The Yolo County Specialty Crop Agri-Tour, hosted by CA GROWN, proved to be a resounding success. Cher Watte, the executive director of CA GROWN, and Amy Myrdal Miller, who manages retail nutrition initiatives for CA GROWN, hosted 23 retail dietitians from the United States and Canada on July 16.

The tour featured visits to the Bayer Vegetable Seed breeding facility, a honey tasting and lunch at The HIVE Kitchen & Tasting Bar in Woodland, and a tour of the Mariani walnut orchard and the Mariani Nut Co. facility in Winters, CA.

The Introduction to honeybees and honey session showcased the

Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. and Picadeli, a leading in-supermarket tech-enabled modular salad-bar with fresh food, announced a partnership to revolutionize fresh food options for consumers and boost the competitive edge of AWG member retailers.

AWG and Picadeli are working closely together to implement a cutting-edge salad bar solution that drives consumer engagement and sales growth for AWG member grocery stores, ensuring that these retailers can offer high-quality, convenient and healthy meal options that are affordable. By leveraging Picadeli’s innovative salad bar technology and AWG

Tropical Storm Debby continues to linger off the coast of South Carolina strengthening slightly over the warm water in the Atlantic. This system is expected to move onshore with the center reaching the coast of South Carolina tonight. Debby should then accelerate toward the Northeast on Thursday. This slow-moving system will continue to bring significant rainfall to the Northeast over the next few days as it moves through, exiting the region by Sunday. 

Many crops (beans, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, squash) will be impacted by this system throughout the numerous regions as growers begin to

Obviously Florida is no stranger to Hurricanes, and the first major one of season is having an impact on the Sunshine State’s southeastern growing areas. It is possible Hurricane Debby could bring historic flooding to these growing areas, leaving uncertainty for commodities such as tomatoes, mixed berries, watermelon, cucumbers and Bell peppers.

According to Mark Campbell, founder and CEO of ProduceIQ, round tomatoes, more so than any other commodity, are suffering inconsistent supply, which he said, “is the arch nemesis of price stability.” ProduceIQ reported that prices are up 12 percent

In July, Taiwan-based Lytone Enterprise boosted its U.S. operations by establishing a business presence in Central California, designed to provide faster service to produce suppliers in the U.S. and Mexico.

Founded by William T.H. Chang in 1994, the now-global company is engaged in the research, product design and development of functional food, animal husbandry and agricultural biotechnology.

“We offer solutions for pre-harvest and post-harvest,” said Basilio Huang, associate vice president for the international sales of Lytone. “We support growers to produce premium fruit and vegetables.”

U.S. Customs & Border Protection officers at the Pharr International Bridge intercepted 3,429 pounds of alleged methamphetamine concealed within a tractor trailer transporting a shipment of lettuce. This seizure is the largest methamphetamine encounter in the history of the Hidalgo Port of Entry and has a street value of over $48 million.

“Our CBP officers remain vigilant and intercepted this massive methamphetamine load from reaching American streets,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas port of entry. “Congratulations to our diligent officers who made this record