Dawn Gray, who has served as general manager since early 2007 for pipfruit marketer ENZA, based in Auckland, New Zealand, will join The Oppenheimer Group as senior vice president of sales, marketing and categories next spring. Her tenure with the international produce marketer begins officially on April 1. Ms. Gray will take on many of the responsibilities of Oppenheimer Senior Vice President Bob Dunlop, who will retire at the end of 2008 after 24 years in leadership positions with the organization. "This long transition is a bit unconventional, but it actually makes a great deal of sense,"

Multi-generational, family-owned-and-operated Orchard View Farms in The Dalles, OR, will be featured in a Sept. 1 segment of "How'd That Get On My Plate?" a new program that premiered earlier this summer on the Food Network. According to Eric Patrick, director of marketing for Grant J. Hunt Co., the exclusive sales and marketing agent for Orchard View's cherries, filming for the show took place in the orchards on Thursday, July 10, with show host Sunny Anderson explaining the progression of cherries from tree to plate. Ms. Anderson, who also hosts the network's "Cooking For Real" show, will

WENATCHEE, WA -- In a recently forged agreement between two major Northwest fruit grower-shippers, Wenatchee, WA-based Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers has taken on exclusive sales and marketing for Diamond Fruit Growers in Odell, OR. Oneonta Marketing Director Scott Marboe told The Produce News that a new label, "Diamond Starr Growers," is being introduced this season on cartons, totes and bags, and will be used in addition to the "Oneonta Starr Ranch" and "Diamond" labels. He added that the Diamond sales staff, now working under the Oneonta umbrella, will handle calls at the Odell office, and

With its starfruit program ramping up for the season, Homestead, FL-based Brooks Tropicals has introduced a new clamshell pack for the product that will improve shipping and merchandising. "The launch of our new starfruit StarPac was timed with the season revving up," said Mary Ostlund, director of marketing for the company. "The package is being released in August. It's basically a clamshell with two divisions for one starfruit each." From a logistical standpoint, Ms. Ostlund said that the new pack makes it easier to display, move and stack starfruit. There is less bruising of the fruit, and

Mike Martin, president of Rio Queen Citrus Inc. in Mission, TX, said that the company is making the best of a bad situation following a June 11 fire that destroyed the company's main office and citrus packingshed. "What is most important is that we take care of our commitment to our customers," Mr. Martin told The Produce News July 21. "We're emphasizing rebuilding and making everything more efficient." The fire was touched off by a welding spark that ignited insulation in the 130,000-square-foot shed. Mr. Martin said that high winds fanned the flames and ultimately destroyed the facility. "We

Backyard Farms LLC, one of the larger New England greenhouse growers of vine-ripened tomatoes, announced that it would begin construction of its second greenhouse in Madison, ME, this fall. Approximately 75 new workers will be hired for the facility next spring. Backyard Farms' vine-ripened tomatoes will be grown year round in the new 18-acre, state-of-the-art greenhouse, with the first harvest anticipated in the fall of 2009. The new greenhouse, in combination with the 24-acre facility that opened last year, will result in a complex of nearly 2 million square feet of greenhouse growing space