McALLEN, TX — Texas growers lost about 3,000 acres of watermelon this spring to periodic hailstorms that battered the state across all growing areas, including the southernmost Rio Grande Valley, where hail is an uncommon occurrence. Meanwhile, Mexican watermelon production is down — another victim of escalating drug cartel violence, according to some — opening doors for Texas grower-shippers with strong domestic programs but impacting others who import from south of the border.

Country Sweet Produce Inc., which is located at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley about 30 miles south of Bakersfield, CA, expects to start its 2012 onion season with red, yellow and white varieties, both conventional and organic, and including certified sweet onions, right after Memorial Day. That will place Country Sweet among the earlier suppliers of onions in the valley, according to Duke Dodder, commodity sales manager.

Colder-than-normal spring weather produced light mango supplies in May as harvest shifted from the southern districts to those in more central Mexico. But as the summer moves on — and the harvest continues to move north — supplies should be very good.

Marketers love to have great supplies in May before all of the U.S. summer fruits get going in a big way and competes for retail shelf space, but that just didn't happen this year. Though there were signs of increasing supplies and some ads were written for the Memorial Day weekend.

Jensen Farms, the Holly, CO-based firm that was at the center of the Listeria outbreak tied to cantaloupes last year, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday, May 25.

Numerous Colorado media outlets have reported that the court filings report $4.8 million in revenues in 2011; $2.1 million in current assets; $2.5 million in liabilities; and $1.6 million in payments outstanding from Frontera Produce, which was the major distributors of Jensen’s cantaloupes.

The Oppenheimer Group announced that DAVID WAZNY has joined its sales team, effective April 30.

D’Arrigo Bros. is growing in more ways than one.

Matthew D’Arrigo, vice president of D’Arrigo Bros. Co. of New York Inc., located at the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative Market, said the company has added several new staff members to its team this year.