The Republic of Lithuania port of Klaipeda and the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding Jan. 20 that promises to open Philadelphia ports to the European and Asian shipping trade via the ice-free port of Klaipeda, the Lithuanian port city on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea.

Pure Hot House Foods Inc. recently hired 10-year greenhouse veteran MARINA DAVIDSON as the director of procurement for the company, effective Jan. 16.

On the heels of significant growth in 2011, Colorado-based Farm Fresh Direct LLC has set its sights on more expansion in 2012, starting with the Jan. 1 hiring of produce industry veteran Mike Harmon.

“There are a few new and exciting things going on here this year,” Scott Mabs, director of marketing for Homegrown Organic Farms in Porterville, CA, said. “We are bringing on a new blueberry ranch in Oregon this year. We’ve been doing California blueberries for a number of years, and it has grown into a significant program, but once the northwest movement started, around the end of June, California would shut down. A few years ago we purchased this ranch of about 400 acres in Jefferson, south of Portland.”

Marina Pace, marketing representative for Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo Inc., a Pescadero, CA-based organic grower and distributor, told The Produce News that Del Cabo introduced several new crops this year.

“This has occurred through the expansion of our network of organic growers,” said Ms. Pace. “Our organic Peruvian ginger program began in October. In November, we started shipping organic avocadoes, also a new crop for Del Cabo, and a year-round program.”