“We have totally cleaned up at our Georgia and Alabama facilities,” Jason Bell, managing member of Tater Man, headquartered in Sydney, FL, said on Jan. 28. “We are currently pulling exclusively out of North Carolina and Mississippi. These programs will last until we start harvesting again in 2015.”

HERMOSILLO, SONORA — The prelude to the second annual International Vine Symposium was a Feb. 4 tour of Grupo Alta plantations to the north of Hermosillo. Formal technical production sessions were scheduled for Feb. 5-6 in Hermosillo and a closing tour on Feb. 7.

Wegmans Food Markets, a family-owned supermarket chain with 85 stores in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic region, reached the top spot for corporate reputation among the 100 most visible companies, according to the 16th annual Harris Poll Reputation Quotient study. Other ranked retailers included Publix Supermarkets (eighth), Whole Foods Market (21), the Kroger Co. (32), Meijer's (39), Aldi (44) and Safeway (67).

Ian MacKenzie, president of the Ontario Produce Marketing Association, has announced that he plans to retire at the end of this year.

MacKenzie has been with the OPMA since 1994, leaving briefly in 1998 to become general manager of the Ontario Apple Marketing Commission, but returning to OPMA in 2002.

On Wednesday, Feb. 4, the Fresh Produce & Floral Council held one of its regular bi-monthly luncheon meetings at the Sheraton in Cerritos, CA. Close to 300 people enjoyed the networking event, which featured journalist Gustavo Arellano as the keynote speaker. Arellano, who writes the nationally syndicated "Ask a Mexican" column, discussed the growing Latino influence in Southern California.

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — Agricultural interests across the Garden State were gathered at the Tropicana Casino & Resort here Feb. 3-5 for a true milestone: New Jersey's 100th State Agricultural Convention. This was also the fourth year that the convention co-located with the annual conventions of the Vegetable Growers Association of New Jersey and the New Jersey Blueberry Association.