“We have made a choice not to be in the grower side of the business, representing growers, because we have been more focused on our customers,” said Cary Crum, vice president of Green Tree International Inc. in Visalia, CA, with reference to the company’s involvement in the San Joaquin Valley grape deal.

Columbine Vineyards in Delano, CA, will have its first commercial production of two new proprietary grape varieties from its own varietal development program this year, according to Keith Andrew, sales manager.

The new varieties are called Vista and Milano, and they are both green seedless grapes with large, sweet berries, Mr. Andrew said. The vista is ovate in shape; “the Milano is more round.” Both were test marketed last year on a small scale.

Jasmine Vineyards in Delano, CA, will be up in volume in its production of the proprietary Sweet Sunshine grapes this year and will have its first commercial volume of Sweet Celebration, according to Brian Crettol, a salesman for the company.

Both varieties are from International Fruit Genetics in Bakersfield, CA, of which Jasmine is a licensee.

Jim Llano, sales manager at Castle Rock Vineyards in Richgrove, CA, told The Produce News on July 9 that the company will have more Castle Rock Reds this year, as well as increases in several other varieties.

Produce Trades, a produce technology firm based in Grand Island, NY, recently launched its website, ProduceTrades.com. The company's auction software aims to redefine the buying, selling and transporting process for the produce industry.

Using a self-customized software bidding application, Produce Trades fills a need for a 24/7 international marketplace to connect produce buyers, sellers and transporters in one single auction platform.

Bland Farms, a leading year-round sweet onion shipper based in Glennville, GA, has named John Cameron as its new director of sales, effective July 1. Mr. Cameron, who most recently worked at NatureSweet in San Antonio, TX, is charged with identifying and developing new customer-focused sweet onion programs.