PLANT CITY, FL -- The worst freeze in a century gripped Florida for most of the first week of 2010 as an arctic front that blew in Jan. 2 persisted and was expected to be reinforced over the weekend of Jan. 9-11 by another icy blast that threatened winter crops. As The Produce News went to press Jan. 7, most Florida farmers had seen little damage to winter crops. A reprieve from five consecutive nights of sub- freezing temperatures as far south as Lake Okeechobee on the eastern coast and Naples on the western coast was forecast for Jan. 7-8 before a second, even colder front was projected to

PLANT CITY, FL -- For millennia, indigenous peoples of eastern North America savored a small, sweet fruit called Fragaria virginiana. In South America, a larger but less flavorful fruit, Fragaria chiloensis, grew. Two hundred years ago, French explorer Am?d?e-Fran?ois Fr?zier brought home five samples of the South American plant. In 1740, the first version of what is recognized today as a typical strawberry was bred in Brittany, France, combining those plants with stock from the wild North American strawberry. Two centuries later, the strawberry industry was in full bloom in Plant City, FL, a

On Tuesday, Jan. 5, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles H. Bronson requested that Gov. Charlie Crist declare a state of emergency and issue an executive order directing the Florida Department of Transportation to relax the weight, height, length and width restrictions for commercial vehicles transporting vulnerable crops to processing sites. The order was requested in response to the current cold front hovering over the state. Gov. Crist responded by signing an executive order which took effect Jan. 5 and was announced by the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services about 8

Freeze warnings remained in effect Tuesday morning, Jan. 5, for the state of Florida as far south as Miami on the east coast and Naples on the west, with sub-freezing low temperatures predicted to continue through at least Monday, Jan. 11. According to the National Weather Service, a "reinforcing shot of colder and drier air pushing through the area will set the stage for a threat of freezing temperatures late tonight and Wednesday morning & for four to six hours & except for two to four hours along the [western Florida] Treasure Coast. Outlying areas south of Interstate 4 (which bisects the

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack named 25 committee members Jan. 5 who will advise him on key U.S. Department of Agriculture issues that affect the fruit and vegetable industry. The new members appointed to the Fruit & Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee represent grower-shippers, wholesalers, retailers, processors, trade associations, importers, foodservice suppliers, brokers and state departments of agriculture. Secretary Vilsack reauthorized a two-year charter for the Fruit & Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee in March 2009, and the Agricultural Marketing Service

The L&M Family of Companies, headquartered in Raleigh, NC, last month finalized its purchase of Griffin Holder Co., a year-round producer of yellow, mild, white, red and sweet onions based in Rocky Ford, CO, giving L&M a year-round supply of onions. "For L&M's onion program, this acquisition means gap-free, seamless, year- round supplies," Tracy Fowler, general manager of potatoes and onions for L&M, told The Produce News in early January. "There are not many onion companies in the country that have full annual control and movement of supplies. Our onion program now fits hand in hand with our