WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted 64-35 to approve the 2012 farm bill, a victory for specialty crop producers who held onto gains from the 2008 farm bill in research, nutrition and market promotion funding.

The Senate waded only through eight amendments June 21 before casting the final votes on passage in early afternoon.

"I hope my friends in the House see what we've done," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said on the Senate floor before the final vote.

Sharon Lynn Coffman Brannan, the former manager of the Maryland Food Center Authority in Jessup, MD, who is credited with guiding the market through changes brought on by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, died June 12. She was 62.

Kingston & Associates Marketing LLC announced June 20 that it would begin marketing Hass avocadoes from Peru for the 2012 season through its strategic grower-partnerships.

The first shipments of this program were scheduled to arrive in late June and continue through the end of August. As a complement to its growing pineapple and mango programs, the Idaho Falls, ID-based firm sees the move as another customer-driven expansion of its tropical import business.

Pandol Bros. Inc. in Delano, CA, expects to begin harvesting its first grapes from the San Joaquin Valley out of the Arvin district early the week of July 2, according to Louis Pandol, an officer in the company. That is considerably earlier than last year, when “we started on the 15th.”

Although earlier, in fact, than the last two years, this year’s start date, “the way I would characterize it, is more like a normal start,” he said.

On March 27, Piazza Produce Inc. was named the winner of Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard’s 2012 Sustainability Award in the category of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle with its project entitled, Piazza Zero Waste. Four other projects submitted by other applicants were also awarded in the categories of air, land, water and energy.

“Each of our five winners was chosen for inspiring innovation, showcasing a positive community impact, demonstrating leadership and promoting education around the principles of sustainability,” Mayor Ballard said in an earlier statement.

JACK MOYER has joined McAllen, TX-based Loop Fresh Produce LP and Loop Cold Storage as director of operations.