Attendees to the United Fresh Produce Association's annual convention and expo in Chicago cast their votes throughout the show for fresh produce innovation and recognized this year's New Product Awards in five categories. More than 40 fresh fruit and vegetable innovations competed in the categories of Best New Food Safety Solution, Best New Fruit Product, Best New Packaging, Best New Packing/Processing Equipment and Best New Vegetable Product.

United named the 2014 New Product Award winners:

Former Walmart executive Craig Carlson will be the featured speaker during a webinar June 26 that is designed to give tips to growers, packers and shippers that want to become suppliers for the larger big box retailers.

The seminar is being sponsored by Alchemy Systems in Austin, TX, and will also feature Laura Nelson, vice president of technical services and business development for Alchemy.

The construction of a new greenhouse facility in Utah is under way and by the end of the year, Camarillo, CA-based Houweling’s Tomatoes should be able to service that local market and the surrounding regions with its brand of greenhouse tomatoes.

Chief Marketing Officer David Bell said if the construction proceeds on schedule, the first greenhouses in that project will be planted in October and the company could have tomatoes by early December. But giving himself a little wiggle room, he felt very confident predicting that by the end of the year that would be the case.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's forecast of the 2013-14 Florida orange crop decreased 6 million boxes to 104.3 million boxes. While early-mid varieties accounted for 53.3 million boxes, Valencias dropped 6 million boxes to 51 million boxes.

For six months of the year, tomato broker Joe Bernardi and his family live in Tucson, AZ. But on June 1 or thereabouts every year, the family moves to Turlock, CA, for the next six months.

“My kids spend the first semester in school in Turlock and the second semester in Tucson. They have friends in both places and they play sports in both places,” he said of his three high school-aged kids. “They play water polo in Turlock and baseball in Arizona.”

Fresh Origins, a greenhouse grower of microgreens and edible flowers for commercial and foodservice markets, has expanded its offerings with BrightFresh Microgreens for the retail market.