Latest News From California

Chelsea, Mass.-based Morning Kiss Organic — which has expanded its program with organic kiwis and pears, available year-round — will exhibit at the Organic Produce Summit July 10-11 in Monterey, Calif. 

Coastline Family Farms and Muzzi Family Farms have opened C&M Family Cooling LLC, a cold storage and shipping facility in Castroville, Calif.

This could be a year like no other for California’s table grape industry.

Church Brothers Farms, Salinas, Calif., has entered into partnership with FiveStar Gourmet Foods, which has value-added salads and packaged snacks for retail and a range of fresh-cut items for foodservice operators.

California onion grower-shippers are looking forward to a strong season this summer with plenty of good-quality onions available.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will headline the fifth-annual Forbes AgTech Summit.

Coastline Family Farms, Salinas, Calif., has hired Ryan Laughton as vice president of crop production and grower relations.

Boggiatto Produce, Salinas, Calif., has changed its name to Hitchcock Farms in a rebranding.

Castroville, Calif.-based Ocean Mist Farms completed a new type of peak-season artichoke promotion using e-mailed trivia.

Charlie’s Produce, Seattle, has acquired Better Life Organics, Los Angeles.

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. — The Packer's Northeast editor, Amy Sowder, goes west to join the farm tours at West Coast Produce Expo. 

The California Dried Plum Board is once again embracing “prunes,” 19 years after changing its name and the way the dried fruit was marketed.

With the start of summer, white-flesh Angelcots are available from Frieda’s Inc., Los Alamitos, Calif.

Registration is now open for exhibit booths at the Organic Grower Summit.

PALM DESERT, Calif. — Her advice won’t blow your mind, but you can boost your career satisfaction if you take home a few nuggets, said Emily Fragoso at the West Coast Produce Expo.

Coastline Family Farms, Salinas, Calif., has hired Marc Kirby as vice president of finance and accounting.

Ian LeMay is the new president of the California Fresh Fruit Association, Fresno.

PALM DESERT, Calif. — Dave Mitchell is a seminar speaker who doesn’t use a stage.

The California Avocado Commission is helping retailers plan for Memorial Day sales, which is in the top four seasonal events for the fruit.

Sun World International LLC, Bakersfield, Calif., is selling its leased and owned farms to investors that have contracted with Sun Pacific, marketer of Cuties mandarins, to farm the table grape vineyards.

The California Kiwifruit Administrative Committee is seeking nominations for growers to serve on its board.

Sophia Hronis, who founded Hronis Inc. with her late husband Jim Hronis, has died.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has sanctioned companies in California and Texas for violating the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.

Oakland, Calif.-based vertical farm operator Crop One Holdings won the Best Innovation in Indoor Farming Award at the 2019 Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 

The 25th Annual Memorial Golf Tournament honoring Paul Cappelluti and Judi Powell is April 28.

Beachside Produce, Guadalupe, Calif., has three recent additions to its sales, procurement and organic departments.

“Winter is coming?” With a tongue-in-cheek nod to the final “Game of Thrones” season, the California Avocado Commission is declaring that winter is over, which means it’s time for California hass avocados again.

The Grower-Shipper Association Foundation, Salinas, Calif., has added Ag Against Hunger to its portfolio of programs it advances by informing the public about the positive effects and economic value of agriculture in the region.

California summer fruit suppliers are anticipating a brisk May-August season in 2019, with plenty of supplies to fill orders.

Index Fresh, Riverside, Calif., is again shipping Gem avocados, to complement full-size hass avocados grown in California.

Index Fresh, Riverside, Calif., is again shipping Gem avocados, to complement full-size hass avocados grown in California.

The California Strawberry Commission will use Instagram for its summer marketing campaign, the Get Snacking Challenge, which has a $1,000 grand prize. 

Dan Andrews Farms LLC, Bakersfield, Calif., is adding two varieties to its melon offerings this season, said owner Danny Andrews.

Strawberry growers in the Golden State, including in its No. 2 growing region of Santa Maria, have been producing greater volumes with higher-yield varieties, and this year could be a banner year.

Cal-Organic Farms, Bakersfield, Calif., is shipping new crop red and gold potatoes to U.S. and Canadian customers.

The California sweet corn crop, grown in the Imperial Valley, is ready for shipping.

The California Avocado Commission, Irvine, has kicked off its 2019 advertising campaign, targeting “super avocado users” and “premium Californians.”

(UPDATED April 11) Christopher Valadez is the new president of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, Salinas.

Plentiful rain over the winter quenched thirsty fields across California, but will delay fruit and vegetable supplies out of Santa Maria during the spring season.

Avocado company Index Fresh, Riverside, Calif., has hired a vice president of operations and promoted others to key roles in California and Texas facilities.

The California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement has new officers and board members.

Fresh Farms has hired Dale Prinz as a sales associate in its Kingsburg, Calif., division.

SALINAS, Calif. — The devastation of Florida’s citrus industry from Huanglongbing (HLB) could become the future for California citrus ­­– or not.

Retailers should expect anything but a California cherry season like last year, according to Stemilt Growers.

The California Table Grape Commission, Fresno, has funded another round of Innovation in Teaching grants.

The Fresh Produce & Floral Council, Anaheim, Calif., has chosen the participants in the 2019 FPFC Apprentice Program.

Growers in the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement will soon be sanitizing “open-source” water used on their crops, which has been the focus of at least two recent E. coli outbreaks traced to leafy greens.

Judging from numbers from Nielsen Co. LLC, consumers in the western part of the U.S. are particularly fond of California avocados.

Even with this year’s smaller-than-usual crop, California avocado shippers may find some profitable opportunities outside of the domestic market.

Oxnard, Calif.-based Mission Produce Inc. has launched a new retail ripening program and has announced some changes to its sales department.