DALLAS -- It is said that everything's bigger in Texas, and the saying was apropos for the National Watermelon Association's 96th annual convention, held here Feb. 17-21 at The Fairmont Dallas hotel.

The convention set several records, including the total number of attendees (436), the total dollar amount ($533,261) that the association's watermelon auction raised, and the total number (61) of tractor-trailer loads of watermelons that were donated for the auction, NWA Executive Director Bob Morrissey told The Produce News.

GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ -- The refrigerated breakbulk ship Ivory Dawn used two onboard cranes Feb. 22 to discharge pallets of Chilean fruit onto the pier of the Gloucester Marine Fruit Terminal, here.

Tom Mastromarco, director of fruit marketing and customer service for Gloucester Terminals LLC, was pleased by the activity. Chilean fruit volume was picking up in late February, but he said that the terminal's overall volume to date was down 20 percent from the previous year.

WASHINGTON -- The produce industry may start promoting high-level executive buy-in to accelerate adoption of its Produce Traceability Initiative, one of several issues discussed Feb. 19 during a meeting of the initiative's steering committee.

More than 50 members of the steering committee met in Dallas to discuss results of a survey conducted by the Produce Marketing Association and the United Fresh Produce Association in recent months to gauge the produce industry's progress in meeting the milestones for chainwide traceability.

The Southeast Produce Council is expecting strong attendance -- especially from retailers in the Southeast and Northeast -- at its seventh annual Retail & Foodservice Conference & Exposition, set for March 4-6 in Tampa, FL.

The conference and expo, known as Southern Exposure 2010, will also see the mix of education sessions, field tours, social events and networking opportunities that have made it consistently one of the premier events in the produce industry.

SunnyRidge Farm has expanded its product line to include organic blueberries. Product will be sourced from both company-owned farms as well as through contract growers, beginning with Florida production in March and continuing through August.

"Our expansion into organic blueberries is a natural complement to our existing product line and continues our company's commitment to innovation within the berry industry," Keith Mixon, president and chief executive officer of SunnyRidge Farm Inc., said in a Feb. 22 press release.

The New York Apple Association donated 10,000 McIntosh apples for runners participating in Run for Haiti, a four-mile run and walk to benefit Haiti relief efforts that was held Saturday, Feb. 20, in New York City's Central Park.

"Our growers are proud to help benefit this important effort to relieve the heartbreaking conditions in Haiti," Jim Allen, president of the New York Apple Association, said in a press release.