HARTFORD, CT -- Despite the recent proliferation of gray, wet weather, the state's specialists in early sweet corn production have once again beat other growers throughout the Northeast in bringing sweet corn to Connecticut consumers, according to the Connecticut Department of Agriculture. "I began picking very early this morning," Tom Baggott of Baggott Family Farms in East Windsor, CT, which uses a combination of plastic and row cover to coax the plants into growing faster and earlier than more traditional field methods," said in a June 26 press release. "We'll have it for sale at our

FRESNO, CA -- The California Table Grape Commission, here, is hoping to form an association in the minds of baseball fans between baseball and California grapes. From Little League to Major League, from players to fans, grapes are the ideal snack at a game, according to Jim Howard, the commission's communications director. To help make that happen, the commission is launching a foodservice pilot project at the San Francisco Giants' stadium (AT&T Park), working at the ballpark with the foodservice provider which will be offering grab-and-go snack packs of rinsed and de-stemmed grapes in small

SUN VALLEY, ID -- Several dozen members of the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Fruit & Vegetable Association, along with family members, attended the group's 47th annual convention June 4-6, here. In addition to the election of the 2009-10 officers and board of directors, the three-day event included a general business meeting, transportation sessions and a keynote address by Tom Nassif, president and chief executive officer of Western Growers Association. Outgoing President Tim Gluch of Golden West Produce in Nyssa, OR, passed the gavel to Marc Bybee of Nyssa-based Fiesta Farms. Ryan Henggeler of

A new economic stimulus policy implemented by the government of China is expected to have positive repercussions for U.S. garlic producers over the next year. Jim Provost, president of I Love Produce LLC in Kelton, PA, characterized the situation by saying, "We are on the cusp of something historic. The prices [for Chinese peeled garlic] are at an historic high." According to Mr. Provost, the price per 20-pound box of Chinese peeled garlic was $8 a month ago. "Now it's selling for $18 a box," he told The Produce News June 23. "As [the price of] Chinese goes up, it's getting closer to the

While discussions between produce professionals, government representatives and others regarding the need for a complete renovation of the Hunts Point Terminal Market have been ongoing for years, a new task force is determined to do whatever it can to help the project come to fruition. Jim Allen, president of the New York Apple Association in Fishers, NY, and a Hunts Point renovation task force member, told The Produce News that the task force is comprised of volunteers from the produce industry and government who recognize the need for a major renovation of the Bronx, NY-based facility. Mr

John Bailey, executive director of Top 10 Produce LLC in Salinas, CA, told The Produce News that on June 1, the company launched an initiative to help family and small growers maximize the effectiveness of traceback technology in an efficient and low-cost way. "Come January 1, 2010, as GS1 DataBar 2010 Sunrise, an item-specific traceability initiative goes into effect, many small farmers are going to find themselves scurrying to adopt the system," said Mr. Bailey. "These producers will likely end up paying a lot of money to register their brands with GS1 because they will feel they have no