The Washington Apple Commission continues with due diligence to promote exports of the state's ever-increasing apple volume. "With the larger anticipated Washington apple crop, we are putting heavy emphasis on export opportunity," President Todd Fryhover told The Produce News. "I can say all programs are fully funded and we're hopeful to see a 20-percent increase or more for 2014-15."

Weis Markets celebrated the grand opening of its new Selinsgrove, PA, flagship store with a true celebration. The festivities included a community ribbon cutting ceremony with local public officials and dignitaries, along with company donations to local nonprofits. Customers were also surprised with free bags of groceries during check out at the registers.

The 66,740-square-foot store features larger fresh departments with more than 700 varieties of produce and a greater selection of organic and natural items.

The ever-active “Produce Mom”, Lori Taylor was scheduled to raise awareness for the national school salad bar initiative on live Indianapolis television on Aug. 21. According to a press release on that morning, Taylor was slated for the IndyStyle program on WISH-TV 8.

Taylor is The Produce Mom for The Produce Mom LLC, which is a subsidiary of Indianapolis Fruit Co., Inc.

The 2014 Empress plum season should be a bumper crop of high-quality fruit. Empress plums are a seasonal niche fruit with a loyal following in several regions of North America. They are only available for four to six weeks, and this year’s harvest is starting five to seven days earlier than a typical year due to outstanding weather.

As you’ve likely witnessed among colleagues in your office, people have different learning styles. David Kolb, an educational theorist, studied this phenomenon in detail. He categorized learners in his Learning Styles Inventory, which in everyday terms states that some of us learn from experiences and feelings, some by observing and reflecting, others by conceptualizing and thinking, and others by experimenting and doing.

For the late summer and fall season this year, Sunlight International Sales Inc in Delano, CA, is introducing a new proprietary green seedless grape variety called Green Emerald. “We received a patent” on the variety in December 2013, said Nick Dulcich, a partner in J.P. Dulcich & Sons in Delano, CA, and president of Sunlight International Sales Inc., exclusive sales agent for Dulcich & Sons.