Viva Las Vegas

It's the safest bet for United - pun intended. The United Fresh Produce Association said today that its board of directors elected to continue its partnership with the FMI Show, a relationship that began in 2004. After the 2007 event in Chicago, that will mean the United and FMI will have joint trade shows in Las Vegas in 2008 . After that, FMI and United will join with "strong cooperative efforts" for educational programs in 2009, according to United Fresh co-chair Maureen Marshall of Torrey Farms. While a much safer bet than doubling down on the blackjack table, United must create momentum not only for Chicago in 2007, but Las Vegas in 2008 and particularly the unknown quantity of educational programs in 2009.

In his own words

New York Democrat Senator Charles Schumer is as serious as a heart attack about the food safety issue. Read about it on his Website press room. Talking to Robert Guenther of United today, he believes that Congress wants to act early in the next session on food safety. At the same time, he feels the industry will get a fair hearing about what it has done and what it is doing. With Schumer in favor of a new food safety agency and more regulation of fresh produce, the industry better be prepared for some leading questions from all the listening lawmakers.

Poster boy farmers

The Packer's Susie Cable alerted me to a Business Week story about the hot competition to establish and promote ties to local organic farmers by Whole Foods and others. Whole Foods has some critics that say they lean too heavily on large growers and not the small local organic grower, and Whole Foods has a campaign now that highlights their local suppliers. The story notes the dynamics between the entrance of Wal-Mart into the organic market and the now slowing growth for Whole Foods. All of this reminds me of Wal Mart officials who surely knew their supermarket rivals never thought the discount supermarket would take a sudden interest in organic produce. Wal Mart zigged when everyone thought they would zag, and now consumers have to sort it all out.

Worth the price of admission

When I was a cub reporter for The Packer, I remember the days of flipping through stacks of bound volumes of the newspaper to find a story with some background for another article. Today, we are spoiled by instant access to information. Of course, we now have electronic access to our back issues, in addition to other resources on the World Wide Web. For produce industry leaders who can't afford to be out of the loop, paying the premium for The Packer's Web site also provides access to past issues of The Packer. That, my friends, is worth the price of admission and then some.

Johnson improving

Talking to Ron Gaskill of American Farm Bureau today, he said there is every expectation Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., will recover from brain surgery and serve in the Senate next term. If Johnson dies from complications from the surgery, South Dakota's Republican governor could appoint a Republican replacement and thus tip the balance of power to the Republicans with a 50-50 tie and Vice President Dick Cheney holding the tie breaking vote. Though he won't be on hand when Congress convenes the first week of January, Johnson's recovery is said to be ahead of schedule. A brief story on Johnson's status - and speculation whether he is conscious or sedated - adds a few details.