Jan DeLyser, a longtime produce industry leader and trailblazer, has announced her plan to retire from the California Avocado Commission in early 2023 after 24 years of service. The commission is searching for a replacement, with DeLyser’s expected retirement date to be mid-February 2023.

In very early 2023, Agri-Packing Supply Inc. will open its new facility in southern Arizona, significantly expanding the capacity of its cooling and logistics business. “This new facility will add 200,000 square feet to our existing capacity,” said Sales Executive Jorge Ruiz, adding that the facility is in the Rio Rico Industrial Park in Nogales. “We are very excited to welcome new partners into this facility.”

Donald Christopher, who started Gilroy, CA-based Christopher Ranch in 1956 at the tender age of 22 and grew it into the leading producer of fresh garlic in the United States, died at the age of 87 on Dec. 12, 2022.

The biggest news coming out of the Organic Growers Summit, held in Monterey, CA earlier this month, is that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is on the cusp of releasing the “Strengthening Organic Enforcement Final Rule” to the National Organic Program.

A trio of operators participating in the controlled environment agriculture space reported a bright future with potential for significant growth, especially in the organic category, at a seminar held during the recent Organic Growers Summit.

It might be too dramatic to say that the avocado has had a rags to riches career over the last few decades, but it’s not an exaggeration to note its meteoric and unprecedented volume growth in that time frame.

Virtually everyone agrees that the current cult status of the avocado and its ever-increasing popularity was impossible to predict and a very pleasant surprise. At least almost everyone.