CALGARY, AB — Fresh Direct Produce, a produce distributor based in Vancouver, BC, launched its Simply Asian line at the Canadian Produce Marketing Association convention and trade show, here.

WASHINGTON — The Senate Agriculture Committee is tentatively scheduled to mark up a farm bill proposal April 25, a move welcomed by agricultural stakeholders who hope Congress can pass a bill before it sunsets in September.

But sources say that the tightening budget climate and calls for further deficit reduction are threatening the chances of a farm bill this year.

Douglas Kling, senior vice president, chief sales and marketing officer for Village Farms International Inc., headquartered in Eatontown, NJ, told The Produce News that the company was looking forward to exhibiting at the New England Produce council Produce & Floral Expo in Foxboro, MA, April 25. The company will exhibit at booth No. 160.

Jim DiMenna, president of JemD Farms.JemD Farms, a Leamington, ON-based leading marketer of greenhouse-grown produce, will feature its new Art