California Tomato Farmers announced June 11 that it has hired AG Association Management Services Inc. and has appointed Chris Zanobini to serve as CTF president and Nick Matteis will be the new director of food safety.

Domex Superfresh Growers, located in Yakima, WA, is gearing up for a limited nationwide rollout of its new proprietary cherry variety, the Orondo Ruby, this season. “It was a chance seedling discovered in a Rainier cherry orchard in 2001,” Loren Queen, marketing and communications manager, said May 14. “It was sweeter than the Rainiers around it.”

VINELAND, NJ — Another member of the Consalo family has joined the family’s produce distribution company.

Bobby Consalo Jr., 24, graduated May 11 from Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ, with a bachelor of science degree in accounting. Since he was 13 years old, he has worked during the summers at the family firm, but he joined Wm. Consalo & Sons Farms Inc. on a full-time basis May 14.

He will work in sales and will be in charge of pre-cooling at the company, which was formed in 1927 and is headquartered here in southern New Jersey.

In 2011, cold weather delayed the Florida watermelon crop by a couple of weeks. This year, a warm winter and spring brought production on two weeks early. After 15 years in Florida, Rick Sullivan, owner of Wm. Manis Co. in Plant City, is no longer surprised at what Mother Nature brings to the table.

VINELAND, NJ — Tom Consalo, director of sales at The Fresh Wave, was looking at a very early but “overwhelming” start to the 2012 New Jersey spring produce deal. Volume has been strong and quality has been excellent, two qualities he hopes will mark the entire local season.

“Thus far we’ve had an overwhelming start to the season,” Mr. Consalo told The Produce News May 8. “The volume this season has been a tremendous jump from prior years, obviously due to the warm weather we’ve had.”

Organic food production is a job creator.

According to a new economic study released on April 25 at the Organic Trade Association's Policy Conference in Washington, DC, producing U.S. foods organically creates thousands more jobs than if that food were produced using conventional agricultural methods.