WASHINGTON — The U.S. asparagus industry may feel some relief for losses from trade policies under a federal market loss payment program being proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but it will not heal all the pain, according to John Baker, executive director of the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board. On July 16, USDA proposed a $15 million Asparagus Revenue Market Loss Assistance Payment Program to partially compensate asparagus producers for revenue losses that were caused by imports during the 2004 though 2007 crop years. "Like every farm product, asparagus is an important part of

In my opinion, potato farmers should be recognized as American heroes. Through the years, they have worked rigorously to put the best-quality product on our dinner tables under the most difficult circumstances. The potato has been cultivated for over 6,000 years. It first arrived in North America in 1719 and has been a gastronomic favorite ever since. But the potato has also had its share of burdens. You have probably seen those television commercials of people eating big, juicy cheeseburgers and monster-sized sandwiches, which almost always are accompanied by one of the more preferred

Dole Food Co. Inc. recently relocated its nutrition research operations from Westlake Village, CA, to Kannapolis, NC, opening a 10,000-square-foot laboratory at the North Carolina Research Campus in late May. Dole joins other giants like General Mills Inc., Monsanto and LabCorp — along with eight North Carolina colleges and universities — with a presence at the burgeoning think tank, which opened in October 2008 on the site of a former textile mill. The campus currently has 750,000 square feet of office and laboratory space, including many communal facilities. The ultimate buildout calls for

WASHINGTON — The United Fresh Produce Association is feeling the heat for opposing an amendment added to a childhood nutrition bill July 15 that would allow the federal school snack program to hand out dried and frozen fruit. United Fresh supports the Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act of 2010 (H.R. 5504), which passed the House of Representatives Education & Labor Committee by a vote of 32 to 13. The legislation would increase the reimbursement rate for lunch by six cents to help schools meet nutrition requirements, loosen purchasing requirements for school salad bars, enhance

South African oranges were being promoted July 20-25 as "the fruit of choice" at the 2010 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships tournament in suburban Kansas City, KS. According to a July 20 press release from a tournament sponsoring organization, the Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum, this is the second year of the South African citrus soccer promotion. "We are delighted to again be the fruit sponsor of the 2010 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships," Joretha Geldenhuys, the organization's chief executive officer, said in the release. "Soccer moms throughout the U.S. know that summer

Chilean citrus and avocado growers are carefully determining what, if any, crop damage may have occurred in a mid-July Southern Hemisphere wintertime freeze. A North American citrus importer who requested anonymity indicated that it is premature to guess what may happen to Chile's citrus crop. He noted that a correspondingly similar freeze hit the California citrus crop and that the industry saw record production thereafter. The Chilean Hass Avocado Association sent a press release July 19 that said, in part, "Since Tuesday, July 13, there have been frost weather conditions in some avocado