Recent weeks have brought good news and bad news with regard to agriculture pests in California as an Oriental fruit fly infestation was announced less than two weeks after the Mediterranean fruit fly was declared eradicated from the state. A joint release from the California Department of Food & Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Aug. 14 that the Medfly had been eradicated and that quarantines in place since 2007 in parts of Santa Clara, Solano and Los Angeles counties were being lifted. "At present, there are no remaining Medfly infestations in the state," the

Food safety, sustainability and immigration reform will take center stage at the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association's 65th annual convention Sept. 21- 23 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Naples, FL. Howard Fineman, senior Washington correspondent and columnist for Newsweek, will be the keynote speaker during the convention's traditional Cracker Breakfast on Sept. 23. Mr. Fineman, one of the nation's leading political reporters and commentators, also is a news analyst on NBC's "Today Show," MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews" and "Countdown with Keith Olbermann." Random House has published

In its July 7, 2008 issue, The Produce News published an article, "Karla Stockli joins Cal Fig Advisory Board." Due to an unfortunate error by our Western Editor, Brian Gaylord, substantial portions of this article were inadvertently copied from an article which ran in the June 30, 2008 issue of The Packer, "Fig advisory board names general manager", written by Don Schrack of The Packer. Mr. Gaylord's error also resulted in the same story being posted on the web site of The Produce News on July 3, 2008. This story posted on The Produce News web site also contained substantial portions of the

Wenatchee, WA-based Stemilt Growers, a major player in U.S. tree fruit production, recently opened the doors of its new Miller Street pear facility in Wenatchee. According to Stemilt Marketing Director Roger Pepperl, the new facility features two commit-to-pack lines, a post-harvest pear-ripening center and a network of cold storage rooms. Mr. Pepperl said that the new pear lines will increase efficiencies and give the company more flexibility when filling orders. "We now have a one-stop shop for pears," Mr. Pepperl said in a press release. "Not only have our packing, ripening and storing

Del Monte Fresh Produce Co. recently acquired two melon operations in Guatemala to further strengthen its position as a leader in the off shore melon season and as one of the world's leading fresh produce companies. The combined acquired operations produced approximately 5 million boxes of cantaloupes and honeydews during the 2008 season. Neither company marketed their products under the "Del Monte" brand during the 2008 season. The acquisition continues to demonstrate Del Monte Fresh's commitment to invest in its key core product categories as exemplified by the recent acquisition of Caribana

CHICAGO - The volume of apples produced in the United States for the 2008- 09 season is expected to be down about 5 percent from the previous season and down about 9 percent from the five-year average, according to the U.S. Apple Association. USApple is forecasting a total national crop of 207.18 million bushels. Those estimates differ slightly from U.S. Department of Agriculture numbers, which indicate a 1 percent increase from last season and a 4 percent decrease from the five-year average. USDA is forecasting a total national crop of 218.22 million bushels. The numbers were announced during