EATONTOWN, NJ -- Village Farms, a premier grower and marketer of hydroponic greenhouse-grown products, based here, has announced a land preservation and water conservation project at its Texas facilities that positions the company to be a good steward of the land as well as a good neighbor to area ranches and puts into action its slogan, "What's good for the earth is good for business." At its greenhouse facilities in the Texas towns of Marfa and Fort Davis, Village Farms is using a closed hydroponic system and recycling its nutrient-rich water back through the greenhouse for use up to four

To the editor, I read and absorbed every word of your eloquent tribute piece to Kline Cash (The Produce News, Nov. 2, 2009, Vol. 112, No. 44). Your account was heart- warming, filled with emotion and precisely accurate. I was fortunate to know Kline Cash in the 1980s during those tough years in the Southeast peach business that was mentioned in the Tribute. I was working for a marketing company that helped Kline sell his peaches, and I spent countless hours at his packing operation in Cowpens, SC. As was written in the article, they were very tough times because of crop failures due to cold

It has been a trend that has lasted longer than a decade and there is no end in sight. South Texas continues to increase the amount of fresh produce items that enter the United States through its border towns with the help of its longtime produce operators. "That continues to be the trend and I don't see that changing," said John McClung, president of the Texas Produce Association, operating from Mission, TX, which is in the middle of the Rio Grande Valley and about as close to Mexico as one can get. "What I am concerned about is how the extra scrutiny on the board to prevent drug trafficking

The 2009 South African citrus export season has come to a close, and industry leaders have deemed it a success. "The quality of our citrus this season has been excellent," Joretha Geldenhuys, the recently appointed chief executive officer of the Western Cape Citrus Producers' Forum, said in a Nov. 9 press release. "The last shipments, Midknights, arrived in Philadelphia in containers on October 28, and all have been pre-sold." While the overall tonnage exported in 2009 will equal 2008's nearly 35,000 tons, the mix of product was different in 2009. "We exported less Navels and more clementines

TUBAC, AZ -- Members of the Nogales produce industry, who supply the United States with the bulk of its winter vegetables, gathered here Nov. 12- 14 for business sessions and networking events designed to create dialogue and exchange ideas as the Nogales season was preparing to kick off. The 41st annual Nogales Produce Convention, facilitated by the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, included daylong seminars featuring officials from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and U.S. Customs & Border Protection, which monitor the flow of produce exports to the United States from Mexico. On

As the Thanksgiving holiday approached, bringing with it an increase in demand for vegetables the week of Nov. 16-20, Romaine prices shot through the roof and many other items experienced very strong markets. On Nov. 18, Romaine prices from California and Arizona topped $40 for a 24-head carton, with most sales in the high $30s. The Federal-State Market News Service Report showed that red leaf was trading for $26-$28 and green leaf was in the $18 to $20 range. Iceberg lettuce was in the $19 to $21 range, with spinach prices registering an f.o.b. of $16 to $18. Broccoli, cauliflower and celery