The Flavor Tree Fruit Co. LLC, exclusive sales agent for Warmerdam Packing in Hanford, CA, is heavily focused on cherries during the early season, so the company does not have early production in its peach and nectarine programs.

“We will start in June,” said Maurice (Mo) Cameron, managing partner. “We are a little late, because we no longer have peaches and nectarines that compete with the cherry crop.”

Kelly Bros. Inc. in Exeter, CA, was started in 2010 to focus on finding a home in the processing industry for byproducts from fresh citrus packinghouses. Since then, the company has expanded into other commodities, including grapes, watermelons and stone fruit, in all cases sourcing products from packinghouses that are high quality but unsuitable for the fresh market.

Despite freeze damage done to early-season peaches in South Carolina, growers are anticipating good quality fruit and volume during July and August, the state's peak production months.

Ayco Farms has hired Daniel Ramirez Van Hoorde as its new general manager in Mexico. Ramirez will work out of Ayco’s new office in Irapuato, Guanajuato. The hiring of Ramirez and opening of the new office is part of Ayco’s strategic plan designed to meet customer needs.

Potandon Produce LLC, the exclusive marketing agent for Pinto Creek Cooperative. Inc. in Eloy, AZ, announced that its fresh potato season has begun in Arizona.

Mother Nature has been a cooperative lady in the Pacific Northwest, and the region's producers are anticipating a good cherry season for the highly prized fruit in 2014. It's 80 days and counting for Domex Superfresh Growers in Yakima, WA.