The typical heavy Christmas pull for fruits and vegetables combined with the weather issues and reluctance of some drivers to hit the road over the holidays caused freight rates to spike a bit through December. And while there was some lingering effect with $7,000 cross country rates still being quoted in early January, industry experts were expecting adequate supplies and a small drop in rates during the late winter/early spring period.

One can't pick up a food magazine or watch a cable food show without seeing the wonders of quinoa explored. Often it is paired with vegetables and now a clamshell pack of quinoa is available in some retail produce departments.

A comparison of water resources and availability in two of Colorado’s geographic regions reads like a Tale of Two Basins.

Dave Nettles, division engineer for Div. 1 of the state engineer’s office in Greeley, CO, said prospects in 2014 have greatly improved in the South Platte River Basin. The basin services agricultural producers located within or near the state’s most populous metropolitan area, the Front Range. Last year was turbulent for the region’s fresh producers, who saw their ability to irrigate severely curtailed.

The Organic Trade Association appointed Laura Batcha as its new chief executive officer and executive director -- the fourth person to hold the position in the association's 29-year history. The announcement was made in a Jan. 7 press release.

Batcha replaces Christine Bushway in the position.

Mixed blessings may arrive in odd packaging.

When a series of devastating freezes struck Michigan’s early blooming apple crop in April 2012, the state’s tiny potential apples turned black and died.

Damage done, the good part of this story began its flow.

The Michigan apple industry has been on a positive roll for years. The Great Lakes State is located just a day-long truck delivery from many major Eastern markets.