ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — Agricultural interests across the Garden State gathered the first week in February for the 2014 New Jersey Agricultural Convention & Trade Show and the New Jersey State Agricultural Convention.

This was the third year that the annual State Agricultural Convention co-located with the annual conventions of the Vegetable Growers Association of New Jersey and the New Jersey Blueberry Association.

RIO RICO, AZ — “We don’t want a lot of warehousing space. I wish I needed none,” said Harry Sbragia, president of JMB Distributing Inc. “I like to get the price right and get it the hell out and to the trade. I like to get the green beans off the plant and to the housewife before rigor mortis sets in.”

Sbragia deems himself the largest green bean importer in the Nogales deal. “We specialize in green beans. We built our reputation on green beans. It’s a small, specialized deal. We have worked with the same grower for 18 years. He is doing something right. Apparently we are too.”

RIO RICO, AZ — As Jerry Havel prepared to leave for the early February Fruit Logistica trade show in Berlin, it was appropriate to discuss Fresh Farms’ export program. Havel is the director of sales and marketing for Fresh Farms, which is located in Rio Rico. In the enormous Berlin produce show, Fresh Farms was to participate in the Mexico pavilion. Havel’s primary goal at the show was to build export sales to Europe. But he also planned to peruse new packaging and other such trade developments.

RIO RICO, AZ — The World War II vessel USS New Jersey is the most decorated battleship in the history of the United States Navy. In the last 20 years, many thousands of tourists in Camden, NJ, have walked on the deck of the ship-turned-museum and admired the nine enormous guns, grouped in fearsome threes on the broad decks.

John Lichter, the sales manager of Lisa Inc., here, not only served four years in the U.S. Navy aboard the New Jersey, but also was aboard when all nine of these 16-inch cannons were fired simultaneously. “They did it once. It was the last time,” he said.

RIO RICO, AZ — The “Champagne” brand Ataulfo mangos shipped by Ciruli Bros. LL, from Chiapas, Mexico, were coming into the market in mid- to late February, putting the fruit ahead of the previous year, according to Chris Ciruli, chief operating officer of the family business, based here.

“We have better sets than last year,” Ciruli said.

RIO RICO, AZ — “Everyone we are working with adheres to a food-safety program,” according to Steve Yubeta, vice president sales and marketing, for Farmer’s Best International LLC, headquartered here.

Beyond PrimusLabs’ food-safety audits, “a different company audits each grower every week, including our own farm. This is what the industry calls for. It’s part of being a good partner to our customers. Through technology, other folks are growing similar quality so a food safety program is becoming even more important,” Yubeta said.