The upcoming season is a good news-bad news scenario for Texas vegetable producers.

The bad news is a record-setting drought that has already cost Lone Star ag producers $5.2 billion continues with no end in sight. The good news is that ground water is available, and a slight drop in production could prop up markets and help provide better returns to grower-shippers.

Alpine Fresh, a major grower, packer and shipper of asparagus headquartered in Miami, FL, announced that is will ship non-fumigated Peruvian asparagus from Florida to Canada.

The California Cherry Advisory Board, which was established in 1993 primarily to apply for federal Market Access Program funds and to promote California Bing and Rainier cherries in Japan, is undergoing a major transformation that involves expansion, in that it brings producers of other California cherry varieties into the organization, but also is a contraction, in that the board will be narrowing the focus of its activities.

Nov. 14 was Michael Hively’s last day with Bland Farms LLC. “It was an amicable split,” Mr. Hively told The Produce News.

He joined the company in January 2002 as general manager, “and then he evolved into [chief operating officer] and [chief financial officer] for several years. He ran the operations and took care of the money, too,” said Delbert Bland, owner and president of Bland Farms.

Wish Farms, a leading grower-shipper of strawberries in Florida, announced Nov. 16 the kick off of its Florida strawberry season, projected to be the biggest to date. With a larger supply of both conventional and organic berries, the first fruit is being harvested from 150 acres and will be available at most major local grocery store chains.