Growers in the Mexican states of Sinaloa and Sonora were assessing damage to assorted crops on the morning of Friday, Feb. 4, following two nights of freezing temperatures, as their distributors in Nogales, AZ, awaited news of the extent of the damage.

"Everything is changing. I don't know what to tell you. I still won't know what to tell you 'til Monday, but we got hit severely hard," Jerry Havel, director of sales and marketing at Fresh Farms in Nogales, said early morning Friday, Feb. 4.

Consumers are cashing in their chips for nuts in response to the second annual "Wonderful" pistachios Get Crackin' campaign.

A double-digit jump in sales during the fourth quarter of 2010 cemented the brand’s fourth-place position within the $12 billion salty snack category that is traditionally dominated by chips.

Parents and school foodservice specialists are on the front lines in the charge to improve child nutrition, and Pear Bureau Northwest is doing its part to support their good work. A new partnership with Schoolmenu.com provides the Pear Bureau with a unique opportunity to educate families and school foodservice operators about healthy, fresh pears and their unique appeal to school-age kids. Launched in August, Schoolmenu.com collaborates with school districts across the country to feature news and information on elementary, middle and high school nutrition programs.

Texans are dealing with rolling power blackouts, burst water pipes and snow on the ground as far south as Houston amidst an unprecedented cold snap that has paralyzed the state this week. And more wintry weather is on the way, including the possibility of freezing precipitation in the entire eastern half of the state Feb. 3-4.

The good news is that the same cloud cover that might bring sleet, snow or freezing rain has also kept temperatures at or just below freezing since Feb. 2

WATSONVILLE, CA -- Driscoll Strawberry Associates Inc. has announced changes in the company organization to better serve its global customers, growers and marketing partners. The changes were effective Jan. 31.

LODI, CA -- In the 1980s, Chiles Wilson and Brian Machado took over ownership of All State Packers. They built their business growing and packing Bartlett pears and Bing cherries, primarily in the Sacramento River and Lodi regions of California.