MINUTES

BORDER GOVERNORS CONFERENCE
AGRICULTURE WORK TABLE
MARCH 22, 2005 MINUTES
MEXICALI, BAJA CALIFORNIA

Secretary Hernandez opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to Mexicali. Martin Hubert, Deputy Commissioner from Texas, also provided opening remarks.

Homeland Security Proposal

Jeff Witte from New Mexico provided an update via conference call on the Homeland Security workshop. New Mexico has obtained $96,000 from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the workshop and exercise and has applied for additional funding from the United States Environmental Protection Agency Border 2012 grant program. The exercise will also include a plant health and animal health workshop.

It was discussed that the exercise take place in the fall of 2005 and will involve all of the border states coming to one location so everyone can provide input. It was agreed that federal agencies related to Homeland Security, food safety and agriculture should be involved in the exercise as well. The AWT would like to use this opportunity to educate non-agriculture entities about the importance of agriculture issues in homeland security. The Mexican states indicated they will look for funding from their related organizations for this effort as well.

Letter to Governors

The letter to all Border Governors emphasizing the importance of agriculture in the activities of other Work Tables has been mailed. All states should follow-up with their Governors to get feedback on this issue and share the letter with their counterparts on other Work Tables.

Food Safety Seminar

Baja California proposed to move the Food Safety Seminar to another state in order to accomplish the objective of making this an international event. It was suggested to move the seminar to a state with easier access for participants, and the proposed state is Sonora. We still need confirmation for the location (maybe Hermosillo) and the date. Since Sonora and Arizona are the next co-chairs for the AWT, the seminar can be an event organized by both states, with the help of Baja California and California, which have previous experience on this. The areas to be covered will include general subjects that affect the whole border region and if there is enough participation from other states, there will be breakout groups to discuss specific regional issues. Each state should visit with their producer associations to determine their interest in participating in this meeting.

Medfly Update

Baja California and Sonora provided an update on the Medfly eradication efforts in Tijuana. They have had over 152 days with no detection of larval incubation and Tijuana continues to be quarantined. California mentioned that USDA is considering closing its Hawaii facilities for sterile fly production. Secretary Kawamura suggested that there should be a letter addressed to the pertinent parties in the USDA, signed by the AWT co-chairs in objection to the closing of this facility.

Green Onion Protocol

Baja California provided an update on the certification of green onion producers by SENASICA (National Service for Food Quality and Safety). The protocol was published in 2004 to prove that growing, packaging and shipping of green onions from Mexican operations are done under sanitary conditions. The producers are first certified by the Plant Safety Committee and then certified by SENASICA. To date, 8 producers have been certified by SENASICA.

Proposal for the modification of attributions of SENASICA.

Baja California informed the worktable of a proposal to modify the duties of SENASICA to allow SENASICA to certify all food processing plants. This will clarify to Mexican producers, especially exporters, and to importers of Mexican products from the United States and other countries which agency is in charge of inspection issues.

Tri-National Accord Meetings

Secretary Hernandez discussed the new format of the meetings at the Tri-National Accord which will be held in Sacramento on April 13-16^th. The meetings will be more focused on a few objectives rather than a long list of items to accomplish. The main subjects are Rural Development; Harmonized Systems: Animal Health, Plant Health & Food Safety; Trade Remedy Policies and Acceptance of Integration. There will also be a report and update presented at the Tri-National Accord by Baja California of the work being done by the AWT.

Potential 2005-2006 Activities

In discussion of several ideas for activities, it was decided the action items for 2005-2006 will be to continue the Food Safety Seminar, continue the bioterrorism workshop and exercise, and an action item on nutrition issues. Details on the nutrition action item will be developed.

Miscellaneous

Secretary Kawamura presented recognition plates from USDA to Baja California employees who helped with the Exotic Newcastle Disease (END) outbreak.
The AWT will write a letter to USDA to keep the Hawaii Medfly facility open. California will take the lead in drafting the letter.
The AWT will write a follow-up letter to the March 2004 letter requesting funding to eradicate Pink Bollworm. California will take the lead in drafting the letter.
The AWT will write a letter to state veterinarians to raise awareness of Avian Influenza. California will take the lead in drafting the letter.
The AWT will write a letter requesting additional funding and assistance for border agriculture inspections. Texas will take the lead in drafting the letter.
California and Baja California will cooperate in enforcement against illegal backyard cheese operations.
The plant health workshop held in conjunction with the bioterrorism exercise will discuss avocado pests, cotton pests and cactus moth among other issues.
Items on the next agenda will include a discussion of each countries efforts in Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) testing and surveillance and strategies for foot and mouth disease prevention.
The next meeting will be held in conjunction with the Border Governors Conference in Torreón, Coahuila on August 11-12
Arizona and Sonora will take the lead as co- chairs of the AWT after the August meeting.