ELTOPIA, WA -- While asparagus acreage in Washington state has dropped significantly in recent years, down from 22,000 in 2000 to 8,500 this season, new plantings are starting to come into production, and prices are looking good for 2008. According to Alan Schreiber, executive director of the Washington Asparagus Commission, fresh-market grass from Washington could bring 65 cents per pound "or better" this year. Moreover, he said that in 2007, "more asparagus nurseries were planted in the Columbia Basin and Yakima Valley than in the three previous years combined." Figures show that in 1990, 30

While the atmosphere will remain intimate for the New England Produce Council's Produce & Floral Expo April 9 in Boston, Laura Sullivan, executive director of the Burlington, MA-based group, said that the number of exhibitors will be slightly higher. Ms. Sullivan told The Produce News March 26 that the 2008 show will have 225 booths, up from last year's 218. "We will keep growing as much as we can," she stated. The location in the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center yields abundant space that "allows growth," she said. "The expo has been hovering around the same numbers for the past couple

The California Avocado Commission board of directors honored commission President Mark Affleck at its March meeting on the very day marking his 20- year anniversary as chief executive officer. The surprise ceremony featured 17 speakers, including board members, past board chairmen, commission employees and leaders who have worked with Mr. Affleck as he piloted the California avocado industry through a series of challenges and two decades of increased grower value. CAC Chairman Rick Shade, who has been on the board for nearly half of Mr. Affleck's tenure, lauded him for his extraordinary vision

Frederick G. Tobi, who founded The Tobi Co. in Tampa, FL, and served as its president until retiring in 1986, died March 24. He was 87. Mr. Tobi founded The Tobi Co., also known as Tobi Brokerage Co., in 1947 after retiring to Tampa following an esteemed career in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He soon made his mark in produce, receiving numerous industry awards, including the Apple Man of the Year Award in 1981, and Produce Man for All Seasons Award in 1986. He also served as a director of the Produce Marketing Association from 1979 to 1982. In 1968 and 1969, he served as chairman of the Brokerage

This month marks the 10th anniversary for Bart Minor in his role as president and chief executive officer of the Mushroom Council. The decade for the council, based in Dublin, CA, has seen a dramatic ebb and flow. According to a Mushroom Council press release, last year the council completed its first full year of marketing following the five-year silence that stemmed from the Supreme Court ruling against the council's checkoff advertising program. With the ruling overturned, the Mushroom Council renewed its efforts to reach Americans with new messages about mushrooms' versatility, health

The Santa Maria, CA, area located in Santa Barbara County has plenty of advantages for produce growers, with its excellent ground and long growing season. In recent years Salinas, CA-based Pacific International Marketing has been increasing its acreage in Santa Maria by 5-10 percent annually, said Melinda Richardson, PIM's director of marketing. The company grows, packs and ships broccoli, leaf lettuces, Iceberg lettuce, cauliflower and strawberries in Santa Maria. PIM grows broccoli year round in Santa Maria and grows cauliflower about 10 months out of the year there. PIM farms in the western