The consortium will include, in addition to Cunha's organization, the California Grape and Tree Fruit League, California Cotton Growers and Ginners Association, California Citrus Mutual, Sun-Maid Growers, the Raisin Bargaining Association, California Apple Commission and the California Fig Advisory Board. Cunha, who heads the Nisei Farmers League in Fresno, said the visit is the first of several expected in the months ahead as a consortium of farm leaders seeks to meet anticipated labor...

Farmers say they -- and their customers -- are paying about $4 extra to take home a bushel of apples this fall, all because of the spring freeze in early April, around Easter. Usually 15 people are working on and around the orchard, whereas only six are working this year. The travel, the import of goods, and the inability to grow his own crop has contributed to the added cost -- and to an early closing date for business. At Murphy's Orchard, the crop is so significantly smaller that the...

Lunch: cheeseburger or deli sandwich on wheat or peanut butter jelly sandwich, yogurt, baked french fries, rainbow applesauce. Friday -- Breakfast: breakfast cereal bar, fruit yogurt, fresh orange slices. Friday -- Breakfast: scrambled eggs and sausage, juice or fruit. Lunch: build your own taco or deli sandwich on wheat or peanut butter and jelly, yogurt, or taco salad, ranchero beans, fruit. Lunch: baked turkey, corn bread dressing, mashed potatoes with gravy, seasoned corn, whole-wheat...

Sunday, October 28, 2007 By Ron Cammel The Grand Rapids Press SPARTA TOWNSHIP -- It's hard to imagine the west side of the township being anything than what it is: rolling land where crops, cows and orchards mix with old homes, barns and stands of trees along lightly traveled roads. Sunday, October 28, 2007 By Ron Cammel The Grand Rapids Press SPARTA TOWNSHIP -- It's hard to imagine the west side of the township being anything than what it is: rolling land where crops, cows and orchards...

The fact that land Herbert Clark purchased in 1886 remains the Clark Brothers Orchard in 2007 is due to a combination of luck, skill, a helpful microclimate, and, in recent years, the same kind of cooperative marketing agreement that seeks fair prices for small Latin American producers selling bananas. The fact that land Herbert Clark purchased in 1886 remains the Clark Brothers Orchard in 2007 is due to a combination of luck, skill, a helpful microclimate, and, in recent years, the same...

In late July, the House passed its reauthorized version of the bill a massive, $290 billion spending plan that would keep existing agricultural subsidies in place through 2012, while also adding new ones: for growers of specialty crops, the settlement of discrimination suits, and an expansion of the food stamp program, among other things. In late July, the House passed its reauthorized version of the bill a massive, $290 billion spending plan that would keep existing agricultural subsidies...