California Avocado Commission chief ends his 20-year run
Mark Affleck, who has served as president and chief executive officer of the California Avocado Commission in Irvine, CA, for the past 20 years, has resigned from the post to pursue other interests. The commission's board of directors accepted the resignation May 15, which was effective immediately, and the resignation was announced by the commission in a May 16 press release.
Salinas Valley grower-shippers feel the heat
Four consecutive days of high heat the week of May 12 found grower- shippers in the Salinas Valley making allowances for the heat before it hit and evaluating their crops once the heat wave passed.
On Friday, May 16, the heat registered as high as 98 degrees in Salinas, CA.
Andy Cumming, president and managing principal of King City, CA-based Metz Fresh, told The Produce News Wednesday, May 21, that he didn't experience a big impact from the heat. Knowing that weather reports had called for the heat wave, Metz made sure everything was well irrigated, he said.
CPMA's 83rd convention draws positive response from attendees
CALGARY, AB -- While final numbers were being calculated in the days following the 83rd annual Canadian Produce Marketing Association convention and trade show, held here May 14-16, the general consensus among attendees left little doubt that the show was an overall success.
Frank Spingola & Sons files for bankruptcy
Frank Spingola & Sons Ltd., one of Canada's larger vegetable grower-packer- shippers that is renowned for its green onions, filed an assignment in bankruptcy May 8 under Canada's Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act.
According to documents provided to The Produce News by the Fruit & Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corp., Aberback Lapointe & Associates Inc. was appointed as the trustee of the estate and will hold the first meeting of creditors May 28 at 10 a.m. in Montreal at the Superintendent Office of Bankruptcy.
Senate overrides Bush veto of farm bill
WASHINGTON -- It was a wild ride Thursday, May 222 on Capitol Hill, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture can now begin implementing the long- awaited farm bill after the Senate voted 82-13 to override President Bush's veto.
While debating the more than 600-page legislation, senators discovered that President Bush had vetoed the $300 billion farm bill with a missing 34-page section on trade provisions.
Sunny Valley returns to Fenway Park for NEPC finale
For the second year in a row, the last seasonal meeting of the New England Produce Council was held at Fenway Park, with a dinner party sponsored by Sunny Valley International Inc., which is based in Glassboro, NJ.
Sunny Valley's Bonnie Lundblad coordinated the May 14 dinner, which was preceded by a walking tour of historic Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The dinner was held in a Fenway dining room overlooking the baseball field.
Charles E. Gilb, Southern California's 'Potato King, was 83
Charles Edwin Gilb, long known as Southern California's "potato king," died Sunday, May 18, at his home in Arcadia, CA, of malignant melanoma. He was 83.
Mr. Gilb was born Nov. 13, 1924, in Cincinnati, but soon moved with his parents and sister to Twin Falls, ID, where he spent most of his childhood and began his love affair with potatoes.
AgriWorld seeks to change the buy-sell equation
It is a tall order, but the principals at AgriWorld Exchange believe their on- line trading platform will change the way the fresh fruit and vegetable industry does business.
They know this has been tried before -- and has failed fairly magnificently. But they say that times have changed and so has the industry.
Overall fruit volumes down, but ENZA and Oppenheimer anticipate good supplies
Deliveries of New Zealand apple and pear varieties were already underway on both coasts in early May, and David Nelley, Oppenheimer's category director for pipfruit and pineapples, predicts a season of relatively short supply of fruit from the island nation overall compared to the past five years.
"Supplies are down considerably across the industry, but Oppenheimer will have strong volumes this year with category favorites like Royal Gala and Braeburn and rising stars like Jazz already in the market," he said.
U.S. military commissaries choose New York apples
The New York Apple Association in Fishers, NY, saw great success in the 2008 Defense Commissary Agency display contest, sponsored by the association and T. Marzetti Co.
"This contest has allowed our apples to be promoted, displayed in a big way and opened up new markets," David McClurg, vice president of marketing for the association, said in a press release.