USA Pears has named Barbara Ruhs as its director of nutrition affairs and communications, effective immediately.
 
Ruhs is a registered dietitian nutritionist and leader in retail health promotion who brings wellness to the shelf. As a successful nutrition communications consultant, she is the former nutrition marketing dietitian for Avocados From Mexico and launched a conference for retail dietitians. A trusted nutrition expert, she knows how to blend science and storytelling to build influence with dietitians, media and consumers. 

California strawberry business continues to muddle along as retailers have put their focus on other commodities. Overall quality is still very inconsistent, so that’s another reason retailers have put berries to the back of the produce department. Fruit quality will start to improve over the next seven to 10 days as growers start harvesting more summer Portola variety. We could see strawberries back on promotions once Northwest cherries finish by the middle of August.

Stemilt’s picking buckets will soon be full of premium, high-elevation cherries from now until mid-September. A Half Mile Closer to the Moon cherries are available in late summer to offer retailers a grand finale opportunity to drive cherry sales through the end of the season. Stemilt Marketing Director Brianna Shales said volumes were down last season due to record-low temperatures during winter, but 2025 has bounced back with late-season Moon cherry supplies worthy of celebration and promotion until the end.

We’re officially in the thick of the late summer harvest and our Northwest staples are starting to take shape. Onions and potatoes are leading the charge, with growers reporting strong early starts and promising conditions across the region.

Bay Baby Produce, a leading grower, packer and shipper of painted pumpkins, is unveiling several exciting new additions to its ornamental pumpkin line for the 2025 season.

Crunch Time Apple Growers, which grows and markets SnapDragon and RubyFrost apples in the state of New York, is expecting its largest SnapDragon harvest this season.