Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. in Jacksonville, FL, has not had much good news to report in recent years. But now the company has embarked on an ambitious new re-branding plan that the company calls a “transformational remodel.”

The store at 2220 County Road 210 near Jacksonville in northern St. Johns County is the first in Florida to

With diesel fuel rates hitting $4.50 per gallon, and no let-up in sight, West Coast shippers are bracing for what could be the highest transportation rates they have ever seen.

“Everyone is concerned about it,” said Jim Bogart, president of the Salinas, CA-based Grower-Shipper Association. “But there is not much we can do about it.”

The Produce Marketing Association announced May 9 that public relations veteran GLENN BOYET joined its staff as senior director of public relations.

Business is good at Sy Katz Produce Inc. in Boone, NC - so good that the company increased its north Florida plantings by 15 percent and its south Georgia holdings by a like number, according to President Owen Margolis.

There has been a strong increase in demand for the Katz's variety peppers, and a high market along with increased plantings means Katz will be able to cash in on that demand.

Steven Gilfenbain, the founder and chief executive officer of Stevco Inc., a large California grape grower-shipper, has sold a “substantial” portion of his company to a private equity firm.

Nixa, MO-based Market Fresh Produce LLC has added produce veteran Diane Holt to its procurement team.

“Diane brings 18 years of produce experience to our already-successful procurement team led by Tyler Phipps,” Mike Kemp, chief operating officer, said in a May 2 press release.