ST.-LEONARD, QC -- Over 500 members of the produce industry turned out for the Quebec Produce Marketing Association's 24th annual Oyster Party, held here Nov. 6 at Le Rizz reception hall. The event is the Quebec produce industry's fall get-together and offers attendees the opportunity to mingle with customers, suppliers and friends. The original Oyster Party was the brainchild of Ghislain Perron of Metro Inc., and in its early days, the event was intended strictly for serious oyster lovers, with 50 or 60 people attending. The event was ultimately changed to include more participants, and a

VISALIA, CA -- In a year when California Citrus Mutual, along with many other farm groups in California, has been fighting drastic reductions in state and federal agricultural water allotments as well as a host of other burdensome regulatory issues that make it increasingly difficult for many farming operations to survive, the Exeter, CA-based organization selected Robin Rivett, president of the Pacific Legal Foundation, as the keynote speaker for its 32nd annual meeting, which was held here Nov. 5. CCM is an industry-advocacy organization representing more than 1,400 citrus growers in

The Produce Marketing Association is conducting a national search for a person to take over the position recently vacated by Gary Fleming, who was the association's Produce Traceability Initiative point person. Mr. Fleming, who wore the title of vice president of industry technology and standards, spent his last day on the job Nov. 3 conducting a PTI workshop in Charlotte, NC. He resigned from PMA in mid-October to establish his own consulting firm. "We're assigning a staff team to handle ongoing work and incoming queries while we conduct a search," said Julia Stewart, public relations

At this year's Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit in Anaheim, CA, in October, it was announced that Jack Pandol Sr., chairman emeritus of Pandol Bros. Inc. in Delano, CA, was to receive the Bernardo O'Higgins Presidential Order of Merit from the Chilean government. Protocol dictates that the Chilean honor be presented to the recipient in person. Due to health concerns, the 86-year old Mr. Pandol was unable to attend the reception at Fresh Summit. So on Nov. 4, Jose Manuel Lira, consul general of the Chilean consulate in Los Angeles, visited the Pandol offices in Delano to bestow the

Yuma, AZ, grower-shipper Robby Barkley of Barkley Ag Enterprises was elected chairman of the board of the Western Growers Association at its 84th annual convention held Nov. 9-11 in Las Vegas. Mr. Barkley, who grows winter vegetables in the Arizona desert, succeeds outgoing Chairman Kevin Andrew, chief operating officer of Sun World Inc. in Bakersfield, CA. In his state-of-the-year address, Mr. Andrew cited the progress made toward solving California's water crisis as one of the highlights of his year at the helm, and discussions about water and the historic package of water bills recently

Emerging produce exporters in the Dominican Republic have an initial plan to grow their businesses first by focusing on the New York City market -- and a new office located in the city aims to help them find success. A highly tangible part of that plan was set to become official Nov. 14 with the grand opening of the Dominican Agritrade Resource Desk in the Bronx, NY. The director of the resource office is Josephine Infante, whose parents long ago immigrated to the Bronx from the Dominican Republic. She is also the chief executive officer of the Hunts Point Economic Development Corp. in the