Consumers are vying for top honors in the first-ever Warm Up With Wisconsin Potatoes Recipe Contest.

Sponsored by the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association, entrants have until Dec. 7 to submit their favorite recipes for soups and stews featuring Wisconsin potatoes.

Indications are that the Chilean blueberry crop is continuing to grow in volume and is likely to set new records this season.

The Chilean Blueberry Committee, like its affiliate the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association, is an independent committee operating under the umbrella of the Chilean Exporters Association A.G., or ASOEX. The committee is a trade group comprised of growers and exporters of fresh blueberries from Chile, and its goal is to raise the profile of fresh blueberries from Chile in major U.S. and Canadian markets.

“We had atypical weather and an atypical season,” James Michael, promotions director for Northwest Cherry Growers, told The Produce News.

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.