The board of directors of A. Duda & Sons Inc., a family-owned, diversified land company based in Oviedo, FL, has appointed Barton Weeks chief operating officer of the corporation.

Mr. Weeks, who has worked for the company for 25 years, is retaining his responsibilities as chief financial officer. He will report to Joseph A. Duda, president and chief executive officer of the corporation.

If the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service forecast for the 2009 cranberry crop holds true, it would be the second largest cranberry harvest on record.

The USDA figures, released in mid-August, predict 7.09 million barrels (each barrel weighs 100 pounds), down 10 percent from 2008. The forecast was for yields to be down in Massachusetts and Wisconsin but up in New Jersey, Oregon and Washington state.

Graham Daren Pimiskern, 42-year-old sales director of Del Fresco Produce Ltd. in Kingsville, ON, died Aug. 28 at Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston, ON. He died peacefully with family members and friends by his side.

Mr. Pimiskern suffered from kidney disease for the past year, struggling with a series of related setbacks.

Just in time to commemorate September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Watsonville, CA-based California Giant Berry Farms renewed its support of Jacob's Heart Children's Cancer Support Services, a Watsonville- based non-profit serving children with cancer and their families.

Suntreat, a provider of premium California citrus in Lindsay, CA, announced Aug. 27 that it has hired Al Imbimbo as its vice president of sales. Mr. Imbimbo assumed his new role with the company on Aug. 17.

With Tom Roberts, director of sales and marketing, retiring after 38 years, Mr. Imbimbo will be responsible for directing all sales activities for the company. Suntreat said that it is planning an aggressive growth strategy that emphasizes introduction of new varieties and enhanced specialty citrus product offerings.

On Wednesday evening, Sept. 2, Hurricane Jimena was rolling across the central plains of the Baja California peninsula likely inflicting some damage on the tomato, cucumber and other crops that are currently in the ground awaiting harvest in the fall.

"It would be a miracle if we come out of this without damage," John King, vice president of sales for Andrew & Williamson Sales Co. Inc. in San Diego, said the afternoon of Sept. 2. "We will know a lot more in 24 hours. The storm should start to come through in the early morning hours tomorrow."