Trenton, NJ — A very mild winter followed by an unseasonably warm spring has brought New Jersey blueberries to market well ahead of normal schedule. Most growers are noting they are well into harvest, and supplies and quality are excellent.

Spring weather issues and a larger crop have combined to produce very good supplies of smaller-sized avocados value priced just in time for a huge Fourth of July promotion being touted by the California Avocado Commission.

“There are reasonably good supplies of 60- and 70-size avocados that are priced really well for aggressive promotions,” said Phil Henry, president of Henry Avocado Corp. in Escondido, CA.

WASHINGTON — While the Senate debates the 2012 farm bill this week, produce trade groups are calling on members to support key funding priorities, including the Market Access Program, that could be endangered by the more than 300 amendments filed on the bill in recent days.

BONITA SPRINGS, FL — The annual Florida Citrus Conference, held June 13-15 at the Hyatt Coconut Point Resort, here, opened with a cautious optimism about the industry's future that has been uncharacteristic in recent years.

Although there is still some fruit on trees, the citrus conference is viewed as the official end to the season, and the 2011-12 campaign was a highlight for an industry that has not had much to celebrate in recent years.

Dublin Farms Inc. in Horntown, VA, is a grower-shipper-packer of potatoes for the fresh market. The company also grows snap beans for processing, and grain crops like corn, soy beans and wheat for the poultry industry.

On May 30, the North Carolina crop was getting ready to start, said Tom Cullen, vice president of Thomas E. Moore in Dover, DE.

“We’re ahead of schedule in North Carolina, despite some dry weather,” said Mr. Cullen. “We’ve had a little wet weather in Delaware and Virginia, which were timely rains. All three areas are running from seven to 10 days earlier than last year.”

He added that the company’s Eastern Shore movement in Cape Charles, VA, will start harvesting its potato crop by the week of June 11, and the program will run for its normal month to six weeks.