Florida tomato growers have more reason for optimism this season than at any other time in recent years, said Louis Ledlow Jr., vice president and chief operating officer of Ledlow & Associates Inc. in High Springs, FL.

“We’re all looking forward to a great season. Hopefully we’ll avoid the perfect storm of last season where we had great weather here and in Mexico, and overproduction that held the price down on everybody,” Mr. Ledlow said.

The holiday season marks halftime for Florida citrus, and DNE World Citrus Sales of Ft. Pierce, FL, has had a terrific first half, according to Florida Citrus Sales Manager Kevin Swords.

Texas suffered much less than the other 49 states during the recent recession, but even so the state’s economic engine was sluggish compared to boom times. There is evidence in many sectors, including retail and restaurants, that even the minor slowdown in the Lone Star State economy is in the rear view mirror.

In October, statewide sales tax revenue was $2.03 billion, up 8.2 percent compared to October 2011, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Susan Combs, said Nov. 7.

If a trade show that draws 56,000 visitors from 125 countries and approximately 2,500 exhibiting companies from 80 countries sounds overwhelming, well it can be for first-time visitors to the annual Fruit Logistica in Berlin. In 2013, the expo is being held Feb. 6-8.

Despite the size and number of attendees, the Fruit Logistica committee goes to great lengths to ensure that all visitors can find their way to and from the show and through the halls with minimal confusion.

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” — Albert Einstein

“Even a mistake may turn out to be the one thing necessary to a worthwhile achievement.” — Henry Ford

“The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.” — Theodore Roosevelt

Did you make any mistakes at work lately? Is there such a thing as making a good mistake rather than it always having to be bad?

One day, a chef named George Crum working at the Carey Moon Lake House in Saratoga Springs, NY, was honoring a customer’s request for thinly sliced fried potatoes.

Ronnie Cohen, vice president of sales for Vision Import Group LLC in River Edge, NJ, said that the company’s experience at the New York Produce Show & Conference has been very good in the past, “and it’s getting better each year,” he said. “Regional shows are more intimate because they draw merchandisers and the folks who work closer to the product at the store level. It also draws regional wholesalers and foodservice operators. The intimate setting gives us a good opportunity to interact with these folks.”