ORLANDO, FL -- Classrooms around the country accepted the invitation to participate in the Produce for Kids' Play with Your Produce Classroom Challenge. The challenge, open to grades kindergarten to 6, asked teachers to help students discover healthy eating habits through a creative, fun classroom activity that focused on fresh produce. Here is how the challenge worked: From Sept. 7 to Nov. 13, classes created and submitted details about their creative activities that focused on healthy eating that involved fresh fruits and vegetables. Three grand prize winners received $500 to promote school

IMMOKALEE, FL -- Larry Lipman, chief executive officer of the Lipman Family of Companies, made his retirement official with a Jan. 5 announcement to his staff. In early December Mr. Lipman acknowledged his pending retirement plans but did not share exact details regarding the expected timeline for his departure or plans for a CEO search. "I'm proud to have worked for one of the finest produce companies in the country," Mr. Lipman said in a Jan. 8 press release. "Over my years, I have seen our company transform from a regional tomato grower to a national leader in tomato and vegetable

Mature ferns in central Florida that were scheduled for harvest for Valentine's Day suffered losses due to a prolonged bout of freezing weather in early January, but at least some growers got away with losses of only 20-30 percent, according to David Register, vice president and director of operations for FernTrust. "We can fulfill our Valentine's Day orders," he said in a phone interview with The Produce News Jan. 8. "We lost less than 30 percent of our mature ferns, but 50 to 70 percent of our immature crop that would have been harvested after Valentine's Day has been damaged or destroyed

Florida farmers have weathered the worst of nine consecutive sub-freezing nights, but losses are starting to pile up with one more record-shattering forecast for Jan. 11-12 to get through before temperatures are projected to finally climb above freezing for the rest of the week. It will be weeks before growers have an accurate picture of the damage from an unprecedented cold snap that has brought record lows to most of the state. Record freezing temperatures for the date were recorded Jan. 11 in Tallahassee (14), Brooksville (15), Gainesville (17), Tampa (25), Sarasota (28) and Fort Myers (31)

As the Red River Valley red potato industry rolled toward 2010, prices were down dramatically from the pervious year's strong market. In light of a crop volume that was down 15 percent from 2008-09, there was a sense of frustration on the part of the Red River Valley industry. The feeling was that no matter how well the crop was managed, there was downward market pressure from a huge overabundance of russet potatoes coming from other areas. On Dec. 22, The Produce News asked Lee Frankel, president and chief executive officer of the Salt Lake City-based United Potato Growers Association of

The Southeast Produce Council announced Jan. 5 that Peter F. Pero III of Pero Family Farms will receive its 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award this March. Mr. Pero will be honored during the council's annual retail and foodservice conference and exposition, scheduled for March 4-6 in Tampa, FL. The award will be presented Saturday, March 6, at the keynote luncheon. Mr. Pero was born Sept. 7, 1939, in Brant, NY, the second of four children. The family farm started in 1908 after his grandfather immigrated to western New York from Sicily, according to information provided by the company. Pero Bros