During the 2013-14 crop year, which ran through June 30, the Mexican Avocado industry enjoyed a 66 percent market share in the United States. "With the good start we have seen this year, I think we are going to be around 70 percent of the market," Alvaro Luque, president of Avocados from Mexico, said in an interview with The Produce News.

On the heels of news that billionaire Bill Gates is likely behind the purchase of two south Georgia farms comes news that another investment group linked to the Microsoft founder recently paid almost $28 million for more than 4,500 acres of farmland in Suwanee County, FL, a major vegetable production area in the northern part of the state.

There are also unsubstantiated reports from individuals familiar to The Produce News that entities representing Gates are looking at farmland in Mississippi and possibly other Southeastern states as well.

There will be no shortage of California Navel oranges during the early part of the 2014-15 season, although fruit size may be smaller than normal, according to Joel Nelsen, president of California Citrus Mutual in Porterville, CA, a trade industry group representing the interests of citrus growers primarily in the Central Valley.

At 92 percent water and chock full of nutrients, watermelon is a naturally hydrating food fit for the finish line. That’s the message National Watermelon Promotion Board, along with its entourage of watermelon queens from National Watermelon Association and mascot J. Slice, shared during the Marine Corps Marathon festivities in Washington, DC, Oct. 24-26, where it served a truckload of healthy watermelon to athletes and families.

Richard (Dick) Adam Sr., who grew vegetables in California's Santa Maria Valley for more than 50 years, died at his home Thursday, Oct. 23. He was 84.

The fourth-generation grower farmed with his brother Jack until 1994, when he and his sons struck out on their own. At Adam Bros. Family Farms, the fifth generation continues to grow broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, celery, Romaine, red leaf and green leaf.

Chelan Fresh, based in Chelan, WA, announced the addition of Jeff Niesz to its operation’s sales staff.