Bobalu Berry Farms has named Don Hobson its vice president of sales and business development. Bringing more than 30 years of produce industry experience, Hobson joins the Bobalu leadership team with an exceptional track record of driving strategic growth, strengthening customer partnerships, and expanding market opportunities across retail programs and foodservice channels.

With strong movement across multiple onion categories and favorable crop conditions so far, JJB Family Farms is moving through the 2026 season with optimism while continuing to navigate the rising costs and logistical challenges facing the produce industry.

“We’ve got good volume across white, red, yellow, organic and conventional onions,” said Derrell Kelso, onion manager of the Stockton, CA-based company. “Quality so far is looking great. Everything here is packed to order.”

Dümmen Orange and Syngenta Flowers, two global players in ornamental breeding and propagation, have signed an agreement to establish a strategic joint venture. This partnership represents an important step forward for both organizations as they work together to better serve growers around the world.

Reinforcing its commitment to being a powerful economic driver for Texas, H-E-B plans to invest $700 million to expand its supply chain operations, a project that is expected to create 720 jobs by 2028 and more than 1,200 new full-time jobs over the next decade.

The 2026 Northwest cherry season is coming off a winter that brought its share of challenges, from warm temperatures to periods of spring frost, but growers across the region have been navigating and adjusting accordingly. The latest 5-state cherry estimate projects the crop at approximately 18.4 million 20-pound equivalent boxes, slightly below the initial April estimate of 19.5 to 21.5 million boxes.

Extremely dry conditions in North Carolina continue to concern sweet potato growers, who were preparing to move transplants to fields in mid-May.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s most recent survey, published in mid-May, almost 60 percent of the state was listed as experiencing extreme drought, although small areas that were listed as more severe on the previous survey were downgraded.

Vick Family Farms, which is based in Wilson, NC, shares those concerns.