"With the ever-declining economy" and the financial struggles that many consumers are experiencing due to unemployment or other factors, the Idaho Potato Commission in Eagle, ID, is putting a strong focus on the value potatoes offer consumers in the retail produce department, according to Seth Pemsler, the commission's vice president of retail.

Two Nogales, AZ-based produce distributors and one wholesaler- consolidator with a Nogales presence were honored for their commitment to produce quality at a dinner in Nogales Wednesday, April 15, sponsored by the Mexico Calidad Suprema program.

Companies honored at the dinner were two shipper-distributors, a broker- consolidator and a retail chain.

HARTFORD, CT -- The Connecticut Department of Agriculture has exciting news for early birds who thrive on locating outstanding Connecticut-grown products at great prices while their neighbors are still fast asleep: it is planning a new farmers market facility at the Hartford regional market.

Railex LLC has scheduled a second weekly unit train from its new Delano, CA, freight-forwarding facility. The firm, a division of Riverhead, NY-based ADS Management, will begin offering the expanded service the week of May 3, with trains departing Wednesdays and Fridays, according to Paul Esposito, senior vice president of sales and logistics.

What is your produce shrink rate? What is your dollar loss from shrink?

It's shocking that whenever I ask those questions, many people do not know the answers.

Even some upper-management executives have little or no knowledge of their shrink loss. Furthermore, there are companies operating without any type of preventative monitoring program at all.

Left unchecked, shrink can result in severe dollar losses.

A team of produce industry professionals announced April 15 the formation of a consulting group called FreshXperts, a comprehensive consortium that addresses the business development, management, marketing, distribution and retail merchandising needs of produce companies, their distributors and retailers.