The National Watermelon Association lobbied for farm labor reform, child nutrition spending and several other issues important to its members and U.S. consumers during a recent trip to the nation’s capital.



In conjunction with a Sept. 2-5 public policy conference organized by the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association, which represents the entire produce industry, a contingent from the Plant City-based NWA walked the halls of Congress, met with top officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was briefed on homeland security issues at the White House.



Jody Land, the association’s president, called the trip highly successful and informative.

“I think all the farmers should get involved and know what’s going on in Washington,” said Land, who in February was elected to a two-year term as president of the watermelon association.

Land, his wife, Laura, and others from the NWA contingent urged lawmakers to help the agriculture community address its perennial labor shortage. They pushed for streamlining a currently unwieldy federal program that allows growers to apply for and use guest workers from foreign countries to harvest and pack their crops.



They also supported United’s policy recommendation to expand nationwide a pilot program that provides fruits and vegetables to schoolchildren. The program was administered in four Midwestern states last year and led to a near doubling of produce consumption among participating students.



Eating more fruits and vegetables is considered by health experts to be a primary strategy for fighting obesity and preventing cancer, heart disease and other chronic illnesses. Watermelon, for example, contains high levels of lycopene, the antioxidant that has been linked in scientific studies to a reduced risk of prostate cancer, among other diseases.



The watermelon association also called for a freeze on the scheduled phaseout of methyl bromide, an important soil fumigant that will still be used for 10 more years in developing countries after its total ban in the U.S. in 2005.



Country-of-origin legislation was a controversial topic at the conference. A law passed last year will require, beginning in September next year, that retail stores label fresh fruits and vegetables as to their country of origin. Many U.S. growers support the law as a way to better inform consumers, but some growers and most retailers oppose it, arguing its costs outweigh its benefits. Neither United nor NWA has taken an official stand on the issue.



USDA officials said Florida’s state labeling law, on the books since 1979, could not be used as a model for the federal law, which contains more expansive record-keeping requirements.

During the White House briefing on bioterrorism, the NWA and other conference attendees learned that the food and agriculture sector was among the first to be focused on by the Department of Homeland Security. Public safety is a major concern, but so too is preventing a sharp fall in public confidence in the food supply should an act of bioterrorism occur, which is a form of economic terrorism. NWA supported United’s stance that homeland security enforcement, like other regulations, should account for the perishable nature of fresh produce shipments and should not lead to unnecessary barriers to more widespread consumption of fruits and vegetables – a top public health objective.



NWA’s trip to Washington, D.C., was organized by Vern Highley, the association’s director of public affairs. Also making the trip were chairman Greg Leger and executive director Tracy Rosselle.



Founded in 1914, the nonprofit NWA represents about 600 members in more than two dozen states.