The California Leafy Greens Products Handler Marketing Agreement Advisory Board elected an advisory board at its first meeting held Feb. 23 in Woodland, CA.

Joe Pezzini, vice president of operations for Castroville-based Ocean Mist Farms, was elected chairman, and Eric Schwartz, president of Salinas-based Dole Fresh Vegetables, was elected vice chairman. Both are from the Salinas- Watsonville-San Joaquin Valley-Kern County district.

John Forry, vice president of D.J. Forry Co. Inc., which is headquartered in Novato, CA, and has a regional office in Reedley, CA, has announced an agreement with Ray England of Alliance Fresh Produce Solutions, a produce consulting and marketing company in Birmingham, AL.

Mr. England, who has a strong retail background, "will work with the Forry team to develop and implement marketing strategies designed to enable D.J. Forry to achieve its long-range goal of building a direct-to-retailer business," according to a company press release.

ASHEVILLE, NC -- The National Watermelon Promotion Board recommended a 50 percent increase in its assessment during its spring board meeting, here, Feb. 24 during the National Watermelon Association convention.

Mark Arney, executive director of the board, told The Produce News that "the board voted to recommend a rate of six cents per hundredweight," up from the current four-cent rate.

As part of the new assessment, watermelon producers and handlers would see their assessments rise to three cents from two, while importers would see a rise to six cents from four.

Bill Marler of the Seattle-based law firm Marler Clark has identified Mission Organics -- a company with direct partnership ties to Natural Selection Foods -- as a grower that grew spinach involved in last year's E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak that sickened more than 200 people and killed at least three -- and possibly five -- others.

Mission Organics is a partnership among Mission Ranches; Drew and Myra Goodman as Earthbound Farm Inc.; and Otto Kramm. Mission Ranches, Earthbound Farm Inc. and Tanimura & Antle are partners in Natural Selection Foods.

ASHEVILLE, NC -- It is said that records are made to be broken, and true to the old clich?, several records were set at the National Watermelon Association's 93rd annual convention, held Feb. 21-25, here, at the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa.

"For the past two years we have set records around the board," said Bob Morrissey, the association's executive director. "We had over 440 people at our banquet this year and that is a record crowd. We had the largest attendance, auction, sponsorship and exhibitors in our 93-year history."