Bartolotta Inc. is looking to give a boost to a traditionally slow time in the produce industry with a new contest set to begin in early January.

The contest rules are simple: every truckload of produce purchased between Jan. 7 and Feb. 1 by a new or existing customer of the company will earn that customer one entry in a drawing for a trip to Cancun, Mexico.

Growers in the southeastern United States were scrambling Jan. 1 to put into action any plan possible to protect their crops from a weather forecast advising that temperatures could drop to below freezing and last from several hours to as many as 72 hours.

Fortunately, the cold front that blew as far south as Key West was considerably less damaging than predicted.

As the old saying goes, "Time flies when you're having fun." Well, get ready for another exciting fun ride on the produce roller coaster, complete with more speed, opportunities and responsibilities than ever before.

Another year has come and gone in the produce business. Did you make it over most of the tough hurdles this past year? No doubt 2008 will bring with it more changes and challenges. Some may be accomplished with ease, while others may be stressful and burdensome. What are your wishes and resolutions for the new year ahead?

Fyffes plc, based in Dublin, Ireland, announced Jan. 2 that it had entered the U.S. winter melon business by investing in a number of independent companies. These include operations in Honduras and Guatemala, and the acquisition of 60 percent of Sol Group Marketing Co., based in Pompano Beach, FL.

In separate transactions, Fyffes has also invested in an 85,000-square-foot warehouse and cold storage facility where most of the imported fruit is distributed from, and has acquired the right to ship all the fruit imported by Sol Group Marketing from Honduras and Guatemala.

A new law that penalizes Arizona employers who hire illegal immigrants took effect at the start of 2008, and many are calling it the most Draconian anti-immigration law in the nation -- one that could have a major impact on the nation's winter vegetable supply.

On Wednesday, Dec. 19, in an emergency injunction attempt in a Tallahassee, FL, courtroom, a judge ruled against California in its attempt to have a quarantine lifted on citrus fruit shipped to Florida due to Septoria citri. The quarantine went into effect Dec. 7. California Citrus Mutual, Sunkist Growers Inc. and others filed the lawsuit.