A severe freeze earlier this year in northern Mexico caused extensive damage to tomatoes industry-wide and, for Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce, resulted in “the lowest volume of tomatoes in April that we have had in probably 10 to 15 years” according to Mark Munger, vice president of marketing for A&W.

In what is still an unpublished decision, a judge sided with growers and ordered the receiver in the Salyer American Fresh Foods case to pay the final PACA Trust claims.

The case arose in 2009, when Salinas, CA-based Salyer American was placed into receivership and closed its doors. Soon after, 16 PACA Trust claims were filed, with the receiver filing objections to all 16. Under the provisions of the PACA Trust, produce creditors essentially are first in line to get paid in the event of a bankruptcy or a company dissolution, as was the case with Salyer American.

West Pak Avocado in Temecula, CA, has hired DAYNA BROWN as the company's sales and marketing assistant.

The Southeast Produce Council has moved its headquarters to East Ellijay, a small town in Georgia, from its former headquarters in Riverview, FL, just outside Tampa. The official date of the move was June 1, according to SPC Executive Director Terry Vorhees.

Angela Clark, the council’s part-time assistant, will be relocating to the new area and become a full-time administrative assistant. Her first day in the new office will be July 11. The council also intends to hire a part-time assistant for receptionist and general administrative responsibilities, according to Mr. Vorhees.

About 50 members of the Garden Club of America recently toured the Nunes Co. Inc.’s facilities in Salinas, CA, to learn about the company’s family farming operation and agriculture production in the Salinas Valley.

On the evening of June 5, parts of the expansive San Joaquin Valley were deluged with an inch-and-a-half of rain. This unusually large amount of rain this late in the spring has put an exclamation point on the cold, wet spring that California has experienced.

“In 1995, it hailed on June 15,” said Wayne Brandt, president of Brandt Farms Inc. in Reedley, CA, discussing the last time June produced such a weather abnormality. “Some dates just stick with you.”