Craig Long, national accounts manager for Salinas, CA-based Premium Fresh Farms LLC, died Saturday, Feb. 10 of a heart attack at his Salinas home on. He was 36 years old.

Among those Mr. Long leaves behind are his wife, Allison, their daughter, Ava Madeline Long, and an unborn baby girl due in June.

"He was a good friend and did a super job for us," said Emmitt Pfost, president of Premium Fresh Farms and Mr. Long's father-in-law. "He was a hard-working guy. He helped us build sales volume and developed great relationships."

While an abundance of January snow was welcomed by Colorado farmers, travel across the state's highways was dicey at best during early 2007's many blizzards.

One such storm hit statewide Jan. 31, lowering attendance somewhat at the annual election and dinner held by the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee in Monte Vista. However, CPAC Executive Director Jim Ehrlich said it was "a successful evening," and he thanked newly appointed Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture John Stulp for braving icy roads to attend.

As a seasoned tennis player, Richard Cowden is familiar with the pressures and strategies of the popular sport. Now the 27-year-old California native is learning a different game -- produce sales -- at Baloian Farms in Fresno, CA.

Mr. Cowden was born in Simi Valley, CA, and grew up in Newbury Park, near Thousand Oaks, CA.

He graduated in December 2003 from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo with a degree in business administration and marketing management. He attended San Jose State University prior to transferring to Cal Poly.

Results of a study undertaken by the Food Policy Institute at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, and released Feb. 5 show that most Americans heard the Food & Drug Administration's main message to consumers warning that bagged fresh spinach had been contaminated and should not be eaten.

In the wake of the prolonged mid-January freeze that devastated much of California's citrus crop, a rumor spread that Booth Ranches LLC in Orange Cove, CA, had thrown in the towel for the remainder of the season on its orange harvesting and laid off its entire sales and marketing team. Not so, according to Loren Booth, the company's general manager.

Although Booth Ranches did suffer severe losses to its on-tree citrus crop and did lay off a portion of its marketing staff, the company continues to harvest and pack fruit and continues to do its own marketing.

PakSense Inc. announced that industry veteran Doug Thurston has joined the Boise, ID-based company as director of North American sales.

Mr. Thurston comes to PakSense from Bolthouse Farms in Bakersfield, CA, where he was director of sales since 2002. He was also employed for more than 20 years by Albertson's, where he served at various regional locations in a number of roles including procurement manager, buyer, produce manager and in quality control.