Along with a full schedule of events, both educational and social, that has always marked the Southeast Produce Council’s fall conference, the council has announced that Bobby Bowden, Florida State University’s legendary football coach, will deliver the keynote speech Sept. 27 at the general session of the 2013 conference.

As the Vidalia onion season started in mid-April, growers feared they had a disaster on their hands. With seed stem bolting through the crop, it appeared that as much as half the Vidalia deal would disappear. For the first half of the season those projections were correct.

Moonlight Cos. and Wawona Packing Co. have reached an agreement with Sun Pacific Marketing to supply clementines and mandarins that will be marketed under the "Cuties" brand.

President-Elect Mike Marshall automatically advances to head the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association in 2013-14 and other officers will be elected at the association’s annual meeting June 15 in Weston, FL, an association news release announced.

The FNGLA Nominating Committee has made its recommendations for 2013-14 president-elect, Sandy Stein, and secretary-treasurer, Billy Butterfield. Wes Parrish, the current president, automatically advances to become past-president in 2013-14.

Tops Friendly Markets, a leading full-service grocery retailer in upstate New York, northern Pennsylvania and western Vermont, has completed the acquisition of four Big M supermarkets. The company has also converted nine former Grand Union supermarkets into Tops stores.

Even as it deals with the effects of a recent cold snap in the Pacific Northwest, Domex Superfresh Growers anticipates it will market larger-sized cherries this season.

“The weather has impacted our volume of cherries for the 2013 season,” Vice President of Marketing Howard Nager, told The Produce News. “Cool, windy weather during pollination as well as some frost damage has reduced the size of this year’s crop by about 22 percent. This smaller crop, however, will lend itself to larger fruit size, with almost 88 percent of the crop being 11 row and larger.”