Dos Gringos, a flower grower and bouquet maker in Vista, CA, has introduced a set of digital touch screens installed throughout production and office areas. Jason Levin, the company head, said in a news release the purpose is “to post key metrics throughout the day so everyone from quality assurance to logistics to assembly line leaders know in real time exactly how we’re stacking up, especially with regard to quality.”

The export value of Dutch flowers and plants climbed to a highest-ever total of 5.4 billion euros ($7.19 billion in U.S. dollars) in 2012.

That total represents a 3 percent increase over the previous year’s export value, the Dutch Agricultural Wholesale Board/Flowers and Plants reported. The organization is located near the flower auction in Aalsmeer, the Netherlands, and its report appeared in mid-January in the newsletter of Florint, the international florist association.

Leonard M. Veri, president of Ontario-based Exeter Produce, died March 1 while on vacation in Asia. He was 76 years old.

Crystal Valley Foods, a Miami-based importer and distributor specializing in specialty produce from South and Central America, has opened a new division, Crystal Valley West, in Los Angeles.

Located on the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market, Crystal Valley West will focus primarily on sourcing specialty products from Mexico, as well as servicing the parent company’s West Coast customers with products from its points of origin, according to Rick Durkin, director of business development.

Organic grower Wholesum Harvest is giving its Facebook fans a chance to showcase their culinary chops, as well as their photography skills, in a new cooking contest that will run March 1 through Nov. 1.

With President Obama coming into a second term, a new administration taking over in Mexico and immigration reform finally on the federal table, the third annual America Trades Produce Conference, scheduled for March 6-8 in McAllen, TX, could not come at a better time.