Dan'l Mackey Almy, president of Irving, TX-based DMA Solutions Inc., will be the guest speaker at United Fresh Produce Association's 15th annual Reception Honoring Women in Produce, Wednesday, May 2, at United Fresh 2012 in Dallas.

Steve Patricio

Georgia-Pacific has gifted $250,000 to the Center for Produce Safety, located at the University of California-Davis.

WASHINGTON — Leaders of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry should not back off a commitment to specialty crop programs as they mark up the farm bill in the coming weeks, according to an April 2 letter signed by 32 U.S. senators and hailed by the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance.

Sens. Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Patty Murray (D-WA) led the effort to build support for 32 lawmakers to sign the three-page letter sent to Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member Pat Roberts (R-KS).

An abundant Vidalia onion crop will be hampered by an outbreak of Peronospora destructor – better known as downy mildew – that has affected as much as 20 percent of acreage in the 20-county area in south Georgia that produces the world’s most famous onion.

The disease does not typically affect quality of the bulb, though it can reduce size, and its presence could have