Agriculture wasn’t an industry Greg Beach had in mind when he majored in international relations at UC Davis. A SoCal kid, working for farmers wasn’t in his plans.  Yet, three decades later, he still loves what he does at Huntington Farms and now expands his work on behalf of farmers, shippers and processors as the newly elected chair at the Grower Shipper Association of Central California.

A recent roundup of headlines about artificial intelligence shows tales of AI gone rogue, from the AI assistant that almost deleted the entire inbox of a Meta SuperIntelligence AI executive to the AI agent who applied for almost 300 jobs (in addition to signing up for Hotmail and a LinkedIn account) all on its own. 

These stories are great fodder for late-night talk show hosts and underscore the reality that AI still needs a human handler in how the technology is used in business. 

The market remains under pressure as Florida continues to recover from freeze damage and Mexico struggles with extreme heat. The combination is limiting supply, impacting quality and keeping both pepper and tomato markets elevated as March winds down. 

California Crema GEM season is back. From April through June, California Crema GEM Avocados from Index Fresh will satisfy avocado cravings with a distinctive California-grown brand featuring the GEM variety, a sibling of the traditional Hass known for its golden flecks, dark skin, rich, nutty flavor and high-density nutritional value. California Cremas have quickly caught on with shoppers, and Index Fresh will continue to position this local brand for expansion among avocado lovers looking for a premium, seasonal variety.

As Farmworker Awareness Week begins, Stemilt is highlighting a new Equitable Food Initiative case study and the completion of 48 worker-driven production improvement projects made in the past year. What began as a partnership to strengthen the health, safety and wellbeing of farm workers has grown into a company-wide commitment to creating a better future for the people behind World Famous Fruit. Stemilt said it is proud to share the measurable results that have come from collaboration with EFI.

The Ethical Charter Implementation Program, overseen by a multistakeholder industry group to build alignment with the Ethical Charter on Responsible Labor Practices and facilitated by Equitable Food Initiative, launched a new platform for farm labor contractors.