Sweet Onions Grown in the Walla Walla Valley of Southeast Washington and Northeast Oregon; Secretary's Decision and Referendum Order on the Proposed Marketing Agreement and Order

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This decision proposes the issuance of a marketing agreement and order for Walla Walla Sweet Onions in southeast Washington and northeast Oregon and provides growers the opportunity to vote in a referendum to determine if they favor the proposed order. For the purposes of this document, the term ``Walla Walla Sweet Onions'' refers to sweet onions grown in the proposed production area, which consists of designated parts of Walla Walla County, Washington, and designated parts of Umatilla County, Oregon. The proposed order and agreement would authorize production and marketing research and marketing development and promotion projects, including paid advertising, and would authorize container markings. The order would be administered by a ten-member committee consisting of six producer members, three handler members, and a public member. The order would be financed by assessments on handlers of Walla Walla Sweet Onions grown in the production area. A primary objective of this program would be to improve producer returns by strengthening consumer demand through various promotional activities and by reducing production and marketing costs through production and marketing research. Walla