Two of the bigger names in fresh produce are teaming up to expand their presence in the fast-growing fresh-cut fruit category.

Sunkist Growers, a leading marketer of fresh citrus based in Sherman Oaks, CA, and Taylor Farms, a leading supplier of value-added fresh produce to the North American foodservice industry, based in Salinas, CA, announced a new joint venture, Sunkist Taylor LLC. The announcement was made Feb. 22 at Sunkist's 112th annual meeting in Ventura, CA.

The fields and hallways of Salinas, CA-based Tanimura & Antle are minus the smile of Robert (Bobby) Tanimura, who died in his Salinas home on Saturday, Feb. 18, after a long battle with cancer. He was 76.

Though battling prostate cancer since the 1990s, Mr. Tanimura kept an active schedule as a director with the company. Farming was his lifelong passion, and right up until his final days, he could be seen patrolling the fields, dispensing advice about pest management and attending T&A board meetings.

I remember when the idea of forming the Southeast Produce Council was just that -- an idea.

I felt that there was a real need to bring together the different factions that make up the produce industry in the Southeast. Our region has long been a leader in agriculture, and we are also home to some of the more innovative and leading supermarket chains in the country.

It was a natural progression to form an association that would link us in a way that had never been realized on a regional basis in the South.

For the second straight year, Goodness Greeness, a leading Midwest distributor of organic produce based in Chicago, will sponsor Family Farmed Expo, an event that brings together regional growers, chefs and consumers with an interest in organic and artesian food, local economies, fair trade, nature, and environmental and health issues.

Family Farmed Expo will be held Friday, March 10 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, March 11 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Chicago at the historic Chicago Cultural Center on East Washington Street.

Houston-based Sysco Corp. announced that its FreshPoint produce subsidiary bought City Produce Inc., a leading independent produce distributor in Texas' Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Harlingen, foodservice markets, and Thomas Bros. Produce Inc., an independent produce distributor in Oklahoma.

Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.