FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — The 2014 Tropical Plant Exhibition, billed as America's largest tropical plant show, drew about 6,000 visitors to the Broward County Convention Center, here, Jan. 22-24, where 400 exhibitors in 800 booths created an indoor garden of tropical plants covering 200,000 square feet.

Dana Rady credits the Wisconsin potato industry leadership for a long list of recent marketing advances.  

Rady, the director of promotion, communication and consumer education for the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association, based in Antigo, WI, recently reviewed this marketing program with The Produce News.

The Sanfillipo Produce story begins in 1899 in Porto Empedocle, Sicily, a former Greek colony founded two millennia earlier and named for a Greek philosopher.

Today, the scenic, southwestern port city is a tourist destination. In the late 1800s, however, Porto Empedocle was a poor, remote town — one where Salvatore Sanfillipo was struggling to provide for his wife Vincenza and their two sons.

After a summer excursion backpacking across Europe, followed by a brief experimentation with East Coast winters, 24-year-old Sam Barthel realized that home is indeed where the heart is, and her heart was back in Florida with her family.

Ben B. Schwartz opened its doors in 1906, and has been evolving and growing ever since. When the railroad built a terminal market in Detroit in the late 1920s, the company received the first load that was ever delivered there.

Being known as a full-line house of high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables isn’t new to the company, but what is booming is the greenhouse product that is flowing through its doors.

“Greenhouse produce is in higher demand than ever,” said Nate Stone, chief operating officer for company, which is located on the Detroit Terminal Market.

There is a supermarket I visit periodically to say hello to the produce manager. We often spend a few minutes discussing product and other produce topics. This particular produce manager operates a superior department and has many unique skills accompanied by a very aggressive enthusiasm in building sales.

One early afternoon I dropped into the store to pay a visit and was very disappointed to see that a few problems existed. It was obvious that the produce department was in trouble that day, as it was not in its best condition.