Melons for the 4th of July and Food Safety Cert. for Specialty Crops

**California watermelons, cantaloupes, honeydews and mixed melons will arrive in grocery stores in time for the Independence Day holiday and may arrive in surplus as the season progresses.

Melon season has shifted to the San Joaquin Valley as harvest wraps up in Southern California’s Imperial Valley and in Yuma, Arizona.

Harvest in the San Joaquin Valley is expected to continue through October and resume in the desert from October to December.

**The USDA is expanding the Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops program to include assistance for medium-sized businesses for 2024 and 25 expenses.

Eligible specialty crop growers can apply for assistance for expenses related to obtaining or renewing a food safety certification.

Applications for calendar year 2024 expenses begin today and through January 31st.

The 2025 application period will be January 1st of 25 through January 31st of 26.

**Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow says the only path to passing a bipartisan farm bill is holding together the farm and food coalition that’s been the foundation of past farm bills.

However, Stabenow says, recent attempts to fracture that coalition through misleading statistics and an inaccurate portrayal of how the farm bill works have stalled progress on negotiations and risks forcing another 2018 extension.