As a former director of produce operations, I wore many hats in being responsible for achieving a sales and profit budget. Besides sales and merchandising, another important function was “controlling shrink.”

Whenever a produce manager was questioned about his or her shrink, the response usually was, “I don’t know where our shrink is occurring. I have a good staff and we faithfully follow all the company shrink programs. The numbers have to be wrong.”

2013 National Watermelon Queen Amber Nolin with Gordon Hunt of the National Watermelon Promotion Boa

Today's Headlines

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Even though Florida’s exclusive window as the producer of the first fresh blueberries of the calendar year is narrowing, production is ramping up and this year promises and abundant crop and ample returns to growers, despite a mild freeze in early March that damaged some fruit in the northern part of the state and nipped at the edges of central Florida fields.

Dos Gringos, a flower grower and bouquet maker in Vista, CA, has introduced a set of digital touch screens installed throughout production and office areas. Jason Levin, the company head, said in a news release the purpose is “to post key metrics throughout the day so everyone from quality assurance to logistics to assembly line leaders know in real time exactly how we’re stacking up, especially with regard to quality.”

The export value of Dutch flowers and plants climbed to a highest-ever total of 5.4 billion euros ($7.19 billion in U.S. dollars) in 2012.

That total represents a 3 percent increase over the previous year’s export value, the Dutch Agricultural Wholesale Board/Flowers and Plants reported. The organization is located near the flower auction in Aalsmeer, the Netherlands, and its report appeared in mid-January in the newsletter of Florint, the international florist association.