This season, C.M. Holtzinger Fruit Co., headquartered in Yakima, WA, will add its corporate logo to bags of certified-organic cherries it will market for Adolfo Alvarez Farm. The operation is owned by Adolfo Alvarez, a grower who began his career as a field worker. Driven by an intense desire to create a positive environment for his children and those of farm workers, Mr. Alvarez is the owner of the certified-organic farm in Prosser, WA, where organic cherries and apples are grown.

High-elevation orchards and fruit picked at the peak of perfection are hallmarks at Hood River Cherry Co. Mount Hood and the surrounding valley provide the dramatic backdrop for the tree-ripened fruit picked sold to the company’s customers. The company is located in Hood River, OR.

Working with Wenatchee, WA, cherry grower Phillippi Fruit Co., Grant J. Hunt Co. is looking forward to a clean crop of consistently sized fruit, according to Hunt Marketing Director Eric Patrick in Yakima, WA.

Mr. Patrick told The Produce News on May 18 that predictions are for a crop of 21 million 20-pound equivalents out of the Northwest, possibly beating the 2009 record of 20.5 million boxes.

“Right now we’re seeing a lot of cherries, evenly distributed,” he said. A mild spring and the even spread on the trees could lead to bigger fruit, he added.

Sales of mushrooms have continued to grow over the past decade, according to Bart Minor, president of the Mushroom Council headquartered in San Jose, CA.

"In 2011, supermarket sales in pounds were over 204 million as reported by Symphony/IRI Group," he said. "Mushrooms continue to outperform total produce dollars and volume."

He added that in the past, white button mushrooms were always the standard, and while still immensely popular, other varieties are finding favor with consumers such as the increased usage in brown mushrooms indicates.

Irwindale, CA-based Ready Pac Foods announced DON BRUMLEY as its new regional sales manager on May 7.

Mr. Brumley has more than 25 years of retail sales and management experience, having most previously worked for Colorful Harvest.

Three crop peaks and a significant overall increase in production is being forecast by Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers in Wenatchee, WA, for its 2012 cherry season.

Dan Wohlford, national marketing representative for Oneonta, told The Produce News on May 21 that the operation is “looking at a 16 percent increase over last year’s crop.”