The National Watermelon Promotion Board increased its assessment by 50 percent to six cents per hundredweight from four cents on Jan. 1, according to NWPB officials.

A lengthy two-and-a-half year process culminated with the U.S. secretary of agriculture reviewing and approving the increase recommended by the NWPB board of directors, Mark Arney, the board's executive director, told The Produce News Jan. 4.

TRAVER, CA -- In late 2007, several members of the California stone fruit and grape industries came together to form a new fruit shipping and marketing organization called Scattaglia Growers & Shippers LLC with offices located at the New Leaf packing and cold storage facility here.

The partners and marketing staff of SGS formally announced the company's formation on Tuesday, Jan. 8, although SGS had actually opened for business during December.

Madison, ME-based Backyard Farms, one of the larger New England greenhouse growers of high-quality vine-ripened "Backyard Beauties" tomatoes, has appointed Roy Lubetkin president and chief executive officer.

Mr. Lubetkin, 50, will be responsible for leading the company's strategic growth efforts with ongoing "best-in-class" production process improvements, evaluation of new sustainable energy technologies, development of new varietals, exploration of new crop introductions and pursuit of wider geographic reach.

AgriWorld Exchange, the first live, on-line agri-trading marketplace, announced that Oxnard, CA-based Mission Produce Inc. has signed an agreement to trade fresh produce using AgriWorld Exchange.

The agreement enables Mission Produce - one of the world's larger avocado producers and shippers - to offer its grower base the latest technological methods for selling its products.

Gilroy, CA-based Christopher Ranch enjoys strong sales of its garlic and ginger items and promotes its "California Grown" brand garlic.

Both garlic and ginger are often associated with the Asian palate. Patsy Ross of Christopher's marketing department said that ginger is closer to a specialty item and is not as common as garlic. The firm offers a four-and-a-quarter-ounce bottle of ginger-garlic stir fry mix and a nine-ounce bottle of ginger for retail.

The "we dodged the bullet" clich? came a little too soon following the early January cold front that passed through Florida from the north. While field vegetables and fruits, including citrus, came through relatively unscathed, late reports arrived about a week after stating that strawberries suffered more than originally thought. And it looks like the damage could change the strawberry forecast for the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday -- a typically strong strawberry market time.