Warmer March weather in California’s fig orchards has given way to more average temperatures in April, but it’s likely fig harvest will be a bit earlier than normal.

Erik Herman, who packs and sells California figs grown by his family’s farming operation, Specialty Crop Co., said it’s likely the first variety off the trees, Black Mission, will probably be harvesting in late May instead of early June. That crop, known as the breba crop, is fruit that set on last year’s growth wood.

As North Carolina sweet potato growers prepare fields with seed beds, they are facing an extremely dry spring, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture declaring 82 of the state’s counties as natural disaster areas in mid-April.

At Vick Family Farms, based in Wilson, NC, sweet potato seed beds are under drip irrigation, but with more than 10,000 acres of various crops, irrigating every field is impossible.

“Our water sources are down considerably and we desperately need rain,” said Charlotte Vick, partner/sales and marketing manager at Vick Family Farms.

MANHEIM, PA – Four Seasons Produce, a wholesaler based in Ephrata, PA, that is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026, hosted its fourth annual Fresh Fest Independent Retailer Trade Show & Conference on April 21 at The Junction Center, here. In all, more than 400 attendees gathered in this rural area of the Keystone State to network and promote their items to independent retailers and natural food store leaders.

Kurt Zuhlke & Associates will once again bring its proven packaging solutions to the Canadian Produce Marketing Association show, where the Easton, PA-based company will exhibit at booth No. 1427.

A longtime participant at the event, the company views CPMA as an important opportunity to connect with customers across Canada and the northern United States, while reinforcing relationships that have been built over decades.

Canada has long been part of Driscoll’s story. For decades, Canadian consumers have reached for Driscoll’s berries making the brand a familiar presence in produce aisles from coast-to-coast. What has changed is not Driscoll’s presence in Canada, but now a deliberate and focused strategy to deepen trust with consumers, customers and growers and to scale with purpose.