With several weeks of 2022’s onion harvest and shipping in the rear-view mirror, Idaho-E. Oregon shippers are assessing the season to date, with many comparing it to the 2021-22 short-crop year.

Yields are down throughout the Treasure Valley as the result of unfavorable weather conditions during planting as well as relentless heat during the growing season, but consensus on quality has been “very good” to “excellent,” and sizing in the storage crop is said to be trending to jumbos with fewer colossals and more mediums.

At its Fall Recognition Event held on Friday, Oct. 7, the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California posthumously awarded Dennis Caprara with the E.E (Gene) Harden Lifetime Achievement Award, which is given to an individual who’s made an extraordinary contribution and created a lasting legacy benefitting Central Coast agriculture. The award was presented to Caprara’s wife, Janice, and the Caprara family.

Village Farms Fresh will be exhibiting at the International Fresh Produce Association's first annual Global Produce & Floral Show to held in Orlando, FL, at the Orange County Convention Center on Friday and Saturday, Oct 27 and 28. 

The company invites attendees to Bite into Fresh when visiting their booth — No. 3643 — and has many surprises in store.

"We are ready to spill the beans on one of the biggest surprises," the company said in a statement.

Nutrition is an important part of the New York Apple Association’s message about apples. Kelly Springer, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the organization, is reaching out to consumers through television and social media to spread the word that New York apples are a healthy and delicious snack. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on two produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.

The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:

In many ways, Jeff Oberman has been in training his entire career for the California Avocado Commission presidency slot that he just secured.  He was hired earlier this month after close to a year-long search and starts his new position today.