PLANT CITY, FL -- The worst freeze in a century gripped Florida for most of the first week of 2010 as an arctic front that blew in Jan. 2 persisted and was expected to be reinforced over the weekend of Jan. 9-11 by another icy blast that threatened winter crops.

PLANT CITY, FL -- For millennia, indigenous peoples of eastern North America savored a small, sweet fruit called Fragaria virginiana. In South America, a larger but less flavorful fruit, Fragaria chiloensis, grew.

Two hundred years ago, French explorer Am?d?e-Fran?ois Fr?zier brought home five samples of the South American plant. In 1740, the first version of what is recognized today as a typical strawberry was bred in Brittany, France, combining those plants with stock from the wild North American strawberry.

On Tuesday, Jan. 5, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles H. Bronson requested that Gov. Charlie Crist declare a state of emergency and issue an executive order directing the Florida Department of Transportation to relax the weight, height, length and width restrictions for commercial vehicles transporting vulnerable crops to processing sites. The order was requested in response to the current cold front hovering over the state.

Freeze warnings remained in effect Tuesday morning, Jan. 5, for the state of Florida as far south as Miami on the east coast and Naples on the west, with sub-freezing low temperatures predicted to continue through at least Monday, Jan. 11.

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack named 25 committee members Jan. 5 who will advise him on key U.S. Department of Agriculture issues that affect the fruit and vegetable industry.

The new members appointed to the Fruit & Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee represent grower-shippers, wholesalers, retailers, processors, trade associations, importers, foodservice suppliers, brokers and state departments of agriculture.

The L&M Family of Companies, headquartered in Raleigh, NC, last month finalized its purchase of Griffin Holder Co., a year-round producer of yellow, mild, white, red and sweet onions based in Rocky Ford, CO, giving L&M a year-round supply of onions.