At the Jan. 19 meeting of the board of directors of the California Strawberry Commission, strawberry grower Mark Murai was hired as president. Mr. Murai, a third-generation Orange County farmer, has served on the commission's board of directors for 17 years and led the organization as its chairman of the board from 2002 to 2004. He served as interim president for the past five months before accepting the permanent position. Richard Amirsehhi, the commission's chairman of the board, said that Mr. Murai's knowledge of the industry makes him an excellent leader. "With his experience and

Vegetable growing, the second-largest sector of New Jersey agriculture, will be the focus of a task force geared toward strengthening market opportunities, the state's secretary of agriculture announced Jan. 23. The task force, composed of vegetable producers, representatives of the New Jersey Farm Bureau, Rutgers Cooperative Extension & Research and the Agricultural Experiment Station, will be led by state Board of Agriculture member Robert (Matty) Matarazzo, the owner- operator of Matarazzo Farms, Four Sisters Winery, Doe Hollow Bed & Breakfast and RJM Marketing, a consulting business

The Enza Jazz apple is center stage once again in a groovy new web site, launched recently by The Oppenheimer Group. "With all the buzz surrounding the popular Jazz apple, it was time to provide a web-based information platform for consumers, the trade and the media," David Nelley, pipfruit category director for Vancouver, BC-based Oppenheimer, said in a release. "Our own web site [OppyProduce.com] was overwhelmed with feedback and questions about the variety, so we decided we needed a dedicated on-line resource for Jazz." The new site can be viewed at www.jazzapple.com. "Last year, we

LOS ANGELES -- Fire broke out Monday morning Jan. 23 at the Seventh Street Market, which was one of the two major wholesale produce markets here for many decades. A number of produce houses were damaged, and an unspecified amount of produce was lost in the blaze. In the late 1980s, the city and many of its major produce tenants built the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market adjacent to the old Seventh Street Market. Most of the old- line companies either moved to the new market in 1986 or have since relocated off the market. Today, the Seventh Street Market still bustles with activity, but its

FALLBROOK, CA -- Jessica Siemer Hunter, the daughter of Bob Siemer, a partner at Del Rey Avocado Co. Inc., here, works with her father in Del Rey's field department. But when not working with the fruit that is ubiquitous in the area, she pursues her passion of team paddling outrigger canoes competitively. Ms. Hunter, 26, and her husband, Matthew, got involved in outrigger canoe paddling about four years ago when they were dating. A paddling club in Mission Bay in San Diego was offering introductory paddling classes one day, with instruction followed by a race. "We ended up getting third place

Organics Unlimited of San Diego, CA, is seeing increasing consumer interest in the bananas the firm is selling with the new "GROW" label. "People who are buying organic produce are normally socially and politically concerned," said Michael Rocca, produce buyer for Watsonville Coast Produce, who added that this is one of the reasons the GROW Foundation has been experiencing major success in its first year. GROW, an acronym for Giving Resources & Opportunities to Workers, is an international outreach initiative with a mission to ensure that plantation workers who grow organic bananas receive