The International Fresh Produce Association expressed extreme disappointment that Congress failed to include bipartisan agriculture immigration reform in the omnibus appropriations bill.

The Affordable and Secure Food Act to reform the nation’s agricultural immigration system would have provided much-needed certainty for American agricultural producers and farmers desperately in need of reliable, legal workers. The current omnibus does nothing to address the crippling labor shortage that has had devastating impacts on the nation’s fresh produce industry and American consumers.

“Congress has

Lettuce markets are declining, yet still in record-breaking territory as the USDA reported iceberg to be sold for at an average of $74.

Overall, prices are down about 10 percent versus last week, primarily due to increasing supply. “Much of the fall season has been marked by abnormally high prices, most notably for commodities such as lettuce and strawberries,” said Mark Campbell, founder and CEO of ProduceIQ. “Now, increased availability from domestic growers, as well as Mexican production, is reducing supply-based pressure.”

He added that increasing supply out of Mexico and Florida is an

In the produce business, everything starts with the weather. Farmers prefer warm temperatures, good sunlight and significant rainfall in order to grow the fresh produce we need in the stores for consumers. Sometimes the weather fails to cooperate and upsets the farming industry, especially during necessary stages of growth.

Although some of the crops are improving, we're not completely out of the woods just yet. Many of the crops are very sensitive to temperatures that are lower. The colder it gets, the slower we see growth. This not only delays harvests and supplies, but it increases the

NatureSweet donated 8 million pounds of produce to food banks throughout North America in 2022. Tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers are among the produce donations to food banks in the United States and Mexico.

While the company is one of the top-selling brands in snacking tomatoes, it also continues to drive tremendous growth in other vegetable categories and estimates the donations this year translate into almost $8 million worth of produce.

“During a challenging year of record inflation that has resulted in higher food costs, we hope our produce donations to food banks will provide

SpartanNash has partnered with one of the world's leading fresh food technology companies, Afresh Technologies. SpartanNash will pilot the Afresh platform, an Artificial Intelligence-powered predictive ordering and inventory management solution, at 10 of its owned Family Fare grocery stores in the Grand Rapids, MI, area.

"Our partnership with Afresh will help SpartanNash deliver fresh produce to our store guests while also minimizing food waste, which is a key focus area for our Company's ESG efforts," said SpartanNash Chief Merchandising Officer Bennett Morgan. "Leveraging the strength of

The I Love Produce team spent a week inspecting the new crop garlic coming into the harvest season in Mendoza, Argentina, and got a dose of the World Cup and soccer culture to boot.

Jim Provost and Sebastian Zamores spent a week visiting their garlic suppliers in Mendoza, which happened to coincide with Argentina’s quarterfinal World Cup match against the Netherlands.

“Normally we visit Argentina to inspect garlic during their early summer, which in the Southern Hemisphere is in December,” said Provost, president of Kelton, PA-based I Love Produce. “Because of Covid, this was our first trip