WASHINGTON -- Fresh fruit and vegetable businesses should not expect any surprises from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's long-awaited final country-of-origin labeling regulation that goes into effect March 15. The Jan. 15 final rule is similar to the Aug. 1, 2008, interim final rule, according to Ken Gilliland, director of transportation and international trade for the Western Growers Association. "It pretty much follows the interim final rule with a slight tweaking," he told The Produce News. The produce industry fought for changes to the initial COOL regulations in the 2007 farm bill and

The Salinas, CA-based Grower-Shipper Association of Central California has hired Joann Greathead as its first-ever director of membership in its nearly 80-year history. For Ms. Greathead, the role means a change of venue within the GSA building: For the past five years, she was manager of the Central California Lettuce Producers Cooperative. She stepped into her new role Jan. 5. Prior to working for the lettuce cooperative, Ms. Greathead spent six years as the office manager for the Monterey County Farm Bureau. In both her work with the lettuce cooperative and with the Monterey County Farm

Annie Cheatham has been selected to lead the New England Farmers Union. Formed in 2006, the union represents farming and fishing families in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island. "The advantage of having an active and vital chapter of the Farmers Union in New England is that we can benefit from the professional representation of our issues in the halls of Congress and in the new administration," Ms. Cheatham said in a press release. "The access that Farmers Union has and its reputation as a progressive advocate for family farmers and fishermen are great

A proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service would lift a ban on the shipment of Hass avocados from Peru into the continental United States, subject to the implementation of a phytosanitary protocol similar to that required for other imported fruit. APHIS issued a notice of the proposed rule Jan. 6 and published the notice in the Federal Register Jan. 7. The proposal is now in a comment period, and APHIS will "consider all comments received on or before March 9," according to the notice. Industry sources expect that it could take a year or

When the U.S. Apple Association's annual Market Outlook Conference, held Aug. 21-22 in Chicago, drew to a close, apple professionals from around the world returned home thinking that the U.S. apple crop, which helps to dictate projected seasonal movement and prices internationally, would be short on volume. The season, as predicted, started strong. John Rice, president of Rice Fruit Co. in Gardners, PA, said, "Our company started out with a strong market year, but in the last couple of months, it has become much more competitive." Mr. Rice explained that in August, Michigan apple producers did

When the new president and new Congress take their oaths of office this month, they will be confronted by an economic crisis unrivaled since the Great Depression as well as high-priority issues including war, health-care reform and global warming. Given the gravity of these enormous issues that cut through all sectors, what can we expect on produce industry issues such as food safety, nutrition and immigration? It takes any president some time to assemble a complement of political appointees. The Senate hopes to confirm most of Barack Obama's Cabinet by the time of his swearing-in ceremony