WASHINGTON -- Labor shortages continue to hamper harvest operations across the country, but advocates warn that Congress may be unlikely to touch immigration reform for years to come if it doesn't act this summer. "We have until the end of August to get a bill," said New York Apple Association President Jim Allen. After that, Congress will start the presidential election season, and the prospects for relief from the increasing labor problems and tightening border security dim, he said. "In Idaho, we left apples on the trees," said Kelly Henggeler of Fruitland, ID- based Henggeler Packing Co

INDIANAPOLIS -- Imagination Farms and the Produce for Better Health Foundation have forged a strategic alliance based on shared a vision of increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables. Beyond traditional financial support, Imagination Farms has made a four-year commitment to provide direct marketing support to include further development of the kids section of the PBH web site with Disney character integration and implementing a seasonal promotion program tied to a movie or video release to drive additional excitement and enthusiasm around the "Fruits & Veggies More Matters" brand

SAN FRANCISCO -- Watermelon just got hotter. Sundia Corp., the only mass- producer of watermelon juice, announced that its line of 100 percent juices has been reformulated to better capture the essence of summer's more popular and more nutritious fruit. Beginning the second week in April, the new and improved juices will begin making their way onto refrigerated shelves in the produce sections of grocery stores nationwide. Sundia watermelon juices -- original watermelon, watermelon pomegranate, watermelon limeade, and watermelon blackberry -- debuted last summer to rave reviews in select states

Salinas, CA-based grower-shipper Church Bros. LLC and its processing entity True Leaf Farms have acquired Pride of San Juan's processing facility in San Juan Bautista, CA. Church Bros.' commodity and processing operations had been previously located in various areas throughout the Salinas Valley. By acquiring the Pride of San Juan plant, all field-packed and processed items in the company's northern operations will be consolidated and shipped from the new facility. Church Bros. has grown and expanded since re-opening in 2004, creating the need for a new, centralized location, according to

THORNTON, CO -- A 17-year-old high school junior was awarded top honors and $1,000 cash at a March 19 student chefs' cookoff sponsored by the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee. Six student chefs were chosen from an original field of 50 to compete in the cookoff. Heather Crosby, a student at Academy of Charter Schools in the Denver metro area city of Westminster, CO, was chosen by judges for her mashed potato doughnuts, which included Colorado russets as a primary ingredient. Ms. Crosby, the youngest competitor at the event, told The Produce News that she is pursuing a career as a pastry

Oxnard, CA-based Boskovich Farms has filed a libel lawsuit against Taco Bell Corp. alleging that Taco Bell continued to link its green onions to the December E. coli outbreak that sickened more than 70 people in the Northeast, despite knowing the produce was not contaminated. The lawsuit was filed the week of March 19 in Orange County Superior Court. Taco Bell Corp. is based in Irvine, CA. Thomas Girardi, an attorney for Oxnard-based Boskovich Farms, told The Produce News March 23 that Boskovich's decision to sue Taco Bell followed the company learning that Taco Bell had documentation from the