Dole Food Company Inc. and affiliates of Castle & Cooke Inc., which own a 55 percent interest in Dole’s parent company, have entered into a binding transaction agreement with Total Produce plc, one of Europe’s leading fresh produce companies, to combine under a newly created U.S.-listed company, Dole plc.

Target Corp. announced a number of changes across its executive leadership team, including Rick Gomez as executive vice president and chief food and beverage officer and Jill Sando, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer.

Wish Farms, international grower and year-round marketer of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, has established a growing operation in Oxnard, CA.

“This is a move that aligns well with our strategy of smart, controlled growth,” said James Peterson, vice president of sales and marketing.

With its first season in Oxnard under way, Wish Farms began harvesting strawberries mid-January and expects volume to flow into May.

Ippolito International added Greg Heinz to its sales team. Heinz has nearly 15 years of sales and commodity management experience at D'Arrigo Bros. California, working within a broad range of fresh vegetables.

Cherrylake and IMG Citrus, who are both subsidiaries of IMG Enterprises, a 90-million-dollar Florida agribusiness with diversified operations in citrus, ornamental landscape, ecosystem restoration and real estate, has appointed Melanie Ressler, Timothee Sallin and Chloe Gentry as co-CEOs of the company. Michel Sallin, who is the co-founder of IMG Enterprises and previously sole CEO, will continue on the board of directors.

The 2020 apple season was a mixed bag of experiences as the domestic production in Washington state was down approximately 15 percent from the previous year, which prompted pricing on mainline varietals to move up with the shorter crop.  Regionally, club varieties had a strong season in both volume and quality. With the price compression on domestic varieties, regional club varieties were competitively priced yet offered more desirable eating experiences compared to standard varieties.