Tim Spiech, chief operating officer of Spiech Farms, told The Produce News that the company recently completed its relocation to a new facility in Brooksville, FL, and it has ceased all operations at its previous Hudson, FL, location.

The new facility gives the company outstanding growth opportunities due to its large size and high-tech advancements.

“We are looking forward to a great California avocado marketing season" with a crop that is expected to be more in the average range, following last year’s very large crop, Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the California Avocado Commission in Irvine, CA, told The Produce News March 4.

The Eastern Produce Council will honor Gordon M. Hochberg, vice president of The Produce News, with its 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award during its 46th annual dinner dance Saturday, April 5, at the Westmount Country Club in Woodland Park, NJ.

Denny Donovan, sales manager at Fresh Kist Produce LLC in Santa Maria, CA, said everyone in the vegetable production business in California knows there is a gap coming, but just when it is going to hit appears to be a moving target.

For the better part of a week in early December, extremely cold temperatures gripped much of the state, including the Central Coast, the Salinas Valley and the San Joaquin Valley.

“On December 6, the temperatures here in Santa Maria got as low as 21 degrees,” Donovan said. “I’ve never seen it that low.”

Though it is considered a staple product and doesn’t generate an extreme amount of excitement, carrot sales have garnered considerable growth during the past year and are actually in the midst of a pretty good five-year run.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will be the keynote speaker at a new joint general session hosted by the United Fresh Produce Association and the Food Marketing Institute this June in Chicago.

“We are honored to have Secretary Clinton as our keynote speaker for this very special event,” Tom Stenzel, United Fresh president and chief executive officer, said in a press release.