GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ -- The first breakbulk vessel of the 2011 South African citrus season began discharging June 20 at the Gloucester Marine Fruit Terminal, here. In recent weeks, smaller volumes of South African citrus arrived by container at Port Elizabeth, NJ.

WASHINGTON -- A government spending bill (H.R. 2112) that would gut the U.S. Department of Agriculture's school nutrition standards and remove funding for the Microbiological Data Program passed the House of Representatives the week of June 13. The Senate has yet to take up the spending bill.

FRESNO, CA — The California Table Grape Commission, here, has completed production on two of three new television commercials “that will go into the mix on the Food Network” in early to mid-July, according to Jim Howard, vice president of the commission. Each commercial will feature a different award-winning celebrity chef.

CLAYTON, NJ -- New Jersey's spring and early summer weather have been cooperating nicely for producing exceptional fruit size and quality in peach and nectarine crops across the state. Hand thinning is in progress after bloom-time rain and cloudy weather reduced blossom load and fruit set.

“The [Central California onion] season has been delayed because of weather, but it should be a good year,” Jon Hyatt, a salesperson for Jim Hyatt Produce Co. Inc. in West Sacramento, CA, told The Produce News June 7.

A snapshot of the 2011 New Mexico onion crop season is a mixed bag. On the downside, the crop will be short this season, with volume reduction directly attributed to cold weather earlier this year. A front moved into the state at the beginning of February and brought with it temperatures well below zero.