WASHINGTON -- A new bill that would reform the ailing H-2A agricultural worker program was introduced by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) the week of Sept. 19.

"We need a reform of the H-2A program that promotes border security by allowing guest workers to come and go legally -- a reform that will streamline the costly and time-consuming process and establish a fair wage standard. This legislation accomplishes that," said Rep. Goodlatte.

The Mushroom Council in Dublin, CA, will resume national promotions on Jan. 1, 2006. "We're back in business," Jim Angelucci, chairman of the Mushroom Council, said Sept. 23.

The council received word Sept. 9 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that it may resume promotional activities at the dawn of next year. The Mushroom Council lost the right to promote on June 25, 2001 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory assessments under the USDA's program for promotional activities were unconstitutional.

PORTLAND, OR  Oregon's potato growers are in step with the national trend to reduce total acreage, and as such this seasons planted acreage total stands at 35,000 compared to 37,000 in 2004.

In September as harvest was commencing in some parts and finishing in other areas of the state, temperatures were cooler than normal, with most of the eastern and central regions seeing lows in the 20s and 30s.

Precipitation was varied, at some stations as low as none, and Oregon Agricultural Statistics Service noted Sept. 12, "For the most part, conditions remain dry."

The mango deal in Brazil began several weeks later than last year, with some shippers saying that the harvest started the third week of August and others saying that it started nearer the end of the month.

Volume was very light, and several shippers said that heavy volumes likely wouldn't be reached until the end of September or early October.

Shippers generally noted that early quality out of Brazil was very good, but cool weather in Brazil had kept the Brix count down.

Ryan Panos, an industrial engineering major at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, is seeking companies to volunteer for research he will conduct on the use and effect of bar code and RFID systems in the produce supply chain.

Though not in the film, Mr. Panos was on hand Sept. 17 at Salinas-based NewStar Fresh Foods for shooting of the Produce Marketing Association's film on RFID.

REEDLEY, CA -- A subcommittee of the California Plum Marketing Board, the Peach Commodity Committee and the Nectarine Administrative Committee, all of which are administered by the California Tree Fruit Agreement, here, are contemplating a recommendation to eliminate mandatory grade and quality inspections, according to CTFA President Blair Richardson.

"This is one of the most significant things this industry has considered in many, many years," Mr. Richardson told The Produce News Monday, Sept. 19.