Christopher Ranch LLC has announced that it has earned a 95 percent of "Excellent" rating for its HACCP program from Primus Labs in Santa Maria, CA, in April and a 97 percent "Excellent" rating from Sillkier Inc. of Homewood, IL, in May for its processed garlic production.

Officials at Mann Packing Co. in Salinas, CA, have retained Bruce Gilkerson to serve as the company's sales manger for the central region of the United States. Mr. Gilkerson replaces Mark Plantan, who Mann promoted to vice president of retail sales on April 11.

As a result of finding six fruit flies within a three-mile radius, agricultural officials have established a quarantine zone in California's Fresno County that will adversely affect at least 500 acres of fresh figs.

"The bad news is that it impacts 5 percent of our crop," said Richard Matoian, manager of the California Fig Advisory Board. "The good news is that it is only 5 percent."

While damage to Washington's cherry crop is expected to be minimal, predictions are that the state's apple crop did not fare so well following a violent rain and hail storm which pounded the Prescott, WA, area May 20.

Broetje Orchards appears to have been the epicenter of the storm, and officials at the firm are saying that as much as 50 percent of the company's apples may have sustained damage. According to an account in the Tri-City Herald, Broetje Orchards Grower Manager Joe Shelton said that fruit was "bruised, split in half and knocked off the trees."

North Carolina, well known in the fresh produce industry for being the No. 1 producer of sweet potatoes in the United States, is also a major supplier of blueberries, white potatoes, cantaloupes, watermelons and a wide variety of summer vegetables including cucumbers, squashes, greens and other field crops. Now the state has a new marketing campaign to tout its agricultural diversity as well.

The complete judge's finding on the New York City lawsuit, recently won by the Hunts Point wholesale fresh produce market, will not be released until late May or early June. Even when the findings are released, another part of the suit will still not be resolved until this summer.