Longtime Salinas Valley industry leader Thomas Monroe Merrill died Tuesday, April 8, after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease. He was 79. Mr. Merrill was born Feb. 21, 1929, in Salinas to T.R (Russ) and Wilma Merrill. He was raised in Salinas and graduated from Salinas High School in 1947, where he starred as quarterback on the school's football team. He attended Stanford University and graduated from the University of California-Davis in 1951 with a degree in agriculture economics. He served in the U.S. Army and then joined the family business, Merrill Farms, which was started by his

It has been 25 years since the fresh produce industry was in Las Vegas, the No. 1 convention city in the world. This year, for the first time, United Fresh Produce Association is co-locating its two expositions -- FreshTech and Fresh Marketplace -- to bring more of the entire produce supply chain to Vegas. And if two produce shows weren't enough, there are golf and bowling tournaments, receptions, banquets, educational opportunities, industry tours and more. But with so much happening in just a few short days, how do you ensure that you and your company make the connections you need to grow

CLOVIS, CA -- Ballantine Produce Co. Inc. and P-R Farms Inc. have announced a strategic arrangement whereby, beginning with the current growing season, Ballantine will manage the farming and be responsible for the packing and marketing of P-R Farms' stone fruit. The implementation of this plan allows P-R Farms, under the management of Patrick V. Ricchiuti and his son, Vincent Ricchiuti, to strengthen its position as a leading producer of almonds. This agreement will also enable expansion of Ballantine's marketing programs while maintaining services for P-R Farms' stone fruit customer base both

An office maintained in Santiago, Chile, by Delano, CA-based Pandol Bros. Inc. since 1987 will permanently close at the end of April, Anthony Stetson, Pandol's vice president of sales, told The Produce News April 16. Mr. Stetson said that the change will not affect the company's Chilean volume in years to come. "We will work directly with exporters out of our office here [in Delano]," he said. Servicios Agricola Pandol Bros. Ltd. in Chile "was an inspection service and information service for us. With the communications we have these days, it's as easy to work direct" from California. Closing

BRADENTON, FL -- Nine years ago, Joseph Esformes, a principal in the Sunripe family of companies comprised of Pacific Tomato Co., Pacific Triple E Packing, Pacific Collier Fresh, Pacific Pre-Pack and Heller Bros., visited the University of South Florida's College of Education in Tampa at the urging of his close friend and former marketing director, William Gross, who was ebullient about the programs in place at the school. "So I went there and sat in on a class," Mr. Esformes told The Produce News, "and I saw that it was something special, something very worthwhile." Shortly thereafter

Building on its highly successful educational seminar last year, Indianapolis Fruit Co. in Indianapolis delivered yet another energetic and educational seminar and product showcase in March. With well over 350 industry-leading retailers, grower-shippers and produce agencies in attendance, Indianapolis Fruit hosted its third annual educational seminar and product showcase titled Winning at Retail III: Customer Service I.D.E.A.S. for Better Sales & Profit. According to Indianapolis Fruit, in this increasingly competitive marketplace, the key to success is differentiation -- and in turn