USDA to Conduct Vote on California Kiwifruit Marketing Order

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will conduct a referendum among eligible California kiwifruit growers May 18 through June 8, 2026, to determine their level of support for continuing their federal marketing order.

The order requires USDA to conduct a continuance referendum every six years between May 15 and July 15. To be eligible to vote, growers within the production area must have produced kiwifruit during the period of Aug. 1, 2024, through July 31, 2025.

USDA would consider termination of the marketing order if less than 50% of the growers voting in the referendum, and less than 50% of the kiwifruit volume represented in the referendum, vote in favor of continuance. Notice of the referendum was published in the Federal Register on May 11, 2026.

USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will mail ballots and voting instructions to all growers of record. Growers will also have the option to vote by electronic ballot. Eligible growers who do not receive a ballot by May 26, 2026, should contact Bianca Bertrand at [email protected] or (559) 487-5901. Requests for a ballot may also be mailed to USDA, AMS, 2202 Monterey Street, Suite 102B, Fresno, California 93721.

More information about the marketing order is available on the AMS' California Kiwifruit webpage.

Authorized by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, marketing orders are industry-driven programs that help growers and handlers achieve marketing success by leveraging their own funds to design and execute programs that they would not be able to do individually. AMS provides oversight to fruit, vegetable, and specialty crops marketing orders and agreements, which helps ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.

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