The Packer’s retail editor Jill Dutton launches a new weekly column exploring the science and strategy of the 30-plants challenge, bridging the gap between personal nutrition and professional retail insights. This piece introduces the series and explains the “why” behind writing a column that turns a personal quest to eat more plants into actionable data for the produce industry.

The Hass Avocado Board and Farm Journal, The Packer’s parent company, are launching a first-of-its-kind international event that seeks to gather every segment of the U.S. avocado supply chain with the aim of driving continued growth.

Canadian growers point to Dutch technology and superior shelf life as the real reason for market shifts rather than the unfair pricing alleged in the antidumping petition.

She will become the director of workforce and business policy on the U.S. Government Relations team.

Dave Armstrong steps into the role of president and CEO, while Sakata veteran Justin Davis moves to chief operating officer of vegetables.

Stater Bros. Markets is expanding its partnership with Afresh to link store-level demand directly to warehouse buying, a move Afresh CEO Matt Schwartz explains will replace manual guesswork with a unified AI “brain” built specifically for the volatility of fresh food.