Tommy Hays is still getting his feet wet in the produce industry, but that hasn?t stopped him from diving right in.

Mr. Hays, 24, is a member of the sales team at Sun Pacific Marketing Cooperative, a grower, packer and shipper of clementines, Navel and Valencia oranges, Minneolas, kiwifruit, Roma tomatoes and table grapes, headquartered in Bakersfield, CA. He works in the main sales office in Los Angeles.

SALINAS, CA " Bryan Silbermann, president of the Produce Marketing Association, told an audience made up primarily of members of the Salinas Valley produce industry on March 11 that they need to better understand that consumers are driving the marketplace.

What isn?t new, Mr. Silbermann said, is that buyers expect there to be quality. But it's the consumer who defines quality.

?The future won?t be "field to stomach," " Mr. Silbermann said. "It must be "stomach to field." "

The first Texas onions hit the market the week of March 14-18, but experts aren?t predicting promotional volume until early April.

Acreage is up a bit this year, but the rainy growing season has reduced the size of the onions themselves, which should offset the increased acreage and result in a crop very similar in volume to 2004. Acreage in the 35 counties covered by the federal marketing order for Texas onions has been listed at 15,433 for 2005 " an increase of about 7 percent from last year?s figure of 14,436 acres.

The United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association will offer an expert-led, comprehensive food-safety and security conference as part of the 2005 United Produce Show at FMI, April 30-May 3 in Chicago.

Taking a detailed look at the most important food-safety and security issues affecting the produce industry, the daylong conference will offer expert advice on foodservice and retail expectations; insider analyses of the latest government regulations; and new technologies to boost safety and protect the supply chain.

In an increasingly complex produce world, the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, based in Ottawa, is leading a highly organized effort to simplify produce trade in North America.

In April 2004, CPMA created the North American Trade Task Force, which met in Ottawa Feb. 24. CPMA President Danny Dempster said that an all-star list of industry leaders is actively engaged in the group.

In what has to be labeled pure irony, the Food Marketing Institute, on behalf of the nation?s food retailers, is protesting skyrocketing electronic transaction fees which it claims retailers have no control over nor any say in determining the size of that charge levied by banks and credit card companies.