Friends, family and food industry professionals are mourning the death of Emil J. DeMartini, who died Sept. 30 at his home in Geneva, IL. He was 83.

Produce industry professionals who were close friends and business associates of Mr. DeMartini agreed that if a memorial were developed to honor those who contributed to the industry's progression to the advanced state it operates in today, Mr. DeMartini's name would certainly be among those etched in the stone.

The Eastern Produce Council was founded 40 years ago in l966; it represented the produce industry on the East Coast. At the same time, a similar organization called the Fresh Produce Council was founded on the West Coast.

Both of these organizations are still flourishing today.

WASHINGTON -- While some Salinas Valley growers are already implementing new food-safety measures in hopes of resuming consumer and buyer confidence in spinach, consumer confidence in the produce industry may be shattered again with news that the Federal Bureau of Investigation served search warrants Oct. 4 at the Salinas Valley offices of Natural Selection Foods and Growers Express in connection with the E. coli spinach outbreak.

It was a fine night for Los Angeles Dodgers fans Friday, Sept. 22. The game against the Arizona Diamondbacks was a 2-0 shutout, bringing the Dodgers within half a game of the National League Western Division lead.

On top of that, the fans got another big treat. They were introduced for the first time to the new Dodger Avo Dog. According to Xavier Equihua, executive director of the Chilean Avocado Importers Association, which sponsored the first-of-its-kind promotion, the new twist on the famous Dodger Stadium foot-long hot dog was a home run - and the fans went wild.

WASHINGTON -- More than 70 commodity groups say the next farm bill should include provisions of the Equitable Agriculture Today for a Healthy America Act that would for the first time give specialty crop producers a higher profile in an agriculture policy dominated by subsidized crops.

While farm policy experts say that major agricultural policy changes are inevitable in the 2007 farm bill, especially as programs get squeezed by trade disputes and economic downturns, specialty crop producers are hoping to be part of the solution.

Although Florida's 2006-07 Indian River grapefruit crop volume is at its lowest in at least 30 years, the price per box in the coming season is higher than producers there have seen in several years.