At the April CPMA Convention and Trade Show in Vancouver, outgoing CPMA Chair Walt Breeden of The Oppenheimer Group will hand over his duties to incoming Chair Bernadette Hamel, vice president of national procurement-produce for Metro Richelieu Inc. Hamel is no stranger to the CPMA, having served on the executive committee since 2010 and as convention chair for the 2013 Toronto convention.

“I’m very excited at the prospect of having the opportunity of being a key player in participating and improving our industry,” said Hamel.

California shipped a record volume of fresh grapes during the 2013 season, surpassing 100 million boxes for the second time in history, the California Table Grape Commission announced in a March 20 press release.

The final tally for the 2013 harvest showed a total of 117.4 million boxes of fresh California grapes (116.2 19-pound equivalents) shipped, with a total crop value of $1.7 billion, according to the release. The season started with shipments in early May and continued into February 2014.

The Mexican government published a final regulation March 20 regarding cross-border trade of fresh potatoes, allowing shipments of potatoes between the United States and Mexico in both directions, with the details on phytosanitary and other protocols still to be worked out.

David Andrew Kirkland, former director of purchasing for Adams Produce Co. in Birmingham, AL, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison March 20, 2014, according to an AL.com report. Upon his release, Kirkland will serve three years of probation.

Giumarra Reedley announces its summer 2014 plum promotion, “Easy as Pie,” which should boost the quantity of plums consumers purchase. The new packaging and retail display program will be introduced to the industry at the Northern California Fresh Produce & Floral Expo on April 9 in Pleasanton, CA. Giumarra will be at Booth No. 95.

Deardorff Family Farms in Oxnard, CA, which grows 120 acres of strawberries in the Oxnard area in addition to an assortment of vegetables, expects the strawberry harvest to be “rocking and rolling” by the third week of March, according to Doug Lowthorp, a salesman for the company.

The season got off to a good start, because there had been no adverse weather from early December through the end of February, Lowthorp said. “Everything has been fantastic” up until late February rains disrupted the harvest.