The 2012 fall produce season is underway and should be highlighted by good quantities of high-quality produce available for wholesale and retail purchase. To understand New Jersey's fall season, one needs to take a look at the extraordinary weather that its farmers have had to deal with to produce the fall crops. This is the third season in a row that weather has had a major effect on the season. This season is very similar to two years ago.

Pink Lady America, headquartered in Yakima, WA, announced it is partnering with the Washington State Health Care Authority to promote the Apple Health for Kids program. Marketing Director Alan Taylor said Pink Lady held a special kickoff for the promotion on Aug. 7 at the 4th Street Theatre.

The program, created in 2010 and open for applications in 2011, is designed to provide free healthcare for children in families falling below 200 percent of the federal poverty level and low-premium coverage for families between 201 percent and 300 percent of the federal poverty index.

A nutritional bump for back-to-school lunches and snacks and a savings on peanut butter has been combined in a promotion featuring “Trout” label apples from Chelan Fresh Marketing and Jif to Go from Jif peanut butter products.

The promo, which uses Kwik Lok closures to attach 55-cent savings coupons to three- and five-pound bags of apples, is available on 2.5 million bags from Chelan Fresh, according to Mac Riggan, the Chelan, WA-based company’s vice president of marketing.

Caito Foods Service Inc., a leading provider of fresh produce wholesale distribution services, announced the appointment of Robert (Bob) Kirch as president and chief executive officer, and Matthew Caito as executive vice president and chief administrative officer. These positions will be effective as of the company's new fiscal year. Messrs. Kirch and Caito will be based in Indianapolis and report to the co-chairmen of the corporation, Phil and Joe Caito.

As we approach the fall of 2012 we can get excited about what the season has in store for us. One of the things I like most about the fall is warm colors in hues of orange, red and gold. This year we are also seeing splashes of vibrant Olympian Blue from Pantone’s colors of the year (www.pantone.com) showing up everywhere from fashion to home décor.

Japan’s devastating tsunami last year has affected the production of cut flowers and plants in Japan. The Dutch magazine Vakblad voor de Bloemisterij, cited in Florist & Wholesaler Buyer, a British publication, quoted official statistics that showed a 5 percent drop in production in Japan. Imported flowers and plants are taking up the slack from the drop in domestic production in Japan, it stated.