WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s plan to charge food facility user fees to pay for its food-safety program got a chilly reception on Capitol Hill, along with a proposal to cut funding to U.S. Department of Agriculture’s surveillance program for pathogens in produce.

Every spring, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, with jurisdiction over the USDA and Food & Drug Administration, holds budget hearings and asks top government officials to defend their latest proposals.

Workers load Bland Vidalia onions at the company’s headquarters in Glennville, GA, last season.

While some Vidalia onion growers decreased pro

John DiJulius, a customer service expert who has consulted with Ritz-Carlton hotels, the Lexus automobile company, Nordstrom's department stores, Progressive Insurance and other companies, will be the keynote speaker at the annual International Floriculture Exposition.

NORCAL, the California Association of Flower Growers & Shippers, has announced dates for its 2012 membership meetings. For the first time, the meetings will be held in the three major growing regions of the state, according to a news release, making the sessions more accessible to the association’s 600 members.

With a slow start to the 2012 market, bad weather in Mexico, decreased production in Texas and great winter weather in southern Georgia, this year’s Vidalia onion crop could have clear sailing to a strong market. But Kevin Hendrix of Hendrix Produce in Metter, GA, can still sympathize with onion growers in other areas.