Vantaggio Farming Corp., which is headquartered in San Diego and also has a branch office in Nogales, AZ, will have an early cucumber and squash deal in Nogales that starts about two weeks earlier than most other shippers, according to Ross Keefer, a partner in the company.

"We grow in Caborca, which is in the northern part of Sonora [Mexico]," Mr. Keefer told The Produce News Sept. 13. "It seems like we have a little earlier window than some of the guys in Hermosillo," which is the other major growing district in the state of Sonora.

"The biggest highlight" of the 2009-10 marketing season for the Idaho potato industry is the fact that the industry successfully moved “a very large crop,” said Seth Pemsler, vice president of retail for the Idaho Potato Commission in Eagle, ID. That achievement was attributable in a significant degree to some “hugely successful” retail promotions by the commission and the industry.

Jon DeVaney, executive director of the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association, said that apple volume for the state of Washington for the 2010- 11 crop will be up slightly this season. During 2009-10, a total of 102.8 million 40-pound-equivalent boxes were shipped. The first estimate for the 2010-11 crop was released Aug. 11, with volume for the season expected to be 108.8 million 40-pound boxes. According to Mr. DeVaney, estimate variations fall within a 1-5 percent margin.

Mann Packing, based in Salinas, CA, is supporting its Canadian sales program this fall with multiple promotions.

Beginning the second week of October, 250,000 promotional booklets offering more than $3.50 in savings will be applied to select Mann's fresh-cut vegetable products shipped to Canadian markets.

NAPLES, FL -- As members of the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association were getting ready to gather at the Ritz-Carlton Naples Sept. 18-21 for the 67th annual FFVA convention, the business end of farming was top-of-mind.

Labor shortages, new water regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, food safety and modern marketing are ever-present concerns, and for the most part dominated the convention agenda.

WASHINGTON -- Specialty crop groups have three months to develop their wish list for the next farm bill as the House Agriculture Committee is vowing to fast-track the bill next year instead of waiting until 2012, said U.S. Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), who kicked off the United Fresh Produce Association's Washington Public Policy Conference, held Sept. 14-16, here.