Yuma, AZ, grower-shipper Robby Barkley of Barkley Ag Enterprises was elected chairman of the board of the Western Growers Association at its 84th annual convention held Nov. 9-11 in Las Vegas.

Emerging produce exporters in the Dominican Republic have an initial plan to grow their businesses first by focusing on the New York City market -- and a new office located in the city aims to help them find success.

Tested by Edge Analytical Laboratories in Burlington, WA, Red Wing onions grown by Grigg Farms in Quincy, WA, and marketed by Sweet Clover Produce LLC in Walla Walla, WA, come with a certification that they are free of E. coli and Salmonella pathogens.

According to Lorin Grigg, grower of the famed single-center red, the testing is performed on all 400 acres of Red Wings at his farm.

"They are going to primarily restaurants," Mr. Grigg said of the onions, and he added that a specific customer requested the testing.

INDIANAPOLIS -- With the 2009-10 apple season underway, Imagination Farms has added an additional apple supplier, FirstFruits Marketing in Yakima, WA.

For growers who forego the four- or five-week Iceberg lettuce deal in Huron, CA, and harvest longer in Salinas, CA, the tail end of this season was not a strong one. Then, too, the short harvest in Huron was no picnic, either. Both avenues lead to a transition to desert harvests in areas such as the Imperial and Coachella valleys in California, and Yuma, AZ.

Sales manager-partner Steve Church of Salinas, CA-based Church Bros. LLC told The Produce News Nov. 9 that the company's Iceberg lettuce harvest in Huron was slated to wrap up around Nov. 13.

PHILADELPHIA -- On Nov. 10, as an emerging sun lit the sky to a grayish- pink over the east side of the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market, John Vena and Dan Kane closed the doors of a refrigerated container. It was the Philadelphia market's payment on a World Series wager with the New York Hunts Point Terminal Market.

Mr. Vena is the Philadelphia terminal's marketing committee manager and owns John Vena Inc. Mr. Kane is the assistant manager of the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market.