The agricultural community was encouraged by President Bush's push for immigration reform the last week in November, as he once again endorsed the concept of a guest worker program.

While this year's Peruvian asparagus deal is in full swing and by most accounts has been a good season overall, the volume shipped to the United States is not as high as in past years.

The Dallas Farmers Market is undergoing a study on the best ways to revamp the open-air retail facility through a $3.2 million overhaul that will take 36 months to complete, according to Troy Thorn, administrator.

He said that the transition will provide for offering more prepared foods and also for related stores, such as those that would specialize in cook books, kitchen wares, wines and cheeses.

For print journalists who attempt to paint a picture with their words, the usually colorless Wall Street Journal is the holy grail of the newspaper world.

Though it has succumbed slightly to the print media trend of clouding words with pictures, it has stayed pretty close to its roots of letting well-written words tell the story.

Hence, it is particularly galling when The Wall Street Journal plays it loose and publishes a story that isn't supported by facts.

Such was the case with a Nov. 29 article titled "When Eating Your Vegetables Makes You Sick."

Following last year's OSO Sweet onion crop -- the best ever -- the 18th season of exporting OSO Sweet onions from Chile to America is set to commence. The shipping season runs from January through March.

All onions are grown at the base of the Andes Mountains in Chile, where OSO Sweet was among the early players in the winter sweet onion category in 1989 and has been an innovative leader ever since.

The Canadian Produce Marketing Association's Industry Technology Advisory Council hosted "produce days," an open house of the new Canadian RFID Centre, on Nov. 21-22.

Representatives from major Canadian retailers, produce industry suppliers and GS1 Canada -- the group that is globally responsible for supply chain standards -- toured the CRC to see first-hand the benefits that RFID provides.