Longtime Colorado potato grower and industry icon Thomas R. Ford died June 25 in East Wenatchee, WA, from an apparent heart attack while traveling to the National Potato Council Summer Meeting in Walla Walla. He was 81.

Born July 18, 1931, in Carmel, CO, Mr. Ford married the former Donna Dee Belt in 1951, and the couple made their home in the San Luis Valley where he farmed potatoes and barley for more than five decades.

California Giant Berry Farms is tapping into the growing network of food bloggers by hosting a contest that will ultimately result in gaining a new set of brand ambassadors.

By hosting a contest specific to food bloggers, California Giant hopes to extend its reach to consumers continuing to build brand loyalty and participate in new exciting recipes created by foodies at home in their own kitchens.

A lot has changed since the concept of the Produce Traceability Initiative burst on the scene a half-dozen years ago. At the time, case labeling every carton with a code that could be read up and down the supply chain appeared to be a daunting task, but now experts say it isn’t that difficult at all — and is much less expensive than first imagined.

Dan Vaché, vice president of supply chain management for the United Fresh Produce Association, said the technology providers have worked through the issues and have solutions for shippers and retailers and everyone in between.  

WASHINGTON —The House narrowly passed, by a 216-208 vote, a stripped-down farm bill for the first time without the nutrition title, an unorthodox move fiercely criticized by House Democrats but praised by specialty crop producers if it gets a five-year farm policy bill into conference with the Senate.

Fagerberg Produce, located in Eaton, CO, is moving into its 2013 onion season with a sense of guarded optimism. “The snows that we got in April and May really, really helped things,” said Sales Manager Alan Kinoshita. “We’re not 100 percent normal. But we’re pretty good.”

Kinoshita said planted acreage has remained stable this season. Wetter conditions during the spring translated to planting delays in 2013.

“We are two weeks later than normal,” he commented. Some early planted stands thinned out due to weather. “But the rest look fairly normal,” he said.

Santa Maria, CA-based grower-shipper Babé Farms, has been a leader in specialty vegetables and gourmet salad blends for more than 25 years.

Ande Manos, marketing and new business development representative for the company said that its staff is looking forward to the Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Conference & Expo in Monterey, CA, July 26-28.