Month: May 2015

It’s “game on!” for stone fruit in the Pacific Northwest, much to the delight of consumers. Thanks to a mild winter and spring, fruit has come on a week to 10 days earlier than normal this year, and Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers, with both conventional and organic tree-ripened fruit in good supplies, will ship its first loads of organic apricots June 1. …

The GROW Fund, a nonprofit program developed by Organics Unlimited in 2005, has opened a special sub-fund earmarked to specifically aid in disaster relief. Administered by the International Community Foundation (ICF), it was created in light of recent natural disasters worldwide. …

With 117.6 million pounds of avocados to be consumed for 4th of July activities, the celebration of American independence is expected to be the second largest avocado consumption event of 2015. To encourage demand leading up to and during the holiday the California Avocado Commission (CAC) plans to build on the American connection between the holiday and domestically grown avocados. …

Over 80 varieties of California-grown grapes available from May through January present buyers in the UK, Europe, African and Mideast with opportunities to expand their grape category offering to consumers. This, as well as promotional programs offered to motivate and support sales of California grapes in the 2015 season, is what Andrew Brown, California Table Grape Commission (CTGC) representative for the UK, will look forward to discussing with attendees who visit the Commission’s booth at the London Produce Show. …

Imagine the iconic Statue of Liberty’s Lady Liberty holding a giant juicy peach. This is the backdrop image that greets London Produce Show attendees when they visit the South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA) booth. South Carolina is indeed the Number One peach producing state on the U.S. East Coast. Agricultural commissioner, Hugh Weathers, and assistant director of retail and foodservice marketing, Sonny Dickinson, will staff the SCDA’s booth in anticipation of setting up export programs for peaches, as well as other South Carolina-grown fresh fruits and vegetables, to markets in the UK, Europe and the Middle East. …