Maria E. Allred, a longtime member of the staff at Golden Rule Produce, died April 18 in Alamo, TX. She was 53.

Born in Mexico, Ms. Allred was formerly of Alamo and had lived in Edinburg, TX, for 24 years. She was employed by Golden Rule in McAllen, TX, for 24 years, most recently as the produce sales company's office manager. Her husband, Ronald Dean Allred, is a buyer and sales representative for Golden Rule.

WASHINGTON -- The House of representatives overwhelmingly approved the long-awaited farm bill conference report with $3 billion in specialty crop program priorities and a veto-proof majority.

The nearly $300 billion bill passed the House 318-106 -- a large enough majority to override a veto promised by President Bush, who criticized the bill as too pricey and for falling short of needed farm-subsidy reforms.

Longtime California fruit grower and shipper Dominic F. (Doc) Danna of D.F. Danna & Co. Inc. in San Jose, CA, died May 1 after a six-month illness. He was 97.

Born the second of six sons, Mr. Danna spent his entire life working with his brothers growing fruit, vegetables and nuts in Santa Clara, Sutter and Yuba counties in California under the company names of Danna & Danna Inc. and D.F. Danna & Co.

Duda Farm Fresh Foods says it is committed to delivering quality, innovation and service to its customers, which is why the 82-year-old, family-owned, nationwide fresh fruit and vegetable company uses consumer research to guide its development of new varieties and innovations in packaging and merchandising.

Research shows that consumers are looking for convenience in their shopping trips. Merchandising can help provide that convenience by locating celery products adjacent to one another.

CMI, one of Washington state's larger shippers of premium-quality conventional and organic apples, pears and cherries, will be exhibiting its line of products at the Canadian Produce Marketing Association convention in Calgary, AB.

AgriWorld Exchange, a live on-line agricultural marketplace headquartered in Menlo Park, CA, announced that it has signed an agreement with Produce Reporter Co. to enable Blue Book subscribers to view rating information from within the AgriWorld Exchange on-line platform.