PHILADELPHIA -- J.M. Procacci is excited. He expects ExpressTrak to be doubling its refrigerated rail cargo service in the near future.

His firm, Procacci Bros./Garden State Farms, here, is in the midst of a two-year contract with ExpressTrak, which Procacci Bros. has used to bring produce to Philadelphia from various distant U.S. shipping points.

Prime Produce International LLC in Placentia, CA, announced Thursday, Dec. 8, that it has signed an exclusive marketing agreement with an avocado growers cooperative in Michoacan, Mexico.

Integradora De Productores de Aguacate de Michoacan is a growing, packing and marketing cooperative that was recently formed to pool the production of Mexican Hass avocados for sales in the U.S. market, said Avi Crane, president and chief executive officer of Prime Produce.

Oregon potato growers will gather to learn more about the state of their industry at the 39th annual Oregon Potato Conference to be held in Portland Jan. 26-27.

Highlighting the conference will be a discussion on "Tomorrow's Agriculture, Six Trends You Can't Afford to Miss." The session is sponsored by the Oregon, Washington and Idaho potato commissions and supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

PHILADELPHIA -- Foodservice sales, local production, produce packaging, consumer information and transportation issues were among the hot topics of discussion in a produce industry seminar held here Dec. 6.

Produce Marketing Association President Bryan Silbermann offered a State of the Industry presentation, which was followed by four industry leaders whose panel discussion addressed some of the issues flagged by Mr. Silbermann.

On Nov. 28, the Chilean Exporters Association (Asociacion de Exportadores de Chile or ASOEX) filed comments with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in opposition to a marketing order rule change proposed by a group of table grape growers from the Coachella Valley in California.

In a Nov. 29 press release, ASOEX indicated that the proposed change, if adopted by the USDA, could cut at least 20 days and 2 million cases of Thompson seedless grapes out of the Chilean fresh fruit shipping season in April of each year.

NOGALES, AZ -- Retailers need to be focused on their businesses to be competitive in an environment of blurred retail channels, according to speakers at the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas annual Nogales Produce Convention & Invitational Golf Tournament, here, Dec. 1-3.

Rick Smith, director of produce for the Modesto, CA-based Save Mart Supermarkets Inc. supermarket chain, told the audience that regional players such as Save Mart and Wegman's have found a niche in the marketplace.