Wish Farms, one of the larger growers and shippers of strawberries in Florida, will be hosting the first Bright House Networks Strawberry Picking Challenge, Feb. 7 and 8 in Plant City, FL.

This season, Skyline Potato Co., located in Center, CO, plans to move approximately 1.4 million hundredweight of potatoes from the San Luis Valley.

With its inaugural “a great start,” Maverick Potato Co. in Center, CO, is heading into 2014 with plans to double yellow production, increase organics, make upgrades to the packingshed and continue to build relationships in both domestic and Mexican markets, according to company President Roger Christensen.

With 110 family members now following his commitment to integrity and a strong work ethic, George Lenz left a lasting legacy to the three-generation potato growing and shipping operation in northeastern Colorado.

Although Colorado’s ongoing water shortage has resulted in fewer acres of potatoes in the San Luis Valley this year, Jed Ellithorpe, farm and operations manager for Aspen Produce’s sister company, Ponderosa Partnership, said he was optimistic going into the 2013 harvest.

“Our acreage is down,” Ellithorpe said in late August, confirming what he had predicted in early 2013. “We have had to cut back because of water.”

Ready Pac Foods Inc. recently hired Bob Estes as its chief information officer. As the company’s CIO, Estes will lead all information systems and technology, where his focus will be on transforming information accessibility and system integration.

The CIO position is a critical contributor in achieving Ready Pac’s overall company goals through the advancement of its business systems and information flow. He will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Tony Sarsam.