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Get the latest information on weather conditions, freight rates and a full range of commodities from The Source, Pro*Act's semi-weekly report.


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Much improved demand for Iceberg lettuce and broccoli
By Bill Armstrong

Bill Armstrong is a self-employed produce broker who operates Armstrong Marketing in Salinas, CA. His column appears here every Wednesday afternoon/Thursday morning. He may be reached by phone at 888/484-0800 or at ArmstrongMarketing@comc ast.net


WEATHER

Yuma, AZ: Daytime highs will be in the mid-70s to 80 degrees through March 12 with overnight lows in the mid-40s to low 50s.

Oxnard, CA: Modest rain is expected March 6. Daytime highs will be in the low to mid-60s through March 12 with overnight lows in the mid-40s.

Bakersfield, CA: Modest rain is expected March 6. Daytime highs will be in the low to mid-60s through March 12 with overnight lows in the upper 30s to low 40s.


DEMAND

Demand for yellow, white and red onions exceeds the available supply. Row crop shippers are seeing much improved demand for Iceberg lettuce and broccoli.


TRANSPORTATION & FUEL

Trucking companies continue to have difficulty finding westbound loads from the East Coast. The availability of trucks on the West Coast is only fair, and freight rates are strong for this time of the year. The price of crude oil rose $1.19 March 3 to $80.87 per barrel, which is 45 percent below record levels of July 2008. The nationwide average price for a gallon of diesel the week of March 1 was $2.86, which is 37 percent higher than one year ago. The average price in California for a gallon of diesel is $3.02, which is 41 percent higher than one year ago.

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State-by-state crop progress and condition reports.

Market News
Marketing conditions for hundreds of agricultural commodities at major domestic and international wholesale markets, production areas, and ports of entry.




















March 9, 2010


Ringing in spring
Bill Moncovich, president of California Giant Berry Farms, will be featured in a television commercial March 19 in 26 U.S. media markets heralding the first day of spring. See Today's Headlines. (Photo courtesy of Cal Giant)


Strike ends
Sonny DiCrecchio, executive director of the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market, shakes hands with Rocky Bryan Jr., president of Teamsters Local 929, after a March 8 press conference at the market announcing the end of a labor strike at the market. See Today's Headlines. (Photo by Tad Thompson)


John Shuman,
founder and president of Produce for Kids, spoke at a PFK reception Friday, March 5, in Tampa, FL, during the Southeast Produce Council’s annual conference and expo. See Today's Headlines. (Photo by Gordon M. Hochberg)


Dante Galleazzi (right) …
recently caught a 33-inch red drum while fishing off South Padre Island, TX. See Generation Next. (Photo courtesy of Dante Galleazzi)


Carole McKenzie,
vice president of public affairs at Clear Springs Farms in Winter Haven, FL, part of the field tours Friday, March 5, during the Southeast Produce Council's conference and expo in Tampa, FL. Clear Springs' blueberries generally start in mid- to late March and run to about May. The company's farm produced about 865,000 pounds of blues last year and could approach 1.5 million pounds this year, she said during the tour. (Photo by Gordon M. Hochberg)



2010 Restaurant show
Several produce companies took part in the 17th annual International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York.
Click here to view Industry Photo pages.



Click here to view the Floral Marketing section of The Produce News.


For a list of some of the popular industry meetings and other events scheduled to take place over the next few months around the country and abroad, complete with contact information and website links, click here.

PACA DECISIONS
The PACA branch of the the USDA-AMS prohibits unfair and fraudulent practices, and provides a means of enforcing contracts.Click here for the agency's latest decisions.

CREDIT INFORMATION FROM THE NO. 1 SOURCE
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SEARCH THE PN.COM ARCHIVES FOR FREE
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Mexican mango deal has slow start; big volume not expected until April
In three of the last four years, the Mexican mango deal has gotten off to a fast start with at least some shipments in early February, and some marketable volume by the end of the month. This year, however, substantial volume is not expected until early April. more


Cal Giant TV spot helps ring in spring
California Giant Berry Farms in Watsonville, CA, will run a 30-second television commercial in 26 U.S. markets on March 19 heralding the first day of spring. more

Brotherly love returns to Philadelphia market
PHILADELPHIA - After a five-day labor strike that ran from March 1-5, management from the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market along with members of the Teamsters Local 929 announced March 8 that they reached a settlement. more

SPC hosts reception for PFK retailers and sponsors
Produce for Kids, an organization that promotes the benefits of healthy eating and supports worthy causes for children, celebrated the completion of its 2009 annual program and the continued support of its partner retailers and suppliers at a reception at the Southeast Produce Council's annual conference and expo. more

Tariff removal sweet news for Washington apple industry
Officials from Washington's apple industry are pleased with an early March announcement by the Mexican government that a tariff in place for more than a decade was removed. The 47 percent duty added approximately $10 to each box of imported Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples. more

Uncle Matt's offering organic Sicilian blood oranges
Uncle Matt's, based in Clermont, FL, is partnering with Agrinova, a co-op of small organic growers in Sicily, to offer premium organic Sicilian blood oranges to U.S. consumers. The oranges will be available starting the week of March 8 through early April. more

Nogales deal going strong after slow start
NOGALES, AZ — A season that began with the doldrums has become one of the more profitable in memory for the Nogales produce industry with the only apparent difference between brokers, growers and distributors being the amount by which they have profited from production problems in other growing regions. more

Display contest a winner for apple industry and partners
The National Apple Month program announced the winners of the fall 2009 National Apple Month retail and military display contests. The annual contest, which jump starts the domestic apple industry's marketing season, provided retailers and the apple industry with increased sales and gave consumers easy access to great-tasting, good-for-you apples and partner products of Marzetti Caramel Apple Dips, Smucker’s natural peanut butter and JIF natural peanut butter. more

Speaker 'brings it home' at FPFC's Northern California membership luncheon
PLEASANTON, CA — More than 225 produce industry professionals gathered Feb. 24 at the Castlewood Country Club, here, for the first of the Fresh Produce & Floral Council's two Northern California membership luncheon meetings in 2010. more

Jim Hadley, CEO of Harold Crawford Co., dies at 66
Jim Hadley, president, chief executive officer and partner of Harold Crawford Co. Inc. in Bakersfield, CA, died Feb. 20, just one month after undergoing surgery for colon cancer. He was 66. more

Northwest fruit giant results from Stemilt-Dovex merger
Stemilt Growers Inc. and Dovex Marketing & Packing, both based in Wenatchee, WA, have merged to become what is arguably the leading U.S. tree fruit growing, packing and marketing operation. more



Egalitarian focus led to explosive growth for Southeast Produce Council
By Chip Carter

TAMPA, FL -- Founded 10 years ago with just six members, the Southeast Produce Council is on a roll.


From humble beginnings, it has grown to 600 members, many of whom will be in attendance when the council hosts the 2010 Retail & Foodservice Conference & Exposition, known as Southern Exposure, here March 4-6.

"We've got a great growth streak," SPC President Tom Page of Supervalu Inc. told The Produce News in mid-February. "Right now we're looking at record attendance. The word's gotten out about SPC and Southern Exposure." The council limits the number of exhibitors to 200, and this year there was a waiting list for vendors hoping for a booth.

more


Patriarch's coin toss led Dante Galeazzi to a career with C.H. Robinson
By Chip Carter

A coin toss put Dante Galeazzi in McAllen, TX as regional sales manager for C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. What makes that even more interesting is that Mr. Galeazzi's great-great-grandfather, a farmer, held that coin four generations ago in northern Italy.


At the grim dawn of fascism and the reign of Benito Mussolini, the Galeazzi family knew difficult days lay ahead for Italy. But the family could only afford to send a lone representative to a new life in the United States.

Two brothers, both butchers, squared off at the family farm, their father ready to toss the fateful coin. Before the coin was tossed, one brother's wife stepped forward with an announcement: she was expecting another child, her second. The other brother and his wife had but one child -- Dante Galeazzi's grandfather.

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