The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced recently that California farmers and ranchers would most likely not receive a water allocation this spring, which could mean income losses of upwards of $2 billion for Central Valley growers. Additionally, a variety of newspapers ranging from the San Jose Mercury News to The Wall Street Journal have reported that California's drought is affecting lettuce plantings in the Central Valley. Our office has fielded numerous calls from people wondering what this means to Monterey County agriculture and our lettuce harvest. While it's true that lettuce acreage

SALINAS, CA -- Bruce Knobeloch and Robert V. Jenkins have announced the formation of a new company, Knobeloch Jenkins Associates LLC. This new business is focused on "providing business solutions to the fresh produce and perishables industries," according to a company press release, targeted toward supporting business owners, investors, creditors, boards of directors, executive management and project management teams. The services offered will range from supporting and enhancing a client's strategic planning processes to assessing their business plan and structure toward achieving "best

Whether it's baseball or produce, Rob Palmeri has his head in the game. Mr. Palmeri, 41, a self-described baseball fanatic, is the produce and floral market manager for Giant Foods LLC, the Carlisle, PA-based supermarket chain. He has been working full time in retail produce since he was 20 years old. He had been studying business management at Bergen Community College in Paramus, NJ, and working part-time in the produce department at a ShopRite in nearby Ramsey, NJ, when the produce manager there left for health reasons. "The store manager approached me two weeks before Thanksgiving -- it was

NAPLES, FL -- Naturipe Farms has announced an expanded role for Robert Verloop as the new senior vice president of sales and marketing. Effective immediately, the former vice president of marketing will step into the new role with an eye on long-term strategic sales and marketing developments. His responsibilities at Naturipe Farms will continue to include all marketing programs, consumer research, sales promotions communications, advertising and public relations as well as government relations. Mr. Verloop has been involved in the produce industry for more than 25 years. He joined Naturipe

WASHINGTON -- In his weekly address Saturday, March 14, President Obama announced the appointments of Margaret Hamburg as commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration and Joshua Sharfstein as the principal deputy commissioner, as well as the creation of a new Food Safety Working Group. This Food Safety Working Group will be chaired by the secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services and the secretary of the Department of Agriculture, and it will coordinate with other agencies and senior officials to advise the president on improving coordination throughout the government, examining

Cherie Watte Angulo, executive director of the California Asparagus Commission in Stockton, CA, said that March through May "should be the highest-quality [asparagus] product available." There's no time better than the present to consume California asparagus, Ms. Angulo said. California asparagus is one of the "few featured commodities" on store shelves in its relatively narrow time window. In 2008, the California Asparagus Commission launched a foodservice initiative aimed at helping to increase sales of California asparagus. The commission has worked with restaurant chains, universities and