California wine grape growers could suffer at least $437 million in lost sales from this year’s grape harvest due to COVID-19 related economic disruptions. According to an analysis by Jon Moramarco, managing partner of bw166 and editor of the Gomberg-Fredrikson Report, increased sales of wine at off-premise retailers will not offset lost wine sales via on-premise channels and direct from wineries to …

The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) has announced the launch of its eLearning certificate course Essentials of Produce Safety, an entirely online, affordable and in-depth program covering the key challenges and best practices in produce safety. The course is the first certificate program in PMA’s new educational platform offering, FreshEd Academy. The course was developed in partnership with Intertek Alchemy, the …

United States sweet cherry total production for 2020 is forecast at 334,000 tons, down 6 percent from 2019. In California, growers reported sufficient chill, despite an unusually warm winter. Cool weather in March extended the fruit growing season, which led to increased expected yields compared with the previous season. In Oregon and Washington, severe cold snaps in February and mid-March …

Summer 2020 marks the ninth year the California Avocado Commission (CAC) has celebrated California Avocado Month, showcasing the availability and versatility of the premium fruit during peak harvest in June. This year, with extended safer-at-home orders in states with the majority of California avocado distribution, the Commission placed renewed emphasis on recipes consumers can prepare at home. “Consumers are continuing …

Following a successful public hearing, the California Prune Board (CPB) has been authorized by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to continue for another five years through July 31, 2025 – without the need for an industry referendum. At the hearing, prune growers and processors voiced unanimous support for the CPB, along with sharing numerous examples of the …

Consumer demand is rising for all things avocado, including oil made from the fruit. Avocado oil is a great source of vitamins, minerals and the type of fats associated with reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. But according to new research from food science experts at the University of California, Davis, the vast majority of avocado oil …

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) announces that Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) safety-net signup for 2021 coverage will begin October 12 and will run through December 11, 2020. DMC has already triggered payments for two months for producers who signed up for 2020 coverage. “If we’ve learned anything in the past six months, it’s to expect the …

As Americans across the country have been under shelter-in-place orders, many turned to snacking for comfort. A new survey, conducted in May in partnership with California Walnuts and Kelton Global, explores the snacking behaviors of Americans and how they’ve changed since shelter-in-place mandates were implemented. Previous research from California Walnuts has shown that people who eat walnuts love to eat …

The 2Blades Foundation and collaborators at the University of Minnesota, Kansas State University, and the John Innes Center will study wild emmer wheat to discover genes that can help farmers combat devastating wheat rust diseases which are estimated to cost farmers and consumers nearly $3 billion each year. The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture …

The global pandemic has revealed in new ways how essential farmers and farmworkers are to the food supply chain. With this revelation has also come more widespread understanding of the challenges farmers and ranchers face while scrambling to adopt new workplace safety protocols in the fields and on packing lines, respond to dramatically altered markets, and seek relief funding so …