A lifelong apple grower with deep family roots in the Newcastle area has been chosen as the winner of this year’s UPL Golden Apple Award. The award was presented to David Gibson on Feb. 18 at the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association banquet in Niagara Falls.

The Gibson family has been growing apples in the Newcastle area since the mid-1800s, and David and his twin brother joined the family apple business in the 1960s. Today, the Gibson family has 300 acres of modern plantings and David’s grandson Quinton is taking over day-to-day operations in the orchard. 

“David has a strong

Babylon Micro-Farms, a leader for on-site indoor farming with over 300 micro-farms across 40 states and five countries, announced the appointment of Marc Oshima as its new chief executive officer. 

“I am delighted to have been appointed CEO to lead Babylon Micro-Farms and build on the original vision of the founders Alexander Oleson and Graham Smith to simplify on-site indoor farming and provide more access to good food,” said Oshima. “It is a business with an impressive set of customers from Aramark to Compass Group to Sodexo across key verticals like corporate dining, education, healthcare

WP Rawl has promoted Christine Jackson to director of sales and marketing. In her new position, Jackson will continue to expand WP Rawl’s market presence, strengthen customer relationships and drive innovation within the fresh produce category.

With more than 22 years of experience in the produce industry, Jackson has been a driving force behind WP Rawl’s growth and innovation. She previously served as senior manager of marketing and product development, where she led the company’s marketing and communications strategies, as well as research and development for new products.

Jackson's career

Paloma Tapia has joined Bebo Distributing as its new commercial account manager. With her extensive experience in the fresh produce industry, Tapia brings valuable expertise in key commodities, including tomatoes, cucumbers, mangos and berries.

Tapia joins Bebo Distributing with a proven track record in produce sales, account management and business development. She has previously held key roles at leading produce companies, specializing in fresh vegetable and fruit sales, pricing strategies and expanding customer portfolios. Her hands-on experience working with retailers, managing

Two longtime members of the Idaho-Eastern Oregon onion industry were honored on Feb. 4 at the annual Idaho-Malheur County Onion Growers Association Meeting held at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario, OR.

Kay Riley, former owner-partner and general manager of Snake River Produce in Ontario, and Mike Thornton,  University of Idaho professor of plant science on the research team at the Parma Research and Extension Center, were inducted into the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee Hall of Fame at a presentation during the luncheon.

Presenting Riley with his plaque was Corey Maag, chair

Indoor Ag-Con and Sollum Technologies named the recipients of the inaugural Sollum Student Scholarship to Indoor Ag-Con: Erica Hernandez and Brandan Shur. These two PhD students, both conducting research in controlled environment agriculture, will receive an all-expense-paid opportunity to attend the March 11-12 edition of Indoor Ag-Con at the Westgate Las Vegas.

Sponsored by Sollum Technologies, a leader in dynamic LED lighting for CEA, this scholarship program is designed to support the next generation of researchers and innovators by providing hands-on exposure to industry advancements