NEW YORK - -The Florida Tomato Committee, headquartered in Maitland, FL, made a healthy statement on the morning of May 2 when it hosted the morning "Skipping breakfast is bad" event here at the Cornell Club. Samantha Winters, director of education and promotion, and Reggie Brown, manager, represented the committee, and they brought Steven Schwartz of Ohio State University. Mr. Brown explained to the group of consumer and trade editors from Good Housekeeping, Martha Stewart Everyday Foods, Parenting, Women's Day and others that tomato growers in Florida have faced some major challenges in the

PARLIER, CA -- As recently as two weeks earlier, it would have been hard to imagine that with all of the weather they had been through, California peach, nectarine and plum orchards could possibly set anything remotely close to a full crop this year. But when the estimating committees met a day prior to the California Tree Fruit Agreement spring meetings April 27, they honed in on a combined crop estimate just under 50 million boxes, similar to each of the last two years and scarcely more than 10 percent below the 55 or 56 million boxes that CTFA's Field Director Dale Janzen said would be

CHICAGO -- United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association Chairman Nick Tompkins and International Fresh-cut Produce Association Chairman Mark Miller announced at the May 6 opening general session of the United Produce Show that their respective memberships have voted overwhelmingly in favor of the two organizations merging. "More than 98 percent of members voting supported the merger, launching a new partnership between members of our two associations and a strong platform to invite all other companies in the produce supply chain to join in our essential mission to promote our industry," Mr

WILMINGTON, DE -- Chile's orange and grapefruit growers have completed their paperwork. Now, to export these products to the United States, they are simply awaiting for a final approval from the U.S. Department of Agricutlure's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, according to Ron Bown, chairman and chief executive officer of the Chilean Exporters Associaiton in Santiago. Mr. Bown was the featured speaker at an event hosted by the Chilean & American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia and the port of Wilmington, held here April 26. The meeting addressed various components of the

Growers, packers and shippers of fresh produce, who in many cases rely heavily on immigrant labor, potentially could have been the most severely affected by the nationwide boycott planned for Monday, May 1. Organizers of the boycott, held in conjunction with rallies around the country in support of legalizing undocumented immigrants, hoped that the boycott, which they billed as "a day without immigrants," would hit American businesses in the pocketbook and make them realize how important the immigrant population is to the U.S. economy. The organizers urged immigrants, both legal and illegal

EAGLE, ID -- It's no secret that creative displays in the retail environment move product. Need proof? For the 15th year in a row, the number of entrants in the Potato Lover's Month Retail Display Contest significantly increased. In 2006, almost 1,000 more retailers than last year entered the contest, bringing the total number of entries to a staggering 2,680. The Idaho Potato Commission and its partners "Kraft Cheese Whiz" and "Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits" attribute the high interest to the fact that the displays are driving business during a traditionally slow time of year. Another key