A year ago, Brent Erenwert, vice president of Brothers Produce in Houston, had a problem. A customer wanted blueberries “and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out where to find them. I thought, ‘What if there was a place where people could go that had the interface of Facebook but was able to be used like Craigslist or a posting wall? ‘I need blueberries: call me.’“

Two of New Jersey agriculture’s influential annual gatherings are joining forces for the first time in January 2012 to create a formidable showcase of the Garden State’s agrarian advances.

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture and the Vegetable Growers Association of New Jersey have co-located their respective conventions to form a massive convention-trade show. While both groups will conduct separate programs, the convention programs will offer attendees a greater choice of educational programs, a wider range of discussion topics and an enlarged trade show.

CF Fresh, a leading marketer of organic produce based in Sedro-Woolley, WA, is eagerly awaiting the season’s first arrival of imported fresh organic cherries from Argentina. The first shipments were expected to arrive by air freight Nov. 28, and were to be offered for sale immediately.

What is your most important objective in your produce department? Is it to offer the best service to your customers, be the marketplace leader, have the lowest prices or offer the best-quality produce?

I often ask individuals about their chief objective and receive many different answers. Usually a produce director will respond with, “To achieve our gross margin.” A shipper will say, “To give our customers the best product.” The general manager of a produce distribution center may answer, “To deliver the product on time.”