Harvest is in full swing for Skylar Rae cherries, bringing the highly anticipated sweet, crunchy, bi-colored cherries to shelves for a profitable short season.

Sarah Barkley, domestic sales at CMI Orchards, said demand is skyrocketing each year as more consumers discover “The Sweetest Cherry You’ll Ever Eat.”

The National Watermelon Promotion Board announced its call for entries for its 16th annual Watermelon Retail Merchandising Contest. Retail chains, independent retailers and commissaries are invited to compete for over $10,000 in cash and prizes.

Benny (Buck) DeTroy Shuman, founder of Shuman Farms, the largest growers of Vidalia onions, died May 31. He was 91.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended all inspections of avocados and mangos headed for the United States from the Mexican state of Michoacan on Monday, June 17, which could have a significant impact on supplies and market price if it remains in place for even a few days.

Officials at Sunny Valley International keep looking for the better blueberry. The Glassboro, NJ-based operation is placing a large emphasis on varietal development, hoping that new products will help continue the big growth of blueberry sales domestically and around the world.

The California Avocado Commission's mid-season grower and packer crop survey estimates volume to exceed 250 million pounds. This forecast for the 2024 crop is about 20 percent higher than the pre-season estimate. About 60 percent of the crop has been harvested, meaning there is about 40 percent of the California avocado crop still maturing and sizing on the trees.