With the 2009 tomato season from California's Central Valley just getting underway, the multi-million-dollar question is how many tomatoes will be produced this year.

"We'd love to know what is going on in the Central Valley," said Mark Munger, vice president of marketing for Andrew & Williamson in San Diego. "You want to know about the size of the crop?" asked Jeff Dolan of the DiMare Co. in Newman, CA. "So do I."

MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ -- Richard Leibowitz is looking to reinvent the specialty potato market.

Mr. Leibowitz, managing director of the newly formed Specialty Potato Alliance, told The Produce News during an interview at his office, here in north-central New Jersey that the organization is comprised of North America's premier growers and distributors of specialty potatoes, and its initial focus will be on fingerling potato varieties from heirloom and new varietal stock.

The Fruit & Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corp., based in Ottawa, ON, issued a notice to its members June 9 advising that Deloitte & Touche Inc. in Windsor, ON, has been appointed receiver of Red Zoo Marketing, headquartered in Kingsville, ON.

Fred Webber, vice president of trading assistance at the DRC, told The Produce News that under Canadian law, receivership is much like a bankruptcy in the United States.

Agricultural producers in northeastern Colorado are assessing hail damage to crops resulting from a turbulent storm which struck Weld County June 10.

Two funnel clouds were spotted during the mid-afternoon, and the sightings were confirmed by the National Weather Service. Tornados did not form or touch down in the area, however.

The Produce News spoke with several regional producers in the region Thursday morning, June 11.

WASHINGTON -- New legislation that would give the Food & Drug Administration authority to write federal produce-safety standards and set up sweeping traceability regulations cleared its first hurdle when a subcommittee approved the bill on June 10.

The House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee approved the Food Safety Enhancement Act (H.R. 2749), a bill that is likely to "have a lot of impact on the produce industry," Robert Guenther of the United Fresh Produce Association told The Produce News at the Capitol Hill hearing.

WASHINGTON -- Two years after launching new standards in California for growing and handling leafy greens, a coalition of produce groups has petitioned the federal government to establish a national marketing agreement for leafy greens.

In a June 9 petition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the groups asked the federal government to set up a national marketing agreement based on best practices and a verification program designed to reduce the potential for another crippling outbreak like the 2006 E. Coli episode associated with fresh spinach.