Revised estimates for Washington's 2010-11 apple crop were released last month, and the state is expected to move 105.3 million boxes of apples, up slightly from the previous season when 102.7 million boxes were shipped.

"We have a crop that is very similar to last year," said Charles Pomianek, director of the Wenatchee Valley Traffic Association.

“This estimate tends to change a bit over the course of the season as we get more information on packouts,” added Jon DeVaney, executive director of the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association.

President Obama is expected to sign the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act early this week, a bill that is likely to make sweeping changes to the regulation of domestic and imported foods.

The bill passed the House Dec. 21 by a 215-144 vote, just two days after the Senate approved it by unanimous consent by attaching it to the "cash for clunkers" bill.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack announced the appointment of six watermelon producers, six watermelon handlers and two watermelon importers to serve on the National Watermelon Promotion Board.

"These appointees represent a cross section of the industry, and I am confident that watermelon producers, handlers and importers will be well served by them," Mr. Vilsack said in a Dec. 30 press release announcing the appointments.

Pro-Act, a Monterey, CA-based fresh produce supplier to the foodservice industry, has announced that Armstrong Produce, with headquarters in Honolulu, HI, has joined the company's national distribution network.

TALLAHASSEE, FL -- Charles H. Bronson, commissioner of the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, announced Dec. 30 that the executive order relaxing trucking restrictions so that farmers can transport freeze-vulnerable crops has been extended. The order, which was set to expire Dec. 31, has been extended for an additional seven days.

TAMPA, FL -- Bitter cold blasted Florida as far south as Homestead Dec. 27 and in the early hours of Dec. 28. It was the coldest night of what has to date been one of the more brutal Decembers in state history. Low temperature records were shattered in several areas in Florida, and the thermometer is again expected to dip below freezing Dec. 28-29 in parts of the state.