SAN DIEGO -- Farming by its very nature is not for the risk-averse. Perhaps nowhere is this more exemplified than by the largely Latino workforce that takes a considerable risk just getting to and from work.

Voluminous evidence demonstrates that these workers -- who often work in the fields -- are not taking jobs away from anyone else, said Craig Regelbrugge, senior director of government relations for the American Nursery & Landscape Association.

SAN DIEGO -- You're sitting on your sofa watching a game on TV and eating pistachio nuts. Bear with me here; you'll probably relate to this. Most of the nuts are open, so you have no trouble shelling them by Braille and popping the meat into your mouth without taking your eyes off the screen. Then you pick up a nut that doesn't feel like it's open. You glance down and scrutinize the nut to see if there is enough of a crack between the shell halves to insert a fingernail. When you look back up, you realize you've missed a key play. And in the process, you probably broke a fingernail.

SAN DIEGO -- Some five weeks after news hit of the E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak in spinach, the topic drew lively discussion at the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit town hall workshop forum on a path to recovery.

California-based Dulcinea Farms and Florida-based Rosemont Farms announced at the Produce Marketing Association convention in San Diego a strategic alliance that will increase the production and distribution of "Dulcinea" brand fresh fruits and vegetables.

A mid-October merger of Nuchief Sales in Wenatchee, WA, and Elgin, MN- based Wescott Agri Products is anticipated to bring more than 2.5 million cases of tree fruit, primarily apples and pears, under one marketing umbrella in 2007.

According to Nuchief President Randy Steensma, the new company, Honey Bear Tree Fruit Co., is based in Wenatchee with offices also in Elgin, and Don Roper has taken the position vice president of sales and marketing. Mr. Steensma added that Honey Bear integrates marketing, growing and packing services for its domestic retail and export customers.