JOH is celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2026, marking seven decades of partnership, growth and service to clients and customers across the food industry.

Founded in Boston in 1956 as a small food brokerage, JOH has grown into one of the country’s most trusted independent sales and marketing partners. Today, JOH supports clients and customers throughout the Northeast, north central and Mid-Atlantic regions, backed by over 600 teammates who are passionate about delivering results.

Fresh Farms has announced a new strategic partnership with Sun World International, under which the company will supply Sun World’s proprietary table grape varieties to the North American market as part of Sun World’s global network of licensed marketers.

Through this partnership, Fresh Farms will produce, pack, and market Sun World–branded grapes across its operations in Mexico and South America. Supply will be sourced from Fresh Farms’ own production as well as from a network of trusted grower partners, ensuring consistent volume, quality, and year-round availability.

Some of the most meaningful research opportunities come from stepping beyond the familiar — new environments, new collaborators and new ways of thinking. A new named fund through AFE is designed to make those experiences possible for Ph.D. students in floriculture.

Established in January 2026, the Royal Heins International Floriculture Research Scholarship Fund supports semesterlong international research experiences that help doctoral students grow both scientifically and professionally.

Northland Potatoes has spent nearly eight decades bringing together growers across Minnesota and North Dakota, and as the organization moves through the current shipping season, its role as an advocate, promoter and connector for the region’s potato industry remains as important as ever. 

The National Watermelon Promotion Board’s mission centers on a single, industry-wide objective: increasing consumer demand for watermelon. 

As the watermelon industry gets set to gather for its annual convention Feb. 19-22 in St. Pete Beach, FL, NWPB continues its year-round work to support this industry by strengthening watermelon’s relevance, visibility and value in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

A sales representative placed a call to the produce buyer of a large supermarket chain. “Hi, I’d like to set up an appointment to show you some new fresh-cut salad mixes of organically grown baby lettuce varieties that include organic salad dressings. The bags are biodegradable and very consumer-friendly.”

Without hesitation, the buyer replied, “No thanks, we don’t need another salad mix. We’re out of shelf space now on packaged salads. Besides, we’ve been doing business with the same supplier for five years and don’t want to change. Sorry, I’m in a hurry, good-bye.”