.

58560. "State funds" means the funds made available by the
department under a project agreement.

58561. "Third party cooperator" means a foreign government or
private organization which has entered into an agreement with a
cooperator to join in the marketing of agricultural commodities.

58562. "Cooperator contributions" means contributions of money,
personnel, materials, facilities, services, or supplies, expressed in
terms of United States dollar value, that are furnished by the
cooperator and any third party cooperator to help carry out the terms
of a project agreement. Funds, services, or personnel provided by
any state or federal agency, except funds from a state marketing
order board, including those funds allocated to carry out commodity
transportation offset programs, agricultural commission organized
pursuant to this code, or a federal marketing order board for
California-produc ed commodities, cannot be counted as a
contribution.

58563. The department shall adopt regulations, including criteria
to establish what constitutes cooperator contributions, necessary to
effectuate this chapter. Whenever applicable, the regulations shall
be consistent with similar regulations adopted by the Foreign
Agriculture Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.

58564. The department shall, as one of its functions, provide
assistance to persons from foreign countries who desire to purchase
agricultural products produced in this state. That assistance shall
include advice on establishing business contacts that will meet the
needs of the prospective purchaser.

58565. The department shall direct a portion of any additional
funding, in excess of the original appropriation for purposes of this
act, to be used for all of the following purposes:
(a) To conduct agricultural market research, including trends in
California agricultural industry and trends in foreign agricultural
markets. The agricultural market research shall be utilized to
determine viable opportunities to export California agricultural
products successfully to foreign markets.
(b) To conduct personnel training, including the training of
California foreign trade office personnel.
(c) To perform existing duties of the department under this
chapter.