Milestones in the agricultural business are often measured in season to season comparisons. With some companies, decades are significant achievements, and for a select few, there is the century old mark that sets the standard for longevity and sustainability.

United Apple,  located in western New York, marks the year 2020 with a celebration of 115 years in the ag business that began in 1905 with a modest 70-acre plot. Started by the Dobbins family, the farm was a way to support its own needs and offer a source of fresh, high-quality produce for the local community.

Wakefern Food Corp. announced that Madison Foods, a third-generation family grocery business, has joined the Wakefern cooperative with plans to convert three Save A Lot stores to Price Rite Marketplace stores in Massachusetts.

Owned and operated by the Slawsby family, Madison Foods is a successful, local business in the Boston area. The family company will begin converting their Save A Lot stores to Price Rite Marketplace — a registered trademark and banner of Wakefern Food Corp. — in the coming weeks.

The Produce News recently chatted with Gary Caloroso, regional business development director for The Giumarra Cos., about the company's new partnership with the Genel family of Rancho Agua Blanca to offer Fair Trade Certified avocados grown in the state of Michoacan, Mexico. Find out more in our latest featured video.

Produce marketer and former retail buyer/merchandiser Roger Pepperl is retiring after a 40-year career spent elevating the produce experience for shoppers through innovation, branding, and storytelling. Pepperl has spent 20 years as marketing director for Stemilt, a tree fruit leader based in Wenatchee, WA. The development of the Lil Snappers kid-size fruit brand and A Half Mile Closer to the Moon cherries are just a few examples of Pepperl’s success stories while at Stemilt.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has imposed sanctions on five produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA). These sanctions include suspending the businesses’ PACA licenses and barring the principal operators of the businesses from engaging in PACA-licensed business or other activities without approval from USDA.

For more than three decades, Sun World researchers have worked diligently to develop new and more flavorful fruits and vegetables. Beginning this month, they now have an impressive new home from which to breed, assess and introduce new produce varieties.