Oliver Wolf, executive chef with J.W. Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Desert Springs, CA, will be representing the Californa Date Administrative Committee and its grower members at the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit in Anaheim, CA, in October and “is going to be making some wonderful creations with dates in them,” according to Manager Lorrie Cooper.

“Since this is pretty much our home territory, we thought we would take our professional chef with us,” she said.

Good supplies of most types of nuts should be available for fall and winter from the 2012 harvest, with record production seen in some items. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has projected possible record production for peanuts in Georgia, with planted acreage up close to 60 percent over last year. The USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, Sept. 12, forecast a total harvest of 2.8 million pounds of peanuts in Georgia for 2012, up from 1.6 million pounds last year.

In August of 2011, A. Sullivan-Greiner, a resident of San Diego, CA, asked The Union of Concerned Scientists, a leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world, why, given all we know about the importance of fruits and vegetables in the diet, and the government’s emphasis on the “Five a Day” campaign, are most fruits and vegetables still classified as “specialty crops?” 

In the opinion of Robert Dobrzanski, president and sales manager of Atlas Produce & Distributing Inc. in Bakersfield, CA, some consumer packaging for dates and date products does not show the product well because the label tends to hide the contents of the package.

New packaging from Atlas goes the other direction, increasing the visibility of the product.

“Here at Gourmet Trading, we expect an increase of approximately 30 percent over the 2011-2012 [berry] season,” said Scott Hulsey, vice president of procurement for Los Angeles-based Gourmet Trading Co.

Julia Inestroza, marketing director for the company added, “Blueberries are the fastest growing segment of the berry category for us. In addition to the incredible growth of existing blueberry packs, new packs such as our ‘Green Giant Fresh’ brand blueberries with the ‘Box Tops for Education’ label are increasing sales. This equates to more profit for retailers.”

Mike Madsen has been elected as the newest commissioner for the Washington State Potato Commission. The election took place during the WSPC’s quarterly meeting Sept. 6. Mr. Madsen will fill the WSPC’s vacant at-large position and begin serving his term immediately.

Mr. Madsen has worked in the potato industry for over 40 years and has spent the last 18 years of his career with AgriNorthwest. He currently works as a farm unit manager for AgriNorthwest’s Plymouth Farms, where he is responsible for all aspects of production including planting, harvesting, storage and monitoring.