USDA searching for National Processed Raspberry Council nominations

Jan 27, 2015

Next meeting scheduled for May 18-19 in Blaine, Washington

If you’re a producer, importer or just take a strong interest in raspberries and their roles in the economy, nutrition and on the dinner plate, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is looking for your nomination to be part of the National Processed Raspberry Council (NPRC).

The National Processed Raspberry Council is made up of 26 total people (13 people, 13 alternates) who adhere to the NPRC’s mission “to conduct nutrition research on the health and wellness benefits of raspberries and to promote the consumption of processed raspberries based on research results.”

The NPRC is looking to fill the following membership seats, whose terms would begin Friday, January 1, 2016.

2 producer member and 2 alternate seats from states that producer a minimum of three million pounds of raspberries that will be processed (Oregon, California, Washington, etc)
1 member and 1 alternate seat from “all other states producing less than three million pounds of raspberries for processing”
1 importer member and 1 alternate seat
A foreign producer member and alternate

Current empty seats needing to be filled are one importer alternate seat and a public member and alternate seat. Their terms would end Saturday, December 31, 2016.

The National Processed Raspberry Council will hold its next meeting May 18-19 in Blaine, Washington.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.