Mann Packing, based in Salinas, CA, is supporting its Canadian sales program this fall with multiple promotions. Beginning the second week of October, 250,000 promotional booklets offering more than $3.50 in savings will be applied to select Mann's fresh-cut vegetable products shipped to Canadian markets. The booklets will feature offers and recipes from partners such as Parmalat Canada Balderson cheddar cheese ($1 coupon and cheese sauce recipe); Dare Food Grissol Melba Toast (50-cent coupon); Canada Dry Mott's Garden Cocktail (50-cent coupon); Hain-Celestial Canada Yves Veggies Cuisine ($1

NAPLES, FL -- As members of the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association were getting ready to gather at the Ritz-Carlton Naples Sept. 18-21 for the 67th annual FFVA convention, the business end of farming was top-of-mind. Labor shortages, new water regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, food safety and modern marketing are ever-present concerns, and for the most part dominated the convention agenda. "A lot of the issues we're dealing with seem like they’ve always been with us and are the kind that keep growers awake at night," Lisa Lochridge, director of public affairs for

WASHINGTON -- Specialty crop groups have three months to develop their wish list for the next farm bill as the House Agriculture Committee is vowing to fast-track the bill next year instead of waiting until 2012, said U.S. Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), who kicked off the United Fresh Produce Association's Washington Public Policy Conference, held Sept. 14-16, here. More than 500 people representing 35 states descended on the nation’s capital to hear the latest from key lawmakers, interact with officials from the Food & Drug Administration and press congressional staffers for action on

Terry Humfeld will join the Cranberry Institute in November and will ascend to executive director of the East Wareham, MA-based organization, effective Jan. 1, 2011, Jeff Kapell, chairman of the institute announced in a Sept. 14 press release. Mr. Humfeld's hiring is the result of an extensive search process by the board of directors to replace the institute’s long-time executive director, Jere Downing, who will retire at the end of the year. Mr. Humfeld brings over 26 years of professional experience with association management for horticultural and produce trade organizations. He began his

The 2009 Idaho potato crop may not have been the largest on record, due to acreage reductions, but it did the highest yield per acre on record, and that "resulted in a very large crop ... significantly larger than we anticipated," according to Frank Mir, president of the Idaho Potato Commission in Eagle, ID. Other potato-producing areas in the United States also had large 2009 crops, which made moving the Idaho crop all the more challenging. “The good news is, we have been able to move the entire crop with our programs,” Mr. Muir said Sept. 8. “We are into new crop now, and there is ... no

Del Monte Fresh Produce announced Sept. 14 that it has entered into an agreement with Vistar Corp., a division of Performance Food Group, to distribute its new line of fresh fruit and vegetable vending line products across the country. "Vistar's industry expertise, experience and nationwide presence will help us accomplish our goal of providing our healthier snack alternatives in vending machines throughout the country," Dennis Christou, vice president of marketing for Coral Gables, FL-based Del Monte Fresh Produce, said in a Sept. 14 press release. “Together, we are committed to fighting the