While damage to Washington's cherry crop is expected to be minimal, predictions are that the state's apple crop did not fare so well following a violent rain and hail storm which pounded the Prescott, WA, area May 20.

Broetje Orchards appears to have been the epicenter of the storm, and officials at the firm are saying that as much as 50 percent of the company's apples may have sustained damage. According to an account in the Tri-City Herald, Broetje Orchards Grower Manager Joe Shelton said that fruit was "bruised, split in half and knocked off the trees."

North Carolina, well known in the fresh produce industry for being the No. 1 producer of sweet potatoes in the United States, is also a major supplier of blueberries, white potatoes, cantaloupes, watermelons and a wide variety of summer vegetables including cucumbers, squashes, greens and other field crops. Now the state has a new marketing campaign to tout its agricultural diversity as well.

The complete judge's finding on the New York City lawsuit, recently won by the Hunts Point wholesale fresh produce market, will not be released until late May or early June. Even when the findings are released, another part of the suit will still not be resolved until this summer.

The Vidalia Onion Committee in Vidalia, GA, has announced an addition to its internal staff. William Braddy of Vidalia joined the office this growing season as the committee's compliance officer.

Unless all involved parties sign off on an emergency measure to buy water from Colorado's Western Slope, a recent decision to shut down nearly 450 irrigation wells on the state's Eastern Plains could lead to catastrophic losses for some farmers and outright bankruptcy for others.

Southeast Colorado watermelon grower Bill Grasmick and his wife, Lauren, are planning a weekend adventure in New York City later this summer, courtesy of Nunhems USA Inc.

Mr. Grasmick's name was drawn in April in Nunhems' nationwide "Give Me Liberty" Sweepstakes, and he could not be happier. "Oh, gosh. I thought it was one of those deals where they tell you, 'You've won something,' and then you find out the rest of the story," he told The Produce News.