Susan Tavilla

Susan Tavilla oversees California produce for P. Tavilla Co.

Gil Munguia

The Giumarra Cos. announced Nov.

DEL MAR, CA — How world issues affect western agriculture was one of the themes that played out during the first day of the Western Growers Association’s annual meeting, here.

IMMOKALEE, FL -- Lipman has acquired Portland, OR-based Coastal Brokers, according to a Nov. 9 company press release.

"At Lipman, we attribute much of our success to our integrated business model and our geographic diversity," Kent Shoemaker, chief executive officer of Lipman, said in the press release. "Coastal expands our operations in the Pacific Northwest and, as a result, gets us closer to our customers."

The newly acquired company will join Lipman's network of research and development, farming, packing, processing, repacking and procurement solutions.

NEW YORK -- About 340 exhibitors helped attract close to 3,000 people to the second annual New York Produce Show & Conference, with both numbers representing dramatic increases from the inaugural event last year.

This year's event, held Nov. 7-9 at the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan, had about 340 booths at the trade show, up from 220 last year, according to John McAleavey, executive director of the Eastern Produce Council, which co-sponsored the event.