WASHINGTON - The U.S. House was scheduled Aug. 1 to debate a one-year extension of the 2008 farm bill but the House Republican leadership pulled the legislation off the calendar July 31, raising new questions about the future of the 2012 farm bill.

House leaders decided against the one-year extension after many commodity groups said they opposed the stop-gap measure and it became clear July 31 there were not enough votes to pass it.

Pasadena, CA-based Sun Pacific Marketing announced the hiring of JEAN ASHBY as director of marketing and category management on July 5.

Hronis, Inc. has seen a lot of positive change for this year’s table grape season, according to Pete Hronis, vice president of sales and marketing.

“We’re experiencing a terrific growing season, we’ve made many modifications to our facility and our packaging has expanded to fulfill more customer requests. We have also added more family to the company staff, have updated our website, and are now fully PTI compliant,” he said in a press release exclusive to The Produce News.

PORT OF WILMINGTON, DE — The modern port of Wilmington, DE, was founded in 1923, but its origins stretch back to 1638, when Swedish settlers landed close to the site where the port now stands and built Fort Christina, the oldest permanent European settlement on the Delaware River.

In an effort to provide a resource on leafy greens food safety for a wide range of audiences, the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement has developed a new website.

The website, www.safeleafygreens.com, operates in conjunction with the organization's primary site at www.lgma.ca.gov but provides information and resources in a less technical style so people can better understand all that is being done on the farm to make California leafy green safe.

With an increased demand for produce grown by environmentally friendly companies, sustainability initiatives are much talked about in the industry. For Ready Pac Foods, sustainability goes beyond environmentally responsible practices to encompass social responsibility and ultimately long-term economic viability.