WASHINGTON -- A new, bipartisan immigration reform bill just introduced to overhaul the guestworker program will elevate the level of debate in Congress, but it is still unclear whether the foreign labor-dependent farmers will get any relief.

With much fanfare, Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA), joined by other lawmakers, introduced a comprehensive bill on May 12.

TORONTO -- Numbers alone seldom tell the whole story of any event, but the numbers regarding the Canadian Produce Marketing Association's 80th annual convention and trade show paint a rosy picture indeed.

Attendance at the convention, held here May 11-14, reached a record 3,450 from 17 different countries, according to the association. Last year about 3,300 people attended the show Feb. 4-7 in Calgary, AB. Formerly held in the dead of winter, the Toronto convention marked the first time CPMA held its annual gathering in the spring.

Ecuador, the world's largest producer and exporter of bananas, is planning to institute a new commission that will legally regulate banana exports in an effort to stabilize the global banana market.

A report detailing this effort appeared in Reefer Trends, an independent news and information service for the global reefer shipping business.

Rosemont Farms Corp., based in Boca Raton, FL, has hired Hurley Neer to take on the role of vice president of sales and marketing.

Most recently Mr. Neer was the director of eastern vegetable sales at L&M Cos. in Raleigh, NC, where he held various management positions over the past eight years.

Mr. Neer began his produce career 15 years ago with Del Monte Fresh Produce in Coral Gables, FL, where he moved through the ranks of the organization to become the director of planning and operations for North America.

The Peruvian Asparagus Importers Association in Miami has developed a category management program for Peruvian asparagus in an attempt to assist retailers in the increase sales of fresh asparagus.

The plan includes market summary, Peruvian industry facts, consumer positioning, category strategies, a monthly ad planner, suggested goals and objectives, key product and consumer demographics, purchasing facts and other important asparagus statistics.

Things were looking promising for the early cherry crop in the San Joaquin Valley right up until the start of the harvest in late April. Then the rains came.

It had been a notoriously wet winter, and the pattern was not letting up with the arrival of spring. But rarely has the valley seen rainfall of any real significance so late in the season. So with each storm system that passed through, there was an optimism, if not the expectation, that it would be the last.

But Mother Nature dashed those hopes with a vengeance.