In my opinion, potato farmers should be recognized as American heroes. Through the years, they have worked rigorously to put the best-quality product on our dinner tables under the most difficult circumstances.

The potato has been cultivated for over 6,000 years. It first arrived in North America in 1719 and has been a gastronomic favorite ever since. But the potato has also had its share of burdens.

Dole Food Co. Inc. recently relocated its nutrition research operations from Westlake Village, CA, to Kannapolis, NC, opening a 10,000-square-foot laboratory at the North Carolina Research Campus in late May.

Dole joins other giants like General Mills Inc., Monsanto and LabCorp — along with eight North Carolina colleges and universities — with a presence at the burgeoning think tank, which opened in October 2008 on the site of a former textile mill.

WASHINGTON — The United Fresh Produce Association is feeling the heat for opposing an amendment added to a childhood nutrition bill July 15 that would allow the federal school snack program to hand out dried and frozen fruit.

United Fresh supports the Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act of 2010 (H.R. 5504), which passed the House of Representatives Education & Labor Committee by a vote of 32 to 13.

South African oranges were being promoted July 20-25 as "the fruit of choice" at the 2010 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships tournament in suburban Kansas City, KS.

According to a July 20 press release from a tournament sponsoring organization, the Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum, this is the second year of the South African citrus soccer promotion.

Chilean citrus and avocado growers are carefully determining what, if any, crop damage may have occurred in a mid-July Southern Hemisphere wintertime freeze.

A North American citrus importer who requested anonymity indicated that it is premature to guess what may happen to Chile's citrus crop. He noted that a correspondingly similar freeze hit the California citrus crop and that the industry saw record production thereafter.

The leadership of Lakeland-based Florida Citrus Mutual endorsed federal legislation July 12 that is intended to help the Florida citrus industry battle serious invasive pests and diseases.

The bill would divert a portion of the federal tariff on imported citrus products, including frozen concentrate orange juice, to finance the Citrus Disease Research & Development Trust Fund. A nine-member board comprised of representatives from citrus-producing states Florida, California, Arizona and Texas will distribute the money.