The California Fresh Fruit Association hosted its 88th annual meeting March 10-12 at The Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay. With over 200 people in attendance, the meeting provided the opportunity for membership to gather prior to the 2024 harvest season. The event featured the election of the board of directors and chairwoman, as well as industry and committee updates.

Attendees of the Southern Roots luncheon, which took place during SEPC's Southern Exposure, heard from from Kristen Hadeed, founder and CEO of the Human Leadership Program. Her presentation, Permission to Screw Up, dove into how it is okay to make mistakes, let go of perfectionism, reframe your relationship with failure and allow yourself to be human.

As California avocado growers begin to harvest their crop and packers start to move that product into commerce, they are being met with favorable marketing conditions because of very strong movement over the past couple of months. This is welcome news as the California crop has only been estimated at 208 million pounds, which makes it one of its smaller crops in recent memory.

Nelson Irrigation’s Rotator Technology has been field-proven for over 35 years. In the solid set market it has been used in a number of products with flows ranging from nine gph to 11 gpm and radius of throw from seven to 51 feet.

The Southeast Produce Council hosted a special reception on March 8 for its inaugural class of the Next Generation Leadership Academy during SEPC’s Southern Exposure conference March 7-9, in Tampa, FL, marking the completion of the year-long program. This program is designed for up-and-coming leaders in the produce industry, to develop purposeful leadership styles.

Baldor Specialty Foods announced that Satyan Parameswaran has joined the company as chief digital and innovation officer.