It won't be easy

Wrapping up a day at the WPPC today, I'm hearing there even more complications with the farm bill process in the Senate than I thought. Sen. Tom Harkin will struggle to put his version of the farm bill through the Agriculture Committee, and Sen. Kent Conrad's version has given paltry attention to fruit and vegetable priorities like specialty crop block grants. It should be an interesting few weeks as the committee tries to come together around a farm bill that everyone can support. It appears the Senate leadership may tend to support Conrad over Harkin.

Meanwhile, it appears the produce safety bill that Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa has been readying for introduction could be dropped within the next couple of weeks. The industry is far from doing handsprings over this legislation, which while apparently calling for a "risk-based approach," may also call for inspections and product testing. More coverage on a WPPC food safety seminar later.

Talking to citrus sources, the USDA's final rule on Florida's citrus shipments from canker regions is expected sometime by mid-October. That will be too late to account for the start of Florida's season, but the industry is hoping to make it work. If the final rule is published that allows fruit from canker regions to be shipped, the California citrus industry is expected to stage an all-out legal challenge to the final rule.