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Chinese customs officials are demanding U.S. ag exporters sign a form guaranteeing their exports are free from COVID-19, trade and government reports say.

With fall school schedules uncertain because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is giving school districts flexibilities in how they serve school meals.

There can never be enough sweet corn or cherries for Fourth of July retail promotions, and that is especially true this year.

Moving about 1 million boxes a day to food banks and other charities, the USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program is gaining speed and is on track to hit 44 million boxes delivered by the end of June.

The Packer’s West Coast Produce Expo has a new date and format to provide streaming and digital content to complement the Palm Desert, Calif., event. with an expo that encourages social distancing.

Virtual tours and demos, an online wine auction and food box donations enabled the fresh produce industry to response to the realities caused by the pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has paid out $53 million of the $2.1 billion allotted for specialty crops through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

When COVID-19 arrived in March, the students and the salad bars in school cafeterias disappeared.

Shay Myers, CEO of Parma, Idaho-based Owyhee Produce, is The Packer’s 2020 Produce Man of the Year. The Packer “presented” the award in a video presentation during United Fresh LIVE! on June 17.

The USDA is offering contracts for its massive food box program to companies that were passed over in the first round of contracts for technical errors, such as a missed signature or unchecked box.