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Not too long ago, few would have thought strawberries would hold a prominent spot along with tomatoes, cucumbers and bell pepper in Ontario’s flourishing greenhouse industry.

The April Ag Economy Barometer shows farmers’ concerns about crop inputs are overshadowing optimism surrounding commodity prices hitting decade-highs as some inputs are still in short supply as planting gets underway.

“We work hard, and we play hard. We wanted to have a little fun,” said Blake Belknap, vice president of sales for Rainier Fruit.

Naio Technologies Orio was demonstrated at the launch of Fira U.S.A. in Fresno, Calif. in early April. The ag robotics competition will be held in Fresno Oct. 18 – 20, 2022.

St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M Food Safety has been named a 2022 Edison Awards gold winner in the Commercial Technology category for its 3M Petrifilm Plate Reader Advanced.

The Grower-Shipper Association of Central California recently appointed Victor Ramirez of NorCal Harvesting as its new vice-chair and Greg Beach of Steinbeck Country Produce as its secretary.

California Giant Berry Farms is forecasting large volumes of organic and conventionally grown strawberries in May. The company said its grower partners are on track to deliver peak promotable volumes of strawberries.

The availability of avocados in the U.S. has tripled in about 15 years, and Rabobank analysts say there is still room for growth.

Opponents of wind energy may be encouraged by the financial difficulties of the industry, since wind generated electricity costs are now rising after years of being driven lower by new technology and competition.