Sometimes, the produce gene skips a generation.

James Watson, a sales representative with Healds Valley Farms in Edinburg, TX, grew up around agriculture and is descended from ranching and farming families. But in fact, neither parent is in the trade.

"They were the first city slickers of the bunch," joked the 23-year-old Mr. Watson, who was raised in Edinburg. His mother is a schoolteacher, and his father is an auctioneer.

As the ever-rising cost of fuel stands to affect the fresh produce industry now and in the future, some industry members aren't waiting for the future to find ways to deal with or compensate for the problem. They're doing it today.

Baldor Specialty Foods, a Bronx, NY-based distributor of specialty foods including fresh produce, is known for cutting edge business innovations. The company's customer base includes a wide range of high-end retailers and foodservice operators in the Northeast.

WASHINGTON -- While a popular consumer magazine is telling shoppers to be discriminating when it comes to spending money on organic products, it singled out certain organic fruits and vegetables as worth the money in order to avoid chemicals found in the conventional counterparts.

This prompted the Produce Marketing Association to challenge the report as misleading and to defend the safety of all fresh fruits and vegetables.

WASHINGTON -- Eighteen new produce industry members have been tapped to help advise the U.S. Department of Agriculture on policy issues that can affect how produce companies do business.

The 25-member committee attempts to mirror the industry by naming grower-shippers, wholesalers, retailers, trade association members, importers, produce processors, foodservice suppliers, fresh-cut processors, brokers and state departments of agriculture.

Pro*Act, a leading Monterey, CA-based fresh produce supplier to the foodservice industry, has appointed Nick Proia as regional director of client services.

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture & Consumer Services Charles H. Bronson has received word from top U.S. Department of Agriculture officials that it no longer believes that it is possible to eradicate citrus canker.

Officials said that based on USDA's scientific analysis of the potential spread of the disease from the unprecedented 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, a new management plan must be devised.