In addition to the March 18 announcement that Brad Watson had joined the management team of J.C. Watson Co. in Parma, ID, the company unveiled its new logo, a quartet of onions with the proclamation, "Four Generations of Family Pride."

The 26-year-old Mr. Watson is the fourth generation of his family to be part of the Idaho-Eastern Oregon onion industry, according to his father, Jon C. Watson.

Indianapolis-based Caito Foods Service Inc., a leading produce distributor that delivers products to more than 10 states on a daily basis, has appointed Tony Mitchell director of procurement.

Mr. Mitchell joined Caito Foods in 1992. His most recent role was account manager. During his tenure, he has gained extensive knowledge about sourcing product, marketing strategies and consumer demands.

Prior to joining Caito Foods, Mr. Mitchell worked for Pick 'N Save Foods in Van Wert, OH.

TRAVER, CA -- When Louis Scattaglia, managing member of Scattaglia Growers & Shippers LLC in Traver, CA, and an owner of Scattaglia Farms in Littlerock, CA, first began putting together a small group of growers to form SGS, he had in mind a "very deliberate underlying strategy" with respect to the geographical locations of the orchards, according to Dave Parker, marketing director for SGS.

Justin Guibert, sales representative for Christopher Ranch in Gilroy, CA, grew up in California's Salinas Valley. Those who know that part of the country also know that agriculture plays a major role in the community, and children there grow up with a strong sense of farming surrounding them.

One of those people is 28-year-old Justin Guibert.

Official estimates for the 2009 Sonora spring grape crop, week by week and variety by variety, will be announced Friday, April 17, during the annual Sonora Spring Summit in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. But growers and marketers of grapes from Mexico were expecting a significantly smaller crop overall than in 2008.

Total crop size for export to the United States was expected to be in the range of 10 million to 12 million boxes, vs. an unusually large export volume of about 15.5 million boxes in 2008.

How did you begin your career in produce?

Your story might be a heartwarming one of family-owned produce stands, or even the occasional "dumb luck" story.

Not so for me, as my choice of a career in produce was a deliberate, calculated move spurred by the Produce Marketing Association's Foundation for Industry Talent outreach to me as a college student. And it is a choice that I hope many more young professionals will make in the years to come, with the industry's help.