WASHINGTON -- President Obama signed a fiscal 2012 spending bill Nov. 18 that not only funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the current year but directs USDA to change how vegetables are counted in its proposed school meal rule.

The House passed the budget bill Nov. 17, followed by the Senate hours later, which includes funding for the Food & Drug Administration and USDA, among other government agencies.

Tom Tjerandsen, managing director of the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association, North America, in Santiago, Chile, who works from Sonoma, CA, told The Produce News that Chile exported approximately 900,000 tons of fruit to North America in the past year.

Dave Dever, president and chief executive officer of Pandol Bros. Inc. in Delano, CA, has submitted his resignation and will join Sun World International as president and chief executive officer, replacing Al Vangelos, who is stepping down from the position he has held since 2008.

According to a Nov. 21 press release issued by Sun World, Mr. Vangelos is leaving the Bakersfield, CA-based company's top management position to pursue other interests but will remain as a member of Sun World's board of managers. Mr. Dever will begin his new position with Sun World on Jan. 16, 2012.

The Produce Marketing Association is developing a new plan to launch an educational conference that for the first time would be tailored to women, the next step in the group’s increasingly popular networking events for women professionals.

More than 300 women and men attended the women’s leadership breakfast at Fresh Summit Oct. 14, an event that has grown over the last few years, says Marguerite Prueitt, executive director of PMA Foundation for Industry Talent program.

WEATHER

Daytime highs in Yuma, AZ, were expected to dip into the upper 60s through Nov. 23. Overnight lows should remain in the low to mid-50s through Nov. 20 then fall into the mid-40s. There was a slight chance of rain showers through Nov. 22.

In Oxnard, CA, daytime temperatures were expected to fall into the upper 50s through Nov. 20 then return to the mid to upper 60s the week of Nov. 21. Overnight lows will range in the mid-40s to low 50s.

The upcoming season is a good news-bad news scenario for Texas vegetable producers.

The bad news is a record-setting drought that has already cost Lone Star ag producers $5.2 billion continues with no end in sight. The good news is that ground water is available, and a slight drop in production could prop up markets and help provide better returns to grower-shippers.