Like many California strawberry growers, California Giant Berry Farms in Watsonville, CA, grows strawberries in three districts in California: Oxnard, Santa Maria and Watsonville. This year, the company’s acreage in Oxnard is “pretty much the same as last year,” according to Cindy Jewell, marketing director.

A new tomato anti-dumping suspension agreement between Mexican tomato growers and the U.S. Commerce Department, that went into effect last year mid-season, raised the minimum price on tomatoes from Mexico coming in to U.S. markets, with the increases being significantly higher for some tomato categories than for others. The current tomato season is the first full season for which the new agreement, superseding a previous agreement that had been in place for 16 years.

Federated Railways Inc., an affiliate of Federated Capital Corp., has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Rail Logistics LC., including its "Cold Train" Express Intermodal Service.

The new subsidiary will be called "Federated Cold Train LLC" and will conduct business as Cold Train. The company will maintain its current management team and staff, including Steve Lawson as president and chief executive officer, and will retain its current headquarters located in Overland Park, KS.

Consider just a few obvious facts of current times that are and will continue to influence the fresh produce industry profoundly.

First, we know from reports from the U.S. Census Bureau that the Hispanic population is the fastest-growing consumer category in North America today. The 2010 Census reported that the U.S. Hispanic population surged 43 percent, rising to 50.5 million in 2010 from 35.3 million in 2000. In 2010, Latinos constituted 16 percent of the nation’s total population of the then 308.7 million.

The worst drought in a century in California was eased somewhat by several inches of rain across the state and considerable snow in some mountain areas from Wednesday, Feb. 26 through Sunday, March 2, but it was a mixed blessing in some growing areas, particularly for strawberries and vegetables along the central and southern coast.

The Southeast Produce Council has completed what is surely another hugely successful event — its 2014 conference and trade show — with record overall attendance, including record attendance by members of the retail and foodservice sector, all leading SPC Executive Director Terry Vorhees to state, "I'm very pleased."