The Garlic Co. in Bakersfield, CA, held steady in its planted acreage of garlic for the 2013 harvest, and as of late July it appeared the harvest was going to be right on target with company expectations, according to John Layous, a partner in the company.

“We didn’t do any kind of an expansions or contraction of acres,” he said July 24. “We just grew our normal amount, and so far, the crop looks just exactly that — what we expected to get.”

Main Street Produce Inc. in Santa Maria, CA, is in the fortunate position of being able to produce a strawberry crop from the same plantings over a very long season. “We are still picking on the plants that we planted back in October” and expect to continue harvesting from those same fields — always weather permitting — through December. The harvest from those fields started in March, giving the company 10 months of continuous production from the plants, according to President Paul Allen.

In late July, Joe Bernardi, president of Bernardi & Associates, was doing what he does every day: finding tomatoes for his many customers around the country.

Mark Tompkins, director of North American sales, is retiring from Sunkist. He began his career with Sunkist Growers 50 years ago in Calgary.  

“We will miss the wisdom, steady leadership, dependability and humility that Mark Tompkins has brought to Sunkist,” Kevin Fiori, vice president of sales and marketing, said in a press release. “Mark’s contributions are many and very much appreciated by Sunkist. His legacy will live on in the people he mentored who sell Sunkist’s citrus every day. We wish him and his family all the best in retirement.”

There are two major changes at Hronis Inc. in Delano, CA, for the 2013 grape season, according to Pete Hronis, vice president of sales and marketing.

One is a major increase to new varieties, which is “quite an amazing change,” he told The Produce News. “Number two, we are now 100 percent in what they call the handle bag or stand-up gusseted bag,” which makes it “easier for the consumers to pick up the grapes and continue on their way.” That has been “the other big change for us here at Hronis.”

Heading into summer with good volume and quality on all varieties, Sweet Clover Produce in Walla Walla, WA, is now shipping its famed Walla Walla sweets as well as organic yellows and reds and conventional reds, whites and yellows.

Sales Manager Bill (Sweet Willie) Brownfield said earlier in the season that healthy stands and good irrigation were harbingers of a strong season.