JIMMY COPPOLA joined Leamington, ON-based Westmoreland Sales’ TopLine team as an account manager in February.

In his new role, Mr. Coppola will be handling commodities such as greenhouse tomatoes, cucumbers, Bell peppers and a long line of specialty products. He also recently took on the marketing responsibilities for TopLine.

Florida’s blueberry industry came from a standing start to a significant present and an even more promising future in roughly a decade, but already the industry is at a crossroads of sorts. Smaller producers are falling by the wayside as major players and outside influences maneuver to propel the deal to the next level as the industry matures.

Texas onion growers were riding high in 2010. Demand was strong and market prices for the season averaged $20-$40 for a 40-pound box for sweets throughout the deal. In 2011, growers put more onions in the ground, bringing Lone Star State onion production to 13,064 acres.

McAllen, TX – The Rising Star Award was presented to Ed Bertaud, the Houston-based director of business development for the Pallet Management Division of IFCO Systems N.A. Inc., March 8 during the America Trades Produce Conference, here.

DOROTHY KOBOSKI, who has worked for Yakima, WA-based FirstFruits Marketing of Washington for about two-and-a-half years as a sales assistant, is one of the first to go through the company’s recently implemented sales intern program. She will spend most of the year in transitional training to understand all aspects of growing, packing, warehousing and selling before graduating into actual sales responsibility.

There are myriad trends and factors that influence fruit and vegetable consumption in the United States, including the changing ethnic makeup of the country, which bodes well for tropical fruits and vegetables as well as the of the produce industry as a whole.