A coalition of California farm organizations and water districts has formally asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to appoint Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, as the new chair of the House Agriculture Committee.

In a letter sent to Pelosi last week, the 70 organizations said Costa “possesses the experience and leadership adeptness” to serve effectively as committee chair. The position opened last week when the current chair, Rep. Collin Peterson, D-MN, was defeated for re-election.

The letter cites Costa’s 16 years of experience representing an agriculturally productive congressional district in the

Target is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its loyalty program, Target Circle, and will be offering its nearly 80 million members more ways to save big this holiday season.

As one of the nation’s largest loyalty programs, Target Circle members have saved nearly $2 billion through Target Circle offers; earned nearly $200 million by getting 1 percent rewards on purchases to put toward their future Target visit; and directed more than $7 million to more than 2,500 local and national nonprofit organizations.

This holiday season, Target guests will find nearly 1 million more deals than

Mexico’s good weather benefited for growers this fall.  The outlook for Mexican production is bright, notes Jorge Ruiz, who is fully engaged in the business as a salesman for Agri Packing Supply Inc. in Nogales.

What is unclear to Ruiz is the marketing situation for the coming months.

He notes the produce industry and the world have seen many “tragic events” since March.

“In the produce industry, a lot of people have been working from home. I hope that everyone may be opening now.”

Ruiz notes the foodservice business has fallen off badly with restaurants being shut down by the Covid

Apple and cherry growers, Neal and Louisa Carter are credited with the development of Arctic apples. Neal, a trained bioresource engineer, has previously worked on agricultural projects around the globe. From first-hand experience, he felt the need to improve food systems and decrease food waste using science and technology. Seeing the decline of apple consumption in the U.S., he recognized the need to increase the consumption by providing a healthy, delicious and wholesome alternative through Arctic apples.

Arctic apples don’t brown when bitten, sliced or bruised. According to Rebecca

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on three produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.

The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:

• JRP Group, d/b/a Prime Produce, operating out of Los Angeles, for failing to pay an $11,984 award in favor of a California seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Kay Persaud, Joshua C. Roach and Rajendra S

Christopher Ranch offers 100 percent United States-grown garlic to its customers, delivering from coast to coast out of its Gilroy, CA-based headquarters.

Although it’s tried to continue being successful doing so during the pandemic, it hasn’t been easy.

“Back in March, when states started initially undergoing shelter-in-place orders, essentially every single household raced out to the grocery store at one time, and that caused great turbulence in the garlic market,” said Ken Christopher, executive vice president. “We simply were underequipped to handle that type of demand.”

The company