Starting March 15, nearly two-thirds of U.S. agricultural exports to South Korea will become duty-free under the bilateral free trade agreement agreed to last October.

President Obama signed trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama last year. Over the President's Day weekend, officials from the United States and South Korea officials met in Seattle and reviewed each other's laws and regulations to clear the way for the agreement to begin, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a statement.

Family Tree Farms, based in Reedley, CA, announced the recent addition of Brenton Helm and Ryan Howard to its sales team. They join Don Goforth, Doug LaCroix and Doug Ensz.

"Clara Sarmiento, assistant to the president [Pal Brooks] of Brooks Tropicals, will take on the additional responsibility of food-safety manager for all of Brooks Tropicals," said Mary Ostlund, director of marketing for the Homestead, FL-based company. "Clara will lead the current team in Belize and Homestead in this ever-growing area of importance."

Western Growers Association, based in Irvine, CA, has hired Dennis Nuxoll as vice president of federal affairs. He will be based in Washington, DC, and will begin with the association on March 5.

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Village Farms International announced today it has harvested the first fruit from its new state-of-the-art greenhouse located in Monahans, Texas yesterday. The initial pick is being harvested a few weeks ahead of schedule due to the excellent greenhouse climate.