David Shaw, a 28-year employee of Western Growers Association, died April 3 after a massive heart attack, four days shy of his 60th birthday. Mr. Shaw joined WGA in 1979 as cash manager and was promoted to vice president two years later, with oversight over all treasury functions of the association and its affiliate entities' fixed-income investments, which are approaching $1 billion. He consistently exceeded the benchmark indeces against which he was measured and provided significant incremental returns to enhance WGA's cash flow and bottom line. Several years ago, Mr. Shaw envisioned and was

Two Salinas, CA-based companies -- Foxy Foods LLC and Taylor Fresh Foods Inc. -- announced that they have agreed to merge Foxy Foods fresh produce processing operations into Taylor Fresh Foods. The merger will add Foxy Foods' team of people, its innovative fresh-cut vegetable product line and its customer partners in the retail and club store markets to Taylors North American salad and fresh-cut vegetable processing network. After the transaction is completed, the Foxy Foods team will continue to operate out of its Gonzales, CA, facility and continue to be led by Nicholas DaCosta. They will

"Since AgriCap Financial Corporation first launched its web site, www.agricap.com, nearly three years ago, the company has added numerous new services," said Peter H. Tam, vice president of marketing for the firm, headquartered in Los Angeles. "Commercial real estate and supply chain financing are now included in our portfolio. We also opened offices in Latin America to assist us with our international trade deals. Information on these and other new developments and additions is now available on the site, and the navigation process is clear and uncomplicated." AgriCap is a diversified

Salinas, CA-based Red Blossom Farms has introduced a web-accessible traceback system just in time for spring and peak strawberry season. Red Blossom has taken the industry standard into the electronic age by launching its own traceback web site, www.rbtrace.com. Customers at all levels of the distribution chain can input a clamshell's traceback code on the site and instantly receive a detailed report of that product's source. The traceback system can be accessed directly from the web site listed on the bottom of each clamshell and also from www.redblossom.com. Red Blossom Farms President David

South Florida is currently facing the most serious drought conditions since water tables began being recorded over 90 years ago. The low tables have resulted in the South Florida Water Management District ordering the most severe water usage restrictions on the public, including on the agriculture industry, in its history. Lake Okeechobee, southern Florida's primary source of fresh water, supplies water to the western, eastern and southern areas of the state via the canals it feeds. The lake's water level is maintained by rainfall, which has been historically low since Jan. 1. On April 3, the

Workers excavating land in Corozal, Belize, in preparation for building headquarters for Homestead, FL-based Brooks Tropicals Inc. have unearthed Mayan artifacts dating back more than 1,500 years. The discovery occurred about a month ago with workers first finding a wall of a structure. Work was halted, and the Belize Institute of Archaeology was called to the site. Brooks Tropicals has paid for the excavation to date and will continue to fund the archaeological dig and the preservation of the artifacts, according to Mary Ostlund, director of marketing at Brooks. These Mayan ruins lie in a