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.

Freezing weather in California and another decline in projected production in Florida are putting a minor squeeze on the domestic U.S winter citrus deal. Meanwhile, rains in Texas have filled out the Lone Star State crop, which is making up for shorter supplies of smaller oranges on the West Coast.

Citrus growers across Florida dodged a series of bullets in early to mid-January as temperatures repeatedly flirted with the freezing mark as far south as Fort Myers and were predicted to do so throughout the week of Jan. 20.

Opal apples kicked off the season to strong consumer demand. Since the arrival of Opal in late 2013, FirstFruits Marketing, the exclusive marketer of Opal apples, has been increasing awareness and consumer engagement through social media and blogger partnerships.

Along with the rest of the produce industry, the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee was awaiting a final farm bill from Congress later in January, and CPAC Executive Director Jim Ehrlich said a number of items in the bill are of particular interest.