Paul Villa, owner and president of Great West Produce Inc. in City of Commerce, CA, along with a group of eight other prominent members of the Los Angeles-area business community, had an opportunity to spend a day aboard a U.S. Navy nuclear submarine, the USS Albuquerque, at sea off the coast of San Diego. It is the second time in two years that Mr. Villa has been aboard a U.S. Navy vessel at sea as part of the Navy's Distinguished Visitor Program. On the previous occasion, in 2008, the vessel was an aircraft carrier with a 5,000- member crew, the vastness of which contrasted dramatically with

Mushroom Good Agricultural Practices were highlighted by the president of the American Mushroom Institute at a May 13 meeting of government agencies in Harrisburg, PA. AMI President Laura Phelps was one of a half-dozen speakers representing Pennsylvania agricultural interests at the meeting, which was titled FDA Produce Rule Listening Session. Ms. Phelps spoke about the mushroom industry's food-safety efforts. In the text of her presentation, which she shared with The Produce News, Ms. Phelps noted that the mushroom industry in Pennsylvania and the nation has "a remarkable success story to

VANCOUVER, BC -- Perhaps mirroring a rebounding economy that was touted throughout the gathering, the Canadian Produce Marketing Association's 85th annual convention and trade show set an attendance record when more than 3,300 produce professionals participated in the event, held here May 12-14. The convention has expanded tremendously in recent years, and this year was no exception as the trade show registered a 25 percent increase in exhibitors over the last time Vancouver was the host city, which makes it the largest show ever. The event was peppered with general and business sessions as

A federal judge ruled May 18 that government agencies must take into account the human costs -- not just the effect on wildlife -- when restricting water allocations to farmers and other water users. The judge also stated that decisions to cut farm water deliveries in Central California, with the expressed intent of protecting endangered fish species, were based on flawed science. The ruling in Fresno, CA, by U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger, which is expected to loosen restriction on pumping water from the Sacramento River Delta into canal systems delivering water to agricultural and urban

The California Tree Fruit Agreement conducted some new research last year identifying "retailers who did the best job with the whole stone fruit category" in an effort to determine factors accounting for their success. "One of the principal findings was that the retailers who had the most robust sales record with the entire stone fruit category were the ones that paid more attention to the white-flesh sub-category, so [white-flesh fruit] is a really important element in the stone fruit category to the most successful retailers," said Dave Parker, marketing director for Scattaglia Growers &

Green Giant Fresh, based in Salinas, CA, is building a bridge between a virtual farming phenomenon and a real shopping experience with the launch of its promotion with Internet gaming sensation FarmVille. While the rich heritage of the iconic "Green Giant" brand is no stranger to American consumers, FarmVille has taken the country by storm and in less than a year has become the No. 1 gaming application on Facebook, with nearly 80 million people playing the game worldwide. Under the terms of the promotion, which was scheduled for a limited launch on May 19, consumers purchasing selected "Green