Kevin Moffitt, president and chief executive officer of the Pear Bureau Northwest in Milwaukie, OR, said that the industry is preparing to market one of its better crops during 2009-10.

"We are expecting a large crop ranking in the top three," he told The Produce News in late July. "It will be a balanced manifest. I think we're going to see a big crop with a beautiful finish."

CORVALLIS, OR -- Klamath Basin Fresh Direct, an association of potato farmers along the Oregon-California border, has been awarded exclusive rights to grow and market a new purple fingerling developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and three Northwest universities.

Helped by both prudent growers and Mother Nature, the California summer fruit industry is experiencing a profitable summer for the first time in several years.

In mid-August, the Federal State Market News Service was reporting an $18- $20 market on plums and $16-$17 f.o.b. on nectarines. Peaches were lagging behind in the $10-$11 range, which is still much better than the single digits that characterized the market for peaches, as well as the other two categories, for most of the last several summers.

HURON, CA -- The plight of farmers and farmworkers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, where hundreds of thousands of acres of agricultural land have been taken out of production due to federal water cuts, received national media attention Tuesday, Aug. 11, when Fox News Channel aired a live interview with Latino comedian Paul Rodriguez in a dead almond orchard, here.

Fox's Sean Hannity interviewed Mr. Rodriguez, as well as U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) live via satellite from New York.

The United Fresh Produce Association, in partnership with the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, will host a special educational session Friday, Sept. 11 at the Canadian embassy in Washington.

As one of three concurrent field educational sessions during this year's Washington Public Policy Conference, the embassy visit will give attendees the opportunity to meet with Canadian agricultural officials and discuss trade matters between the two countries. CPMA Chairman Adrian Abbott of B.C. Tree Fruits Ltd. will welcome attendees and moderate the event.

WASHINGTON -- President Obama pledged to resolve the Mexican trucking dispute when he met Aug. 9 with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Guadalajara, but advocates for lifting the hefty tariffs say that more needs to be done.

President Obama committed to resolve the issue and to address safety concerns about the trucks raised by the U.S. Congress, an administration official told Bloomberg News after the two leaders met during a summit of North American leaders.