WASHINGTON -- Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) said the House will vote on a stalled farm bill during the lame duck session, the first indication the issue is on the House Republicans’ crowded agenda for congressional action after the election.

Rep. Cantor appeared at a Boise, ID, campaign event for Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID), where he explained that the House delayed action on the farm policy legislation because it didn’t have the votes on the floor, according to the Oct. 24 Idaho Statesman.

ANAHEIM, CA -- According to Suzy Badaracco, president of Culinary Tides, health trends among today’s consumers indicate that the economy is in recovery.

“We’re coming into recovering. We’re doing it kicking, dragging and screaming, but we’re heading in that direction,” she told PMA Fresh Summit 2012 attendees during her presentation at the “Top Health Trends to Shape Produce Profitability” workshop on Oct. 26, here.

She added that consumers seem “more realistic” today and will pay more money if they truly value a product.

As Hurricane Sandy was bearing down on the Northeast, the produce trade was making preparations to cope with the storm of historic proportions that was expected to cause massive flooding and power outages throughout the densely populated area.

At 9:10 a.m., Mon. Oct. 29, Tad Thompson, business development manager for the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market, told The Produce News that just 10 minutes earlier, market officials made the decision to close the market early.

Amy Nguyen, sales executive for Dragonberry Produce Inc., said that the specialty boutique-style company, located in Clackamas, OR, is known for out-of-the-box thinking.

“We are daring to be different,” she told The Produce News. “That is the fun for me. We are a very unique company. We are not a cookie-cutter company.”

Twenty years ago there were at least two dozen citrus houses in the state of Texas. That number has now dwindled to four, not due to attrition but to mergers and acquisition, which makes it all the more remarkable that Lone Star Citrus in Mission, TX, has thrived and prospered.

Giorgio Fresh Co. and Modern Mushroom Farms have reached an agreement to transition the Modern Mushroom fresh mushroom business to the Giorgio family of brands.

Under this agreement, Giorgio will manage Modern’s packing facility in Chester County, PA, and purchase those mushrooms from Modern’s growing operations. Additionally, the Modern sales and customer service teams will become a part of the Giorgio team. Both the “Modern Farms” and “Green Giant Fresh” brands will continue to be in the market, and Green Giant Fresh will continue featuring Box Tops for Education.