Heeren Bros. Inc., one of Michigan's larger family-owned wholesalers, marketers and distributors of fresh fruits and vegetables, announced it will break ground on a new $22 million state-of-the-art facility in Alpine Township this month.

Scottsdale, AZ-based Pura Vida Farms, a nationwide pineapple importer and a grower-shipper of melon products, announced the selection of SHAWN AVERA as its new director of watermelon operations for the eastern region.

With larger crops coming out of Mexico for the 2012-13 season, Calavo Growers Inc. in Santa Paula, CA, is "making really good use" of an expanded capacity in its avocado packinghouse in Michoacan, Mexico, according to Rob Wedin, vice president of fresh sales.

The packinghouse expansion "has been very successful," Mr. Wedin told The Produce News Oct. 2, about two months into the new season. "We've got modern packing equipment in, and ... we can accelerate our packing there as the California crop drops off."

On Oct. 9, Bob Davis, president of Maine Farmers Exchange, commonly referred to as MFX, in Presque Isle, ME, told The Produce News that table stock harvesting in the state was 85 percent complete.

“We have had some rain in the past week,” said Mr. Davis. “We could wrap up harvesting in a couple of days if the weather holds. Growers here have from September 15 to October 15 to get their potatoes out of the ground. With a little luck, we could be wrapped up in the next three to four days.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated the Florida citrus crop would increase about 5 percent to 154 million boxes during the 2012-13 season.

The forecast is the USDA’s first of the season; it is revised monthly until the end of the season in July.

Frieda's Inc. will have an exciting new product for fall: the Stokes Purple sweet potato, which is grown in Livingston, CA, by A.V. Thomas Produce. Frieda's is now the exclusive distributor and marketer of the Stokes Purple. The sweet potato makes its official debut to the industry at Frieda's booth No. 3030 at the 2012 PMA Fresh Summit in Anaheim, CA.