BONITA SPRINGS, FL -- A decade of hurricanes, freezes, disease, pestilence and groves lost to encroaching real estate development has hammered the Florida citrus industry mercilessly, but growers and shippers attending the fifth Florida Citrus Industry annual conference June 24-26 at the Coconut Point Hyatt were not singing the blues. "To paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors of the Florida citrus industry's demise have been greatly exaggerated," Michael Sparks, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Florida Citrus Mutual, told gathered media at the conference. "That's not to say

Summer is a great time to pick up healthy habits, but so many people fall off the bandwagon come autumn. The Idaho Potato Commission wants to help potato fans stay on track with tips for exercising healthy lifestyle habits all year long. With enhanced download instructions, installing Dishin' Nutrition with Denise Austin from IdahoPotato.com/widget is easier than ever before. The Widget Support section provides detailed but not daunting steps for installing the widget on a computer's desktop, e-mail, RSS, blog, web site or social network profile. The content has also been "recharged" with more

Just as the season's first tangy-sweet Enza Jazz apples from New Zealand arrived in stores across North America, a member of its namesake cycling team was crowned Queen of the Mountains on the streets of Philadelphia. The first weekend in June drew the world's top pro cyclists to the TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship. This 57.6-mile road race consists of four laps around a 14.4-mile circuit, which includes four steep climbs up the famous Manayunk Wall's grueling 17 percent grade. With a team effort behind her, Jazz Apple's Ruth Corset catapulted through Queen of the

H.E. Butt Grocery Co. stores teamed up with Idaho potatoes and Paul Prudhomme's Magic Seasoning Blends to spice up its produce sales in March. The San Antonio, TX-based grocery chain pumped up produce purchases at its Texas locations with a New Orleans Cooking Adventure sweepstakes. The monthlong promotion enticed H-E-B customers to add flavor to their fare, specifically Idaho potatoes, with product discounts and a chance to win a New Orleans Cooking Adventure, which included a trip to New Orleans and a private cooking lesson from famed Chef Paul Prudhomme. "Product tie-ins top our list of

WASHINGTON -- A federal court sided with grower groups June 29 and put on hold the Obama administration's move to abandon December 2008 H-2A rules. At issue are final H-2A rules, which took effect Jan. 17, 2009, that were designed to fix problems with the 1987 temporary visa rules after a nearly two-year regulatory process. In March, just hours after Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis took office, the new rules were suspended, replaced with the original 1987 rules, and accompanied by a 10-day comment period. But Judge William Osteen Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North

Market Fresh Produce LLC has hired Don Sieling as its new national director of business development. Mr. Sieling will be responsible for ongoing development and implementation of the Market Fresh strategic marketing plan across North America. Now in its 11th year, Market Fresh has experienced explosive growth since 2006. The company offers one of the industry's premium produce brands, "Market Fresh," for the full potato category, the full tomato category, sweet onions, storage onions and sweet potatoes. "We have outstanding logistics capability and some of the finest supply partners assembled