Tim Ellison, director of the Arkansas Agriculture Department Plant Board in Little Rock, said that crop reports had not come into the office as of late May. "But the state did have a wet and cooler-than-normal spring, so word is that most vegetable and fruit crops will be somewhat stalled this season," he said. "We are just now beginning to plant our sweet potato crop," Harvey Williams Sr., a grower-partner of Arkansas Delta Produce Marketing Association LLC in Lexa, AR, told The Produce News May 27. "The weather has been wet, keeping us out of the fields until now. It's been a rainy spring

Almost one year after the debut of Six L's Vintage Ripe tomatoes, the heirloom variety has found its stride with year-round production and nearly 25 percent more acreage. The new Vintage Ripe tomato season kicked off June 1 with production coming from South Carolina. The deal then transitions to Virginia for the months of July through October before rounding out the season with Florida production November through May. Vintage Ripe tomatoes are marketed as a vine-ripened, premium tomato with "authentic tomato flavor." Vintage Ripe heirloom-style tomatoes differ in appearance from other heirloom

For most consumers, lettuce and tomatoes go hand in hand. But in the produce department, the tomato category has definitely outdistanced its salad and burger complement in recent years. While the lettuce category had a great run with the addition of value-added items in the 1990s, unlike the tomato category it has not seen a lot of innovation in the past decade. But that might be changing. Rick Antle, chief executive officer of Tanimura & Antle Inc. in Salinas, CA, one of the top lettuce grower-shippers in the country, said that lettuce just might be ready to rival tomatoes in terms of

WASHINGTON -- United Fresh Produce Association President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Stenzel testified in Congress June 3 that he is concerned that a draft food-safety bill ready for markup this month could derail the produce industry's traceability initiative. At a four-hour hearing before the House Energy & Commerce Health subcommittee, Mr. Stenzel said that Congress should allow only commodity- specific standards for fresh produce that apply equally to domestic- and foreign-grown products. Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and John Dingell (D-MI) introduced the draft Food Safety Enhancement Act

With Mexico slapping a 45 percent tariff on U.S. grapes this year, China could become a very important market for the California grape industry. China already is the top overseas market for California grapes, trailing only Canada and Mexico (which both hold an advantage geographically) with regard to grape imports. In 2008, China imported almost 24,000 metric tons of grapes from the United States, which equates to about 2.8 million cartons. That is about half of what went to Mexico and about one-quarter of the shipments to Canada, but it is more than any other offshore market and is very

Veronica Rodriguez dreams big -- and is working diligently to make those dreams a reality. The 28-year-old vice president of sales and marketing for Caribe Food Corp. in Miami is a third-generation member of the family-owned importer- exporter-distributor. "My grandfather Guillermo Rodriguez started this business in 1970 sending Latin crops north to his brother in New Jersey," she said. The company, which is preparing for its 40th anniversary, today features a product line of more than 200 items. Ms. Rodriguez returned to the family fold almost two years ago after spending several years