This week, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced changes that are relevant regarding the temporary special permit for COVID-19 transportation relief for perishable agricultural products. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced itwill soon publish Requests for Applications (RFAs) for new grant programs - thePandemic Response and Safety (PRS) Grant program and the Seafood ProcessorsPandemic Response and Safety Block Grant program - to support agriculturalstakeholders who haven’t yet received substantial federal financial assistancein responding to the COVID-19 crisis.

California strawberry exports have been updated with data for July 2021. This report is updated monthly.

The world strawberry trade report has been updated. This report is updated monthly.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced an extension of the current exemptions which provide regulatory relief for commercial motor vehicle operations providing direct assistance in support of emergency relief efforts related to COVID-19.

Last week, AB 478 a bill authored by Assemblyman Phil Ting (San Francisco) to establish minimum recycled content requirements for thermoform plastic containers (clamshells) did not advance out of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

In 2021, the Department of Pesticide Regulation was allocated $10 million in the 2021-2022 state budget to begin the process of developing a statewide pesticide application notification system (Pesticide Notification Network).

Ag Order 4.0 was adopted by the Central Coast Water Board on April 15, 2021. This order requires all growers to sign in and update their operations Electronic Notice of Intent (eNOI) within 120 days of the Order adoption. The deadline to comply with this requirement was extended to September 13, 2021.

Retail category sales trends for Total U.S. and 8 regions have been updated with data ending 8/8/2021.

The California Strawberry Acreage Survey is compiled from data reported by strawberry handlers in California.