Each strawberry season in Florida is different because of the things that affect it " not the least of which is the weather. ?Hurricanes Charlie and Frances blew through the state in early fall before we had begun our strawberry deal," said Chip Hinton, executive director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association. "But Hurricane Jeanne, the third storm to hit the peninsula, arrived after we had put about 5,000 acres out. The total damage that resulted [had] a negative impact of about $10 million." Mr. Hinton said that growers had to wait until the ground was dry enough to start prepping

A federal-court jury in Fresno, CA, found Coalinga, CA-based Harris Farms Inc. liable for sexual harassment and awarded one of its employees nearly $1 million, a verdict that has outraged Harris Farms " one of California?s larger agricultural businesses. The verdict was handed down Friday, Jan. 21. Sylvia Gomez, human resource director for Harris Farms, told The Produce News Monday, Jan. 24, that Harris Farms likely would appeal the verdict. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Harris Farms on behalf of fieldworker Olivia Tamayo, 45, who filed a charge with the federal agency

International trade is at an all-time high, with no sign of slowing down. Products that are new to the U.S. market seem to surface daily, and many of them quickly carve a niche and become a permanent part of the produce department landscape. Among the newly introduced items that consumers will have the pleasure of savoring in 2005 are specialty citrus varieties from Sicily, namely the Tarocco, Moro and Sanguinello orange varieties. To help ensure that the initial shipments of Sicilian citrus are properly promoted throughout the United States, the Italian Trade Commission, Rossa di Sicilia

Earl Halliday Nelson, a longtime member of the Oneonta Trading Corp. team, died Jan. 27 in Wenatchee, WA, of congestive heart failure. He was 69. Memorial services were held Saturday, Feb. 5, at St. Luke?s Episcopal Church in Wenatchee. Mr. Nelson is survived by his wife, Connie; daughter Page Swan and son-in-law Kelly; son Blake and daughter-in-law Amy; daughter Jill Mowell and son-in-law David; his brother, Russell Nelson; four grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. Born March 7, 1935, in Seattle to Earl Halliday Sr. and Jean Taylor Nelson, Mr. Nelson was preceded in death by his

At a Jan. 31 World Trade Organization meeting in Brussels, the European Union formally proposed a banana import tariff adjustment that would raise the levy to 230 euro ($300) per ton as of Jan. 1, 2006. EU leaders said that this will balance the demands of large-scale growers in Latin America and interests of traditional suppliers in Africa and the Caribbean. According to an Associated Press report, Caribbean producers had hoped that the EU would set a 275 euro ($358) per ton tariff, while Latin American exporters had pushed for 75 euros ($98) per ton. The eventual figure will have to be

Shoppers at select grocery stores in Greenville, SC, Houston and San Antonio, TX, got a treat the second weekend in January when a group of Washington apple growers brought a taste of their own Enza Pacific Rose and Jazz apples to town. The crisp, sweet Pacific Rose and the tart-sweet Jazz were met with such enthusiasm during the grower sampling appearances that many stores sold out before the end of the weekend, according to David Nelley, pipfruit category director for the Vancouver, BC-based Oppenheimer Group. ?Grower visits like these give consumers the chance to see the people behind the