Let me be the first to echo what the iconic sign at the end of Las Vegas Boulevard has said for years: "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas!"

The 2009 United Fresh convention and expo promises to be the best yet. We look forward to a house packed with attendees fully immersed in new technologies, innovations and solutions that will revolutionize the produce industry.

Doug Meyer, vice president of sales and marketing for West Pak Avocado Inc. in Temecula, CA, told The Produce News April 9 that he is looking forward to attending the United Fresh Produce Association convention April 21-25 in Las Vegas, NV, because of all of the "wonderful seminars and workshops" that are going to take place.

SunnyRidge Farm, based in Winter Haven, FL, has entered into a partnership with Leduc Blueberries LLC, based in Paw Paw, MI. The firms will be working together to promote high-quality Michigan blueberries to a wide range of valued customers.

The new partnership will be called BlueberryRidge LLC and will be packing under the "SunnyRidge Farm" label.

WASHINGTON -- While food-safety recalls and third-party audits may be top issues at this year's United Fresh 2009 convention in Las Vegas, the networking opportunities still offer value for attendees during tough economic times, according to organizers.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. exporters are hoping for a quick resolution to a trucking dispute with Mexico that has resulted in retaliatory tariffs affecting $900 million in U.S. agricultural products, but they don't expect the issue to be resolved during President Obama's trip to Mexico the week of April 13.

Arroyo Grande, CA-based Produce Careers Inc. has partnered with on-line recruitment service AgCareers.com in a move that will extend the reach of AgCareers.com's Compensation Benchmark Review, an extensive agribusiness salary survey.

Produce Careers is an executive search firm for the produce, food and wine industries. The recruitment company targets "middle to senior management," said David Stornetta, a principal of the company.

Eric Spell, president of AgCareers.com, said that his company serves employers and employees in North America.