U.S. Agriculture Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack announced the appointment of six watermelon producers, six watermelon handlers and two watermelon importers to serve on the National Watermelon Promotion Board.

"These appointees represent a cross section of the industry, and I am confident that watermelon producers, handlers and importers will be well served by them," Mr. Vilsack said in a Dec. 30 press release announcing the appointments.

Pro-Act, a Monterey, CA-based fresh produce supplier to the foodservice industry, has announced that Armstrong Produce, with headquarters in Honolulu, HI, has joined the company's national distribution network.

TALLAHASSEE, FL -- Charles H. Bronson, commissioner of the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, announced Dec. 30 that the executive order relaxing trucking restrictions so that farmers can transport freeze-vulnerable crops has been extended. The order, which was set to expire Dec. 31, has been extended for an additional seven days.

TAMPA, FL -- Bitter cold blasted Florida as far south as Homestead Dec. 27 and in the early hours of Dec. 28. It was the coldest night of what has to date been one of the more brutal Decembers in state history. Low temperature records were shattered in several areas in Florida, and the thermometer is again expected to dip below freezing Dec. 28-29 in parts of the state.

TAMPA, FL -- There is good news and bad news for Florida farmers. The bad news is that yet another cold front -- the third of this month -- is expected to frost the state Dec. 27-29. The good news, according to the National Weather Service station, here, is that the cold should be the last severe front of the season.

For vegetable and berry growers along California's southern and central coast, there are some short-term downsides to the heavy rainfall received over a weeklong period beginning about mid-December. But many farmers statewide will benefit from an improved water outlook for 2010, as significant amounts of rain, as well as snow in the Sierra Mountains, will assure them of better water deliveries than they experienced in 2010.