Big Bucks Distributed at 48th Annual Meeting

Each year the Association celebrates the success of the prior season at our Annual Dinner. We serve a great meal, but more importantly we hand out sizable checks to the membership. This year was no exception. On June 15th the Board of Directors approved payments of $3,520,847.03 which were distributed on June 28 to those members present at the celebration.

The distribution had three separate payment items. The first was an advance payment of 1.5 cents per meat pound on the 2010 crop. The second was a payment on last season’s overage supplemental retain of 1.0828 cents per meat pound which was collected from hulling fees. In keeping with a Board resolution approved in January 2005 the Association may not keep more than $1,500,000 collected on any given season. Amounts exceeding this threshold must be returned to the membership in the subsequent year as overage. The combination of both disbursements represented a payment of 2.5828 cents per meat pound on the production delivered last season to the Association.

A third item payable to eligible members who delivered production for shelling in 2006 was the final disbursement of that year’s Crop Revolving Fund. As mentioned earlier, the Association may keep only $1,500,000 in hulling fees for a given season. However, ultimately such funds must be returned to the membership after five years.

The keynote speaker at this year’s Annual Meeting was Ben Slaughter with the real estate appraisal firm of Correia-Xavier. He did a great job explaining the current real estate market regarding farm and ranch properties. His was an important message as land prices for agricultural properties have reached astronomical levels.

It was a great meeting in celebration of a wonderful year!

2011 Capital Retain Set at 3 Cents

Over the last couple of years the Board of Directors had set the total annual crop retain collected at 5 cents per meat pound. Of this amount 3 cents was allocated to the Capital Retain and 2 cents was allocated to the Operating Retain. For two years this level of retainage was deemed necessary due to uncertainty about the volatility of the commodity market during the economic crisis. Additionally, the dairy industry, which provides 95% of our revenue, was truly struggling.

Last year the Board and Management estimated that the 2010 volume would be 72,500,000 meat pounds, and we used this number for budgeting purposes. We are pleased to report that the actual production number for 2010 is 78,214,049 meat pounds. This is an astounding 5,741,049 pounds over our original estimate and the second-largest volume ever shelled out by your Association. There is still some uncertainty in the overall economy. However, we have made significant forward sales at respectable pricing levels and, consequently, the Board feels that the level of retainage collected in 2009 and 2010 is not necessary at this time. Therefore, we are pleased to report that the Capital Retain will remain at3 cents per meat pound for the 2011 season, but there will not be a 2 cent charge on the Operating Retain.

Grower Meeting Scheduled for July 21

Please watch your mailbox. Invitations will be sent out soon for our Grower Meeting. This year we will only have one meeting which will be held on July 21st at noon. The meeting will be held at Pardini’s Banquet Hall located at the corner of North Van Ness Boulevard and Shaw Avenue in Fresno. In the past we have had three meetings, but we believe that one larger meeting will be a more efficient use of your Association’s funds, as well as Management and staff’s time.

Our Grower Meeting is an important venue to present logistical information for the season ahead pertaining to deliveries and hulling and shelling operations. It is also an important setting for us to answer member questions and get your feedback. We will be handing out delivery ticket booklets for your use during the harvest. Please plan to attend so we can tell you about the actions we are taking on your behalf to prepare for the season ahead.

Easy Access to Sanger Sheller Nearing Completion

We are always happy to report on our many successes, but we can’t take credit for this item. Caltrans is very near completion of the Highway 180 extension to McCall Road near the Association’s Sanger facility. Traditionally, Sanger has shelled 17% of the Association’s volume and has finished the season earlier than Kerman. Sanger could do more! However, as Fresno has grown there has been reluctance by some trucking companies to take production to the Sanger facility due to the difficulty of traveling on country roads. It has been slow, tedious, dangerous and not as easy as delivering into Kerman. The completion of the 180 extension will allow trucks traveling eastbound to travel by highway to McCall Road, hang a left, travel two miles north and then make a right on McKinley and BINGO you’re at the Sanger facility! This is a marvelous improvement and will increase the access and volumes at Sanger.