A24—Uncastw Farming, Saturday, October 9,1982 Mushroom growers ask foreign KENNET SQUARE - Following a split-decision 2-2 vote, the U.S. International Trade Commission recently recommended a 21 million pound quota be put on imported mushrooms from China. As of Sept. 30, President Reagan has 60 days to negotiate -an orderly marketing agreement with China, and other supplying countries such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea, impose a tariff or to take no action, reports Jack Kooker, executive director of the American Mushroom Institute, headquar tered here. “The president can now replace the increased duties proclaimed by President Carter with quantitative limitations under an orderly marketing agreement,” Kooker ja facing mushroom growers with Berks County legislator Gus Yatron, seated, are from left, Bernie Ciuffetelli, Avondale; Howard Malick, Kennett Square; Henry Roberts, Toughkenamon; and Tony Maddaiozzo, Avondale, partially hidden by AMl’s Jack Kooker. BY SHEILA MILLER KENNETT SQUARE - The American Mushroom Institute, the 27-year-old organization that represents the nation’s 30 mushroom-growing states, is headquartered here in a remodeled brick home along busy Route 1, just 30 minutes from Philadelphia. Serving as executive director to this mushroom organization which boasts 250 members out of a total 585 growers nationwide is former Berks County dairyman Jack Kooker. Kooker, who left his 22-year career as a dairy farmer in Blandon, accepted the role as Working as the American Mushroom Institute’s executive director keeps Jack Kooker, a former Berks County dairy Z r Z 6 n r^ hOPP J ne ' Answering questions from national newspaper and magazine reporters is an everyday occurance Sguarg.^.,,, stated. “Such an agreement should use the 78 millibn pound base year recommended by Commissioner Moore in 1980. “Taiwan has already asked the president to suspend the present increased duties and negotiate an orderly marketing agreement with the principle supplying countries. And the Korean Agriculture Department has stated there can be no improvement in their exports to the United States because of continuing People’s Republic of China dumping which is expected to continue'unless the U.S. sets up an import quota for each export country.” The U.S. Dept, of Agriculture reports the U.S. and European Community account for 38 and 28 Berks dairyman picks mushroom Career spokesman for AMI two years ago, and stepped into a job that calls him to Washington D.C. at least twice a week and finds him jetting all the way to California to meet with mushroom growers there. Although the difference between raising mushrooms and milking 100 registered Holsteins' would seem to be as different as black and white, Kooker did not come to the job and its unending challenges unprepared. After having made the decision 'to leave dairying, Kooker pursued a master’s degree in political science from Penn State at the local Berks Campus. While at tending evening classes for four Joe Versagli, Sr., center, president of the American Mushroom Institute and a mushroom grower from Landenberg, Chester County, was all smiles last Wednesday as he and AMI’S executive director, Jack Kooker, presented U.S. Agriculture Secretary John Block with a basket of Pennsylvania mushrooms. That same day, AMI delivered 1,100 pounds of mushrooms to members of Congress, all donated by Keystone state growers percent of world canned lightning will destroy the mushroom respectively. Taiwanese and Korean share of the Where the E.C. limits its imports U.S. market and materially affect to one-third of its market, imports any chances of the U.S. to the U.S. account for more than (mushroom) industry adjusting to 50 percent of the domestic market, this extremely serious situation,” “Unless the Chinese mushroom emphasized Kooker. cloud the yellow peril which Since 1979, China has rapidly hangs over the U.S. market is established itself as the dominant discharged soon by an orderly exporter of mushrooms, the. AMI marketing agreement, its export director explained.' In 1979, years, Kooker spent his days working for a Temple mushroom operation owned by Nick and Anthony Maggiaro. “I got my exposure to the mushroom industry through working at Winter Garden Mushroom Farm,” Kooker says, adding he did everything from picking mushrooms to driving trucks. During the same period, Kooker devoted a great deal of his time serving as the Berks County president to the county’s Farmers’ Association. Now, when lobbying for the mushroom industry, Kooker says he works under the umbrella of various agricultural organizations, including Farm Bureau, Grange, and Farmers’ Union. While he was dairying in Berks County, Kooker also served as chairman of the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Advisory Council and chaired two of the three state milk referendums. His experience in conducting these referendums has given him the background for carrying out a similar niarket promotion question within the mushroom industry, (See related story). Kooker, who says he has tried to model himself after the late Jerry Litton, a legislator, lobbyist and cattleman who was killed in a plane crash, comments his motivation revolves around representing all of agriculture well. “I know how important agriculture is, not only to Penn sylvania and the nation, but also the world,” he says. One thing Kooker doesn’t like is the word “industry” and its link to moshrooms. “I prefer to call it mushroom agriculture.. Somehow the word industry gives people the k, connotation that mushrooms part of, agriculture,.’ import Helping Jack with the AMI office work are Tina McLenna left secretanr-receptionist; Pat Hash, seated, bookkeeper;’ and Alma Rigler, assistant executive director. he explains. semantics aside and protecting their special going to statistics, no one can agricultural commodity argue with figures that show mushroom growers pay AMI a r ia J S th L lea^ g t te yeart y dues ofonfcenfirTO in mushroom production, har- foot of production. And Kooker quickl y P oints out the fact that year. In the U.S., mushroom battling foreign imnnr+<s "tohinh production rea. ched 517 million threaten to hm U.S SudS^m pounds, valued at $419 milhon. And agriculture takes thoSdTS figures released by crop reporting doUars and producer^JpL? agencies estimate production will Helping Kooker anrfthT a mt continue at about the same level of Stem ta S^^ng^gS nert year, with growers using 141 are three full-time employees To help pay for the services they bookkeeper aiSina Mc£a’ promoting, and,., secretery.^eeptionktl uotas Chinese exports were only three percent of total U.S. imports. In the first six months of 1982, Chinese imports plus imports from its satellites Hong Kong and Macao accounted for 80 percent of the imports. “A marketing agreement (under Section 203 of the Trade Act of 1974) limiting imports to 40 percent (Turn to Page A 29)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers