By the time Columbia Marketing International, based in Wenatchee, WA, is ready to harvest its first pears of the 2011-12 season, the pipeline will be empty. “Import pears are cleaning up,” Vice President of Marketing Bob Mast told The Produce News July 26. “People want to get into the new pear crop as soon as they can.”

Stemilt Growers Inc. is expanding its RipeRite pear ripening program this season. Director of Marketing Roger Pepperl said two new Thermal Tech ripening rooms have been added this season to condition pears. “The pressurized, high-tech rooms get retailers into the ripened program,” he told The Produce News July 25.

Stemilt is located in Wenatchee, WA. Distribution of production acreage in the Wenatchee Valley allows the company to grow a full pear manifest and harvest later into the production season. Conventional pear volume is expected to be up 15 percent this season.

Fred Recchiuti, general manager of Basciani Foods in Avondale, PA, told The Produce News that Michael Basciani, company president, knows the value of hard work and teamwork, and he is pleased to announce that John (Littleman) Santangelo III is the newly appointed team leader at the company’s recently opened Independence, LA, mushroom farm and packinghouse.

Giorgio Fresh Company headquartered in Temple, PA, is a leading producer of fresh, value-added and processed mushrooms. Bill Litvin, regional sales and national account manager for the company, told The Produce News that The Mushroom Council data show that mushroom sales are very strong today.

Joe Caldwell, vice president of Monterey Mushrooms Inc. in Watsonville, CA, is also the current chairperson for The Mushroom Council, the mushroom industry’s research and promotion group supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Kevin Donovan, national sales manager for Phillips Mushroom Farms in Kennett Square, PA, told The Produce News that the company would once again participate in The National Mushroom Council’s “Go Pink” promotion.

“The effort benefits the City of Hope, a leading cancer research treatment and education center, to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” said Mr. Donovan. “In October, Phillips Mushroom Farms will pack eight-ounce mushrooms in pink trays with special pink labels. The Mushroom Council makes a sizeable donation to the City of Hope during the campaign.”