The summer grape season California’s San Joaquin Valley was going very well in all varieties as of Aug. 10, and showed all indications of continuing to do so, according to Jim Llano, sales manager at Castle Rock Vineyards in Richgrove, CA.

“We are pleased with the quality” of the grapes and also with the timing of the different varieties, he said.

Looking ahead, “overall we are pleased with the fall crop,” Mr. Llano said. “Everything may be a little bit earlier. However, we are pleased with the overall timing and separation between varieties.”

Eight youth soccer players from across the country have been selected as the 2012 Summer Citrus Soccer Star award winners.

The young players are from diverse backgrounds and different parts of the country, yet all share a love of soccer, a spirit of leadership and determination on and off the soccer field, and have demonstrated commitment to their teams, families and communities.

The award was established by the South Africa Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum, a consortium of about 350 South African Citrus growers who export citrus to the United States.

The former Klamath Basin Fresh Direct has officially changed its name to Klamath Basin Fresh Organics. Chairman Dan Chin said the business is solely focused on organic production, and the name change makes that direction clear.

“We did some conventional potatoes in the past,” he told The Produce News July 30. “But we’re all organic now.”

For the first time since Crystal Valley got into the Peruvian asparagus deal almost two decades ago, the firm has experienced a gap in supplies from the South American country.

Rick Durkin, director of business development for Crystal Valley Foods in Miami said that the company is changing with the times and does have multiple asparagus sources to fill the needs of its customers.

IMG Citrus Inc., based in Vero Beach, FL, signed an agreement with Hogan & Sons Inc., also of Vero Beach, whereby IMG will be the exclusive North American marketing agent for the 2012-13 season.

"Hogan & Sons has been in business since the 1930s," said Matt Kastensmidt, domestic sales manager for IMG, told The Produce News. "The company has an impeccable reputation, and they do an outstanding job of packing Indian River citrus, especially grapefruit."

The effect of heat on grapes is dependent on many factors, including the way grapes are farmed. But buyers who “have been around a while” know that a prolonged stretch of very high temperatures in the growing areas “can contribute to having some issues later on,” said Kevin Beno, owner of Fresh Buyers Inspections Inc. in Visalia, CA, Aug. 8.