Safeway names Robert L. Edwards CEO
Safeway Inc. announced that Robert L. Edwards, currently the company's president, will succeed Steven A. Burd as chief executive officer May 14 when Mr. Burd retires as chairman and CEO. Mr. Edwards, 57, will also join the company's board of directors.
Judge's ruling could signal end of raisin marketing order
In what is called a proposed statement of decision after court trial, a superior court judge in Sacramento, CA, has stated that the "adoption and approval of the Marketing Order for California Raisins" by the California Secretary of Food & Agriculture, which formed the California Raisin Marketing Board in 1996, was "invalid as a matter of law" and that the marketing order itself is, therefore, invalid.
The proposed statement of decision by Judge Raymond M. Cadei was issued April 15 after about seven weeks of trial.
Despite disastrous effect on agriculture, Georgia further tightens crackdown on illegal immigration
In spring 2011, the Georgia Legislature approved an anti-immigration bill that made migrant workers so scarce crops rotted in fields due to a lack of harvesters, creating a $500 million revenue vacuum.
Grower Alliance picks up Guaymas deal to complement Hermosillo
Grower Alliance LLC in Nogales, AZ, has picked up a small spring watermelon deal out of Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico, according to Jorge Quintero Jr., managing partner.
It was a deal the company hadn’t planned on, he said, but it complements the company’s regular spring melon deal out of Hermosillo, Sonora.
The Guaymas deal consists of about 65 hectares [160 acres] of seedless watermelons. “We are expecting maybe about 120 to 140 loads,” Mr. Quintero said.
Morada Produce installs new optical cherry sorter
Morada Produce Co. LP in Linden, CA, has made “a lot of changes” to its cherry packing facility during the off-season, according to Michael Jameson, marketing director and export salesman for the company. The biggest change has been the installation of “the largest optical cherry sorter in the world,” he said.
The new sorter is manufactured in Italy by Unitec and “can sort fruit for firmness, for color, for size, for defects, for double and spur recognition. So it is a huge advancement to our company this year,” Mr. Jameson said.
Young plantings will increase Daily Fresh’s volume this year, double in three years
Daily Fresh Distributing LLC in Nogales, AZ, has “some new vineyards that we are going to be breaking into this year” in Sonora, Mexico, which will give the company a modest increase in volume for the 2013 Sonora grape season and a greater increase in future seasons, according to Paul Bachelier, who founded the company in September 2011.
Demand for imported KIKU® apples looks strong
CMI, a Washington state grower-shippers of premium-quality conventional and organic apples, pears and cherries, has started its import season for the exotic KIKU® apple variety. Once the imported KIKU® apples are gone, customers will have to wait until the new domestic crop is available next fall.
California hunkering down for a good blueberry season
All the signs point to good volume and quality for California’s blueberry producers. “We’re hunkering down for a good blueberry season,” said Alexander Ott, executive director of the California Blueberry Commission. “Overall, the season has been really good.”
Curry & Co. adds industry veteran as director of sales and business development for berries
Bruce Turner, a produce industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience in shipping, packing, marketing and retail, has joined Curry & Co. as director of sales and business development for berries.
New office, staff in Nogales positions Baloian Farms to become a year-round pepper shipper
Baloian Farms, based in Fresno, CA, opened a new office in Nogales, AZ, that will be headed by industry veteran Luis Corella in a move toward becoming a year-round player in the pepper category.