The American Falls plant expansion in Idaho, originally scheduled for 2023, will be completed by mid-2024. State potato growers will be called upon to grow another 12,000 acres of spuds for the French fry plant.

At the U.S. Apple Outlook Conference in Chicago, the association predicted that 2023-2024 apple production will hit 250 million bushels, up 1.5 per cent from last year. The Gala variety retains top spot with the most bushels grown.

Behemoths PepsiCo and Walmart recently announced a seven-year collaboration pledging $120 million to support U.S. and Canadian farmers in their pursuit to improve soil health and water quality.

The organization, California Leafy Green Marketing Agreement, has started a two-year study to collect and analyze pathogen test data for romaine lettuce. The aggregated data will include both pre-harvest and post-harvest testing.