Partnering with a national program to encourage healthy eating and physical exercise and playtime for youngsters, Chelan Fresh Marketing of Chelan, WA, is taking an active role in the fight against childhood obesity.

Fuel Up to Play 60 is a campaign launched this year by the National Dairy Council and the National Football League, with additional partnership support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Keith Horder, director of business development for L&M Cos., had to chuckle a little when he contemplated the coming apple season. “The consistency this year is inconsistency,” he told The Produce News Aug. 29. “Growers have been hesitant to make predictions about crop size and product size.”

Stemilt Growers Inc., headquartered in Wenatchee, WA, continues to grow its organic apple program. “Twenty-five percent of our volume is organic,” Director of Marketing Roger Pepperl told The Produce News Aug. 30. “It continues to be a big, big part of our program.” Stemilt places strong emphasis on apples farmed for flavor and marketed under the “Artisan Organic” label.

“Retailers with good organic programs are seeing double-digit growth,” he said.

The week of Aug. 22, the Vista Hermosa Foundation released $1 million in emergency relief funds to aid organizations with their humanitarian relief effects in Somalia. The foundation was started in 1990 by Ralph and Cheryl Broetje, owners of Broetje Orchards in Prescott, WA.

Broetje Orchards, a leader in Washington’s apple growing and packing industry, was founded on the belief that faith and business can be incorporated in a single mission. Apples are marketed under the “FirstFruits of Washington” brand to global markets by FirstFruits Marketing in Yakima, WA.

Melinda Goodman, a 15-year veteran of the produce industry, recently opened Copper Penny Marketing, a marketing and consulting company specializing in fresh produce and food.

"I plan to offer clients a variety of services including brand management, new package development, promotional planning and public relations," Ms. Goodman said in an Aug. 23 e-mail to The Produce News.

CHICAGO -- While eastern and western apple-growing states are forecasting slight decreases in production, a surge in the Midwest, most notably in Michigan, should result in a 2011 U.S. apple crop that is slightly larger than this past year's.

Information released Aug. 11 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts a national crop totaling 226.471 million bushels, or 42-pound units, for the 2011-12 season. If the estimate is accurate, this will be the nation's 18th largest crop on record.