The recent salmonella outbreak caused a complete collapse of the tomato industry in Florida. Now growers are bustling to get their produce back on store shelves and overcome staggering losses. WGCU’s John Davis reports.

After months of negotiations, Florida farm workers scored a big win on Friday. One of the country’s largest purchasers of tomatoes has agreed to help get pickers a pay raise. Sara Sciammacco has more from Washington.

After months of negotiation, Florida farm workers scored a big win today. One of the country’s largest purchasers of tomatoes has agreed to help get pickers a pay raise. Sara Sciammacco has more from Washington.

The Coalition of Immokalee Worker’s efforts to get Burger King to pay south Florida tomato pickers a penny more per pound took some unexpected twists in recent weeks – including the revelation that the fast food giant had used a private investigative firm called Diplomatic Tactical Services to spy on the Coalition. It all began with what the Miami Herald called “a nifty piece of reporting” by News Press reporter and WGCU essayist Amy Bennett Williams. After a bit of online digging Williams learned that message board postings attacking the Coalition weren’t made by a teenage girl from Miramar, but by her father who’d been using her online identity…She spoke to WGCU’s Mike Kiniry.

State labor regulators conducted surprise investigations last week at groves and farms throughout south and central Florida. WGCU’s John Davis reports on what they found.

Farm worker advocates presented Burger King officials in Miami with tens of thousands of signed petitions demanding tomato pickers be treated more fairly on Monday. WGCU’s Mike Kiniry reports.

The petition delivery comes shortly after U.S. Senate hearings on the matter - during which lawmakers promised to investigate the wages and working conditions of south Florida’s tomato pickers.

Burger King officials maintain tomato pickers in Florida are treated well and paid more than 12-dollars an hour on average. The company has refused to sign a deal with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to pay a penny more per pound for the tomatoes it buys.

Coalition spokeswoman - Julia Perkins – says they’ve focused on companies like Burger King because of its enormous buying power.

Senate lawmakers say they may step in if conditions for Florida’s tomato farm workers don’t improve. Workers are also asking fast food chains to help increase their wages. Sara Sciammacco has more from Capitol Hill.

Citrus growers from across the state are gathering in Central Florida today for a summit on citrus greening. The deadly plant disease has been spreading across the state for the past three years, and researchers want to make sure growers are doing all they can to fight it.

Judith Smelser reports.

When you bite into a sandwich from a fast food restaurant, do you ever wonder where the tomato slice came from? Well, from October to May there’s a good chance it was grown in South Florida. But the Sunshine State’s tomato fields are full of controversy now as a farm worker advocacy group and fast food giant Burger King squabble over money. WGCU’s Valerie Alker reports.

The Florida produce company, Ag-Mart, has settled a civil suit with two former tomato pickers who say their son was born without arms and legs because of the misuse of dangerous pesticides in farm fields by the agricultural firm. Leah Fleming reports.