MONTEREY, CA -- Agriculture needs to fully recognize its vital role - and be recognized - as part of the solution for food, fiber, fuel and more, California Secretary of Agriculture A.G. Kawamura told an audience assembled May 11 at the 76th annual meeting of the Salinas, CA-based Grower-Shipper Association of Central California.

Mr. Kawamura said that there is "amazing technology taking place around the planet," and added that if Salinas and Monterey County could become energy-independent that it would "increase tremendously the economy in your areas."

PHILADELPHIA -- "Family lore," as they call it, figuratively piled on the table before them as four members of the Levin family discussed the centennial anniversary of their family's business, M. Levin & Co. Inc., here.

Four cousins patched together a historic story quilt that showed the colorful history of the produce business and a company that was founded in 1906 by Michael Levin, a Lithuanian immigrant.

The California Avocado Commission in Irvine, CA, has appointed Stacy Jaffa as its new marketing director with responsibility for leading the organization's strategy to promote California and Hass avocados in the U.S. marketplace.

"Stacy is the perfect leader for us in this white-hot competitive market," said Mark Affleck, CAC president and chief executive officer. "She will play a key role in our quest to create value for all stakeholders in the avocado category."

Greencastle, PA-based Keystone Fruit Marketing Inc. specializes in sweet and hybrid red onions year-round and now extra sweet onions, too.

Keystone has been growing extra sweet onions for three or four years, but this is the first time the company has had extra sweet onions on the market. "We have a new consumer bag that highlights the extra sweet lineage of onions," said Tom Barnett, general manager of Keystone's northwest division.

WASHINGTON -- Advocates are cautiously optimistic that provisions to help secure badly needed agriculture workers for labor-starved U.S. businesses will survive the Senate debate on immigration reform.

The bad news is that advocates are bracing to beat back amendments that could undermine the fragile AgJobs compromise, and will need to fight to ensure agricultural worker provisions survive the back-door deals cut during the conference committee.

Officials representing the cherry and apple industries in the state of Michigan were cautiously optimistic following a May 6 cold frontthat sent much of the state's fruit-growing region into a deep freeze that the low temperatures will not spell disaster for the coming 2006 crops.

Phil Korson, president of the Michigan Cherry Committee, and Denise Yockey, executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee, agreed that the picture will be fleshed out in mid-June when the U.S. Department of Agriculture will release its 2006 crop estimates.