The Association of Avocado Growers, Packers & Exporters of Michoacan, based in Uruapan, Mexico, and commonly referred to by its Spanish acronym APEAM, announced in a written statement Feb. 28 that it had "filed a lawsuit in Federal Court against the California Avocado Commission requesting money damages to compensate for the severe damage to the marketing of Mexican avocados in California caused by the CAC during 2007." The lawsuit "cites five counts, including trade libel, disparagement, interference with contractual relations and negligence," according to the written statement. "Less than

The board of directors of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas in Nogales, AZ, voted during its board meeting March 4 to hire Nogales produce industry veteran Jesse Driskill as the association's new president, filling the vacancy left by Lee Frankel, who resigned in late November to take the position of chief executive officer at United Potato Growers of America. Allison Moore, the association's communications director, has served as interim president since Mr. Frankel left, while a six-member executive search committee headed by Bill Sykes, owner of The Sykes Co. in Nogales, looked

GREELEY, CO -- Agricultural commodity producers in Colorado learned more about market trends that can have a positive bottom-line impact during this year's Colorado Agriculture "Big & Small" Conference & Trade Show. Tom Lipetzky, director of the Division of Markets of the Colorado Department of Agriculture, was the keynote speaker at the event, talking on the topic, "Today's Driving Trends and How You Can Position Your Operation to Benefit from Today's Trends." Mr. Lipetzky addressed attendees Feb. 21 at the Island Grove Park, here. The four-day event was comprised of the Colorado Organic

WATSONVILLE, CA -- California Giant Berry Farms, here, expects to triple its volume from last year in blueberries from Florida to more than 1 million pounds during the seven-week blueberry harvest there this year. The jump in volume comes as a result of a long-term blueberry venture that Cal Giant has entered into by partnering with Bartow, FL-based land management company Clear Springs. Expansion in blueberry acreage is planned for future years in the district. The two companies will begin shipping fresh blueberries from Florida in late March. Industrywide blueberry volume out of Florida this

Eric Schwartz, president of Salinas, CA-based Dole Fresh Vegetables, resigned from the company on Monday, March 3. Dole Fresh Vegetables is a division of Dole Food Co. Inc., which is headquartered in Westlake Village, CA. Mr. Schwartz said that the decision to leave was his and that it had been in the works for a couple of months. "This is a good move for me," he said. "There's nothing wrong with Dole. It's just that now's the time." Mr. Schwartz said that he was treated "very well" by Dole, including in the transition period leading up to his departure. Mr. Schwartz started with Dole Fresh

NEWARK, DE -- The Produce Marketing Association's current and past leaders joined together to note the passing of Robert L. Bull, an influential force during the association's early years. Mr. Bull died Feb. 26 in Temple, ME. A professor of marketing at the University of Delaware, Mr. Bull was the land grant university system's representative to the board of directors of the Produce Prepackaging Association, a predecessor to PMA, in the late 1950s. Founded in 1949 to respond to competition arising from the new category of frozen food and to help the industry address quality issues, the