Health of Industry Hangs on Berries' Health Benefits

摘要

IN EARLY 2005,1 attended a meeting in Little Rock, AR, where Dr. Tom Bewick, SDA Cooperative Research, Education and Extension Service (now the National Institute of Food and Agriculture or NIFA), presented the idea of a national organization to represent the recently defined "specialty crop" industry.As many of you know, this was a newly defined term for horticultural crops — considered "minor" as opposed to "major" crops such as corn and soybeans — in the U.S. I thought Dr. Bewick had a pretty wild idea — getting potentially 300 grower or production organizations to unite in representing the large "specialty crop" industry. I snickered at the idea; but I was impressed with Dr. Bewick's enthusiasm and wished him well.