As the Northern Hemisphere citrus season comes to a close and the Southern Hemisphere season begins, Salix Fruits, a leading company in the import and export of fresh fruits, said shipments of citrus are arriving steadily.

According to Alejandro Moralejo, CEO of Salix Fruits, South Africa, the major citrus supplier in the Southern Hemisphere has grown in all citrus varieties.

"The first week of April, RSA (South Africa) started with lemon shipments to the Middle East, their most important market, and to Canada," he said.

Tudor Ranch, a third-generation family farm located in the Coachella Valley, specializes in growing, packaging and distributing fresh California table grapes. This season, the company is seeing excellent bunch counts and good vine and bunch growth across the varietals, despite cool weather slowing down the crops.

“Normally we would start harvest around May 10-12,” said Joseph Tudor, vice president of the company. “This season we expect to start closer to May 22.”

For the past six years, the National Watermelon Association has recognized promising members of the next generation in the watermelon industry at its annual convention through its Future Watermelon Farm Leaders award program.

This year, Bailey Leger of Leger & Son was among the recipients named to Class VII of the program.

“Bailey excels in everything she does because she is dedicated and diligent,” said Jordan Carter, director of marketing at Cordele, GA-based Leger & Son.

Some of the first signs of spring are Florida sweet corn, asparagus and Vidalia sweet onions in the stores. It’s time to set up some nice aggressive displays of all three items. Warm spring days will have people out doing some backyard grilling. Sweet corn, asparagus and sweet onions fit in perfectly for that.

Georgia’s farmers provide consumers with a long list of healthy and tasty fresh fruits and vegetables. The state is, of course, famous for its peaches, peanuts and Vidalia sweet onions, but its climate is ideal for growing just about any crop, and Georgia’s growers provide excellent blueberries, greens, potatoes, mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on Island Fresh De Puerto Rico Inc. in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, for violating the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. These sanctions include barring the business and the principal operators of the business from engaging in PACA-licensed business or other activities without approval from USDA.