This spring, retailers can look to Oppy for top-quality, B.C.-grown sweet Bell peppers in abundance thanks to a unique new alliance. But they won't have to wait for a first taste of this new greenhouse partnership, which also adds year-round volumes of long English cucumbers to the marketer's offerings.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said its estimate of the 2012-13 Florida citrus crop has decreased almost 3 percent to 142 million boxes.

The majority of the decrease occurred in Valencias, which declined 3 million boxes to 76 million from the USDA's December estimate. Early-mids decreased 1 million boxes to 66 million boxes.

The USDA makes its first estimate in October of each year and revises it monthly as the crop takes shape until the end of the season in July.

FreshXperts, a leading produce consultancy, named Andrew Southwood as an associate member. He will provide management resources and support for FreshXperts' clients and expand FreshXperts' reach into Canada.

Washington — Produce companies, farms, ranchers and other agricultural operations looking to move beyond an overhauled H-2A visa program to fix the worsening labor situation have banded together and created the new Agricultural Workforce Coalition.

Chuck’s Produce & Street Market, located in Vancouver, WA, proved that potatoes are big business this past November. A retail display, bursting at the seams with 133,000 pounds of Washington state-grown potatoes, took over the unofficial title as the largest volume of potatoes ever displayed in one retail exhibit. The gargantuan display toppled the previous unofficial record of 92,500 pounds of spuds garnered by a Canadian grocer a year ago.

After early-season rains that slowed the start of the strawberry season, things are on track at Wm. Manis & Co. in Plant City, FL.

Following “a few showers” that were “a pain in the butt” getting out of the gate, the season settled down and has progressed satisfactorily “quality wise and weather wise,” according to owner Rick Sullivan.