SALINAS, CA -- Much has happened to Rory Cornell in the year since he graduated from California Polytechnic Institute with a degree in agribusiness marketing -- most of it good.

Upon graduation last June, Mr. Cornell landed a job at Coastal Berry Co. in Watsonville, CA, as a "cooler liaison." But Dole acquired Coastal and Mr. Cornell was laid off in November.

Welcome to the unpredictable world of agriculture.

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., the owner of A&P supermarkets, hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. to find a buyer for its Canadian grocery-store business, a sale that could raise more than $1 billion.

This announcement, combined with its latest financial results and a planned major restructuring, led to sharply higher stock prices the week of May 9-13.

A&P plans to sell A&P Canada, divest itself of its Midwest operations, and concentrate on its core operations in the broad corridor from Connecticut to Washington, DC.

With legislation just introduced that would repeal mandatory country-of-origin labeling for meat, members of the produce industry wonder if their products can be far behind.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) is planning to introduce a comprehensive bill in the coming weeks that would add produce and seafood to the list of commodities no longer controlled by the mandatory COOL law.

While driving to a store, I noticed that the needle on my vehicles fuel gauge was flirting with empty. After challenging it for a few more miles, I decided to pull into a gas station and force myself to buy some liquid gold in order to continue motoring forward.

Once at the pump, I noticed a receipt sticking out of the slot from the previous customer. He or she probably left it there to avoid the possibility of a sudden heart attack from observing the results.

California's strawberry growers have taken a hit this season with an inordinate amount of rain. But though Mother Nature packs a punch, growers have been able to stay on their feet.

"Its been a challenge," said Tim Youmans, national retail sales manager for Watsonville, CA-based Driscoll Strawberry Associates. Theres been a loss in production thats impacting retailers. The uncertainty of supplies has affected retailers ability to market the berries, he said.

The Dispute Resolution Corp. and Blue Book Services jointly announced plans to reconfigure their six-year working arrangement whereby Blue Book Services had provided trading assistance services on the DRC's behalf to its members.

By mid-summer 2005, the DRC will independently provide such services to its members located in Canada, the United States and Mexico from its Ottawa, ON, headquarters. DRC and Blue Book Services will continue to build on their strong working relationship as they enter into this new phase of their strategic alliance.