Food & Farm News
Real Audio» February 9, 2007 «
California rose growers emphasize freshness
If you're seeking the freshest roses available for your sweetheart on Valentine's Day, farmers say there will be plenty of California-grown flowers available. Rose growers say the winter freeze had virtually no effect on the overall quality and abundance of flowers in stores. Although the freeze destroyed some flowers and plants being prepared for the holiday market, farmers say the losses will have little impact on supplies available at retail.
Almond production, sales continue to grow
Almond marketers confirmed yesterday (Thursday) that the 2006 crop set a new production record ... and that sales continue to reach new highs, as well. The Almond Board of California reported that total deliveries of almonds had reached nearly 1.1 billion pounds by the end of last month. It was also a record-breaking month for shipments, as marketers had their best January ever selling almonds to both domestic and export customers.
Bill would dedicate money to produce safety
Additional food-safety measures for fresh produce would be studied, as the result of a bill introduced in Congress yesterday. Central Coast Congressman Sam Farr said the bill, if passed, would dedicate $26 million toward research specifically aimed at food-safety techniques in fresh-produce production. The research would be conducted by the U.S. Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration.
North-state firm plans biomass-ethanol plant
The Bush administration plans to focus biofuels research into creating ethanol from what's known as biomass. A Northern California company says it plans to begin making ethanol this year from biomass such as rice straw and wood chips. The company, Colusa Biomass, says it has patented a process to produce ethanol from crop wastes. By building its plant in Colusa County, the company would be in the state's top rice-growing region near plentiful supplies of rice straw.
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