DALLAS, TX - DMA Solutions is delighted to send top-performing students from Texas A&M University to the Viva Fresh Produce Expo in San Antonio, Texas, as a part of the Aggies for Fresh scholarship. Students who have demonstrated a strong desire to pursue a career in the fresh produce industry are able to jump start their future endeavors by attending the expo with the support of The Almy Family Foundation.
The expo will be from April 25-27.
“Viva Fresh provides a great venue for students to get acquainted with the fresh produce industry and have productive recruitment conversations with people seeking to hire bright, young talent,” said Dan’l Mackey Almy, Founder and CEO of DMA Solutions and Co-Founder of Aggies for Fresh. “Now in our fifth year, Aggies for Fresh is pleased to have selected nine high performing students who are near graduation to attend this event and seek a career in the fresh produce industry. For me, there is no greater joy than to help fellow Aggies serve the fresh produce industry and pave the way for generations to come.”
According to the company's press release, the nine students selected have proven their passion and dedication this year and are eager to see what a career in this industry could look like for them. They will have the opportunity to meet with industry leaders on the tradeshow floor as well as during the Aggies for Fresh reception, taking place Friday evening at 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm, with sponsor support from the Texas International Produce Association and other members.
This year’s Viva Fresh scholarship recipients include:
- Florencia Abram, Master’s in Agribusiness (May 2020)
- Caitlin Benge, Bachelor’s in Agricultural Communications and Journalism (August 2019)
- Arianna Jopling, Bachelor’s in Agricultural Communication Journalism (May 2019)
- Regan McGuill, Bachelor’s in Animal Science (May 2020)
- Madison Mellon, Bachelor’s in Agricultural Leadership and Development (May 2020)
- Maria Alejandra Ramirez, Master’s in Agribusiness (May 2019)
- Jessica Smith, Bachelor’s of Universities Studies and Leadership (May 2021)
- Makaila Vasconcellos, Bachelor’s in Biological and Agricultural Engineering (May 2020)
- Emily Zdon, Bachelor’s in Chemistry (December 2019)
As stated in the press release, Texas A&M University offers the fresh produce industry an extensive pool of talent. Being one of the largest Agricultural Science schools in the world, the university actively enables students with the resources necessary to answer the grand challenges agricultural faces.
For bios and more information about this year’s scholarship attendees, please visit this website.
Stay tuned more updates on DMA Solutions and Aggies for Fresh scholarship, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
MONTEREY, CA - As organic production and sales expand, so too does our industry’s knowledge and desire to learn more about the sector. At this year’s fourth annual Organic Produce Summit, two educational sessions relating to this topic will explore how international growers and distributors are impacting the multi-billion dollar organic fresh produce industry.
Sponsored by Robinson Fresh, the two sessions will examine retail and sales trends of organics across the globe. The first session, “International Organic Produce Supply,” will feature three leaders from major global organic grower/shipper organizations, who will discuss the opportunities and challenges faced in growing and marketing organic products throughout the world.
According to a press release, the panelists for the first session include: Ignacio Donoso, Director of New Business for Verifruit; Kiko Carlos, CEO, of Eurofresh; and Marcos Echenique, Market Manager for Copfrut. The session will be moderated by Jose Rossignoli, Vice President of Global Sourcing for Robinson Fresh.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to hear directly from growers from across the globe and their vision, challenges, and opportunities in bringing high-quality organic fresh produce to the marketplace,” said Rossignoli. “These experts from Chile, Spain, Peru, and Mexico will share their experience and insights across a variety of organic commodities and production projects.”
The second education session will include a deep dive into the global perspective of organic produce in the world marketplace, including an analysis of international organic fresh produce growth and opportunity gaps. A complete overview of the session will be released in the coming weeks.
In addition to these sessions, fresh produce leaders will speak at the Retailer Roundtable: panelists include Don Barnett, Chief Operating Officer for Sun Basket; Greg Corrigan, Senior Director of Produce and Floral for Raley’s; and Vic Savanello, Vice President of Produce for The Fresh Market. Tonya Antle, Co-Founder of the Organic Produce Network (OPN), will serve as moderator.
In addition, two keynote presentations featuring organic consumer activist Robyn O’Brien and award-winning chef and author Dan Barber, as well as a series of four other educational sessions focusing on a variety of topics and subject matter related to the multi-billion-dollar organic fresh produce industry are on tap for OPS attendees.
Other educational sessions at OPS 2019 will include:
- Organic Sales Analysis and the Organic Consumer
- What Lies Ahead for Wholesalers of Organic Produce?
- Tackling Food Waste - Good for the Planet and the Bottom Line
- The Future of Organic Meals at Retail
OPS 2019 also includes a selection of field tours for retailers and buyers, a gala opening night reception, and a trade show featuring 148 producers and processors of organic fresh produce from across North America and the globe.
Stick with us at AndNowUKnow for the latest in fresh produce events.
LAKELAND, FL - At its annual stockholder meeting, held today, April 16, 2019, Publix held elections for its Board of Directors. The Board added Jennifer Jenkins to its ranks and saw the retirement of Jane Finley, Charlie Jenkins Jr., and Barney Barnett—recognizing Barnett as Publix’s Vice Chairman Emeritus after 34 years on the Board.
Finley has served for 10 years, and Jenkins Jr., Chairman Emeritus, has served on the board for 45 years.
“I’m excited to have Jennifer join the Publix family. She will be a valuable addition to our board,” said Chairman of the Board Ed Crenshaw, also highlighted the contributions of the board’s retiring members. “Our retiring board members have served with unselfish dedication…Their efforts have contributed substantially to our growth, success and reputation, and I thank them for their commitment through the years.”
According to a Publix press release, Publix's newest board member, Jenkins, is a Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke University Law School, where she has worked since 2002. Priorly, Jenkins was a legal associate at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton from 2000 to 2002.
Jenkins received her Juris Doctor degree from Duke University Law School in 1997 and currently resides in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Keep reading AndNowUKnow for more fresh produce news up and down the supply chain.
LOS ANGELES, CA - Whatever Oprah says, goes, or at least that’s how I’ve grown up understanding the world. If Oprah thinks that avocados are too expensive, who am I to question her almighty wisdom? And if Oprah wants to ameliorate this cost by purchasing her own orchard, I say she should!
In a recent episode of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Noah asked the TV mogul if there was anything in her life that could still be considered normal to the average person. In response, Winfrey expressed her love for the green fruit—proving herself a woman of the people.
“I travel with my own bread and I bring my own avocados to the hotel,” she told Noah. “So I have an avocado orchard.”
(Ignore me while I scream goals at the top of my lungs.)
Noah gave Winfrey a bit of a hard time, declaring that owning an avocado orchard wasn’t particularly normal, to which Oprah responded that she thought it was “ridiculous” to pay for avocados. If I had the ability to purchase my own orchard, Oprah, I would be right there with you!
Will other stars throw their hat in the produce ring? AndNowUKnow will continue to cover the latest in all things fruit, veggie, and celebrity.
BAKERSFIELD, CA - This week, the organic growing experts at Cal-Organic are adding new in-season options to the company’s comprehensive lineup of organic vegetables. Cal-Organic Farms has announced that it will start shipping freshly-harvested, new crop red and gold potatoes to customers in the United States and Canada. The organic-focused division of Grimmway Farms is among the first growers to offer new crop potatoes this season.
Organic russet and rainbow fingerling varieties are set to follow in early June.
“We are anticipating outstanding quality and consistent supply to launch our fresh crop potato program,” said Bob Borda, Vice President of Organic Sales at Grimmway Farms, in a press release. “Our team is focused on achieving the best taste and appearance possible—this starts with comprehensive field testing and extends through harvesting and handling techniques we’ve developed to optimize the quality of our potatoes. The extra steps we take to care for our crop helps us ship an end product consumers will want to purchase again and again.”
The company noted, in its press release, that Cal-Organic provides a variety of sizes and consolidated shipping options to suit all retail, foodservice, and industrial needs.
Cal-Organic is currently harvesting reds and golds in the desert and will transition to harvest its complete portfolio of organic potatoes in Kern County in late May. Growing in two regions in California allows Cal-Organic to provide its premium quality potatoes early and sustain consistent supply through October.
Organic red and gold potato offerings will include traditionally sized 3- and 5-pound packs, as well as 50-pound bulk cartons filled with A, B, or C sized spuds. A potato medley of red and golds packed together in a 3-pound pack and a brand new 1.5-pound bag will also be available. And Cal-Organic is introducing a 1.5-pound pack of red potatoes in uniform B and C sizes, ensuring quicker cook times and providing customers with an option at a lower price point.
Cal-Organic will release organic russet potatoes in 3- and 5-pounds packs and 50-pound bulk cartons later in the season, as well as rainbow fingerlings—including gold, red and purple varieties—in 1.5-pound mesh packs and 25- and 50-pound bulk cartons with single color options available for bulk orders.
For more fresh produce news, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
WENATCHEE, WA - This year marks the 30th year of growing organic apples, pears, cherries, and summer fruit for the tree fruit company Stemilt Growers. While reflecting on the past 30 years, Roger Pepperl, Marketing Director, gives credit to Stemilt’s founding family, the Mathison's, for creating “success in the organic market.”
“Back in 1989, Tom Mathison and Kyle Mathison recognized a distrust between the consumer and the food they were purchasing,” said Pepperl. “Tom not only saw a problem with this but knew it had to be fixed. He realized the power of organics and the market was about to brink onto something big. Stemilt needed to be the first to get on board.”
According to the company’s press release, Tom Mathison wanted to provide answers to questions like where food was grown, how it was grown, and who was growing it, as a means of addressing consumer’s concerns. While making a positive step toward regaining the customer’s trust, he felt that growing organics could help answer these questions. This move in Mathison’s playbook led to Stemilt’s transparency with the customer and built solid trust.
Mathison then began growing organics, laying out the foundation for classic apple varieties, like Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, and Granny Smith. Today, Mathison’s grandsons, West and Tate Mathison, have built off their grandfather’s organic foundation and have evolved Stemilt’s organic brand, Artisan Organics™, into a program that grows and delivers high quality, organic varieties that today’s consumer seeks.
“Modern varieties like Honeycrisp, Pink Lady®, Pinata®, Rave®, and SweeTango® are now all available organically, thanks to West (Mathison) and Tate’s (Mathison) innovative mindset,” noted Pepperl. “These varieties are extremely popular conventionally, so we knew they would go far with the organic consumer as well.”
With just a few months remaining in the organic apple season, Stemilt suggests retailers capitalize now to finish the category strong. As stated in the March 2019 retail scan data from Nielsen, organics made up nine percent of total apple volumes sold on average in the U.S., with a $2.19 average retail price per pound. Continuing that momentum into the early summer is ideal, says Pepperl, and retailers can look to organic Fuji and Gala varieties to lead the way, along with smaller sizes of organic Pink Lady® apples.
“Retailers should push for sales these last few months,” says Pepperl. “The fruit has impeccable quality thanks to our field team’s experience, and consumer demand for organics is there.”
For the last 30 years, Stemilt’s field teams have worked hard, gaining first-hand experience with Washington State and organic growing conditions. Washington State has some of the best organic growing climates thanks to the dry, arid conditions. Specifically, Artisan Organics™ summer fruit has great success in the southeastern Washington region due to the desert-like conditions and nutrient-rich soil, as reported in the press release.
“Our all-organic peach and nectarine program is hard to compete with,” expressed Pepperl. “This region’s conditions are unlike any other in the country. The hot temperatures mixed with the cool nights and abundance of fresh water make it the perfect area to grow summer fruit. The climate and our horticulture expertise lead to beautifully colored and extremely juicy peaches, nectarines, and apricots.”
Stemilt is expected to continue its 30-year anniversary celebrations later this year.
Happy organic anniversary to Stemilt from the AndNowUKnow team!
PROVIDENCE, RI - While there appears to be no end in sight just yet for the infamous Stop & Shop worker strike, both parties are hoping to reach an agreement soon. Yesterday, April 15, 2019, marked the fifth day of the strike, with the weekend offering plenty of hours for Stop & Shop and the unions representing 31,000 worker members and 241 stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island to double down on negotiations.
“The entire Stop & Shop team remains firmly committed to getting a fair contract in place for all of our associates in New England,” Mark McGowan, Stop & Shop’s President, said in a company statement. “The UFCW’s leaders are pursuing a course in which no one wins—not our customers and not our associates—and we hope they will return to the table to reach a fair and responsible contract now.”
In the statement, McGowan outlined Stop & Shop's offer, which included pay increases, health coverage with deductibles, employee pension plans, and paid time off and holidays for current associates. Many on the union side, however, still were not content with this offer.
The New York Times reported that some are worried price increases could be a part of Stop & Shop's deal. But Thomas Kochan, a Director of the M.I.T. Sloan Institute for Work and Employment Research, asserted that price increases do not need to be part of negotiations.
“It is not automatic that it has to go into price increases,” he said. “They have to find ways to have better customer service to attract more customers...They are unionized and an older company that doesn’t have as strong a reputation for great customer service."
Over the weekend, the unions gained the support of quite a few Democratic politicians, according to the Hartford Courant, including U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, and former-Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman.
In a statement dated Sunday morning, a UFCW spokeswoman asserted that all five unions involved are committed to reaching an agreement. “[They] have remained at the negotiation table, in fact, they have never left,” she said, according to the Boston Globe. “We are pleased Stop & Shop returned to the table yesterday and look forward to continuing discussions.”
Stop & Shop and the unions have been negotiating a new contract since mid-January. Will this week be the week a definitive agreement is reached? AndNowUKnow will continue to keep you in the loop on all updates.
RIO RICO, AZ - Fresh Farms is making sure its name and crops can be found all over the map, with expansion efforts underway in Mexico to broaden the scope of its grape growing regions. Specifically, the grower just set up shop in the state of Jalisco, which is 1,000 miles south of its current Mexico-based operations.
I had the opportunity to speak with Juan Pablo Molina, General Manager, to find out more about Fresh Farms’ upcoming season and how the newly added growing region will bolster its crop.
“This will be our first year with real commercial volume, and we expect to double it for next year with more great new varieties,” Juan told me. “This will put us in the market with fresh grapes in April of this year, just in time for the marketing order that comes in on April 10. This season, we will offer new varieties of fresh fruit and get in front of retailers and our customers earlier in the marketplace.”
Despite this being Fresh Farms’ first real season out of Jalisco, Juan explained that retailers and customers can expect the company’s usual focus on quality beyond flavor. In Jalisco, the company will have varieties like Sweet Globe, Ivory, Sugar Crisp, and Cotton Candy.
“We not only try to deliver the best quality grape with the best flavor the variety can give, but we also go beyond that by taking care of our employees in every way possible,” Juan said. “We make efforts to be a sustainable grower and are getting better every year. Currently, we are one of the few Fair Trade grape growers.”
With more to come from Fresh Farms—including that doubled commercial volume next season—I think it’s safe to say this grape grower is one to watch as we continue on through spring.
For more fresh produce news like this, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
IRVINE, CA - Good morning, AndNowUKnow readers!
Today, I am bringing you some of the category and weather news from around the industry. Check back twice weekly to see where the rain is falling, the sun is shining, and everything in between.
CALIFORNIA CHERRIES SAW MORE RAIN AND COLD TEMPERATURES LAST NIGHT
Last night, another cold winter storm came through the Modesto and Sacramento regions of California, bringing up to .40” of rain and dropping the minimum temperature down into the 40°s. Please check with shippers to see if it will affect production and or qualities. According to the California Cherry Commission website, the harvest start date for California cherries is less than 15 days away.
Once this region gets past this storm, the weather for Thursday and Friday should be beautiful, with highs in the mid-80s and lows in the upper 50°s. Saturday and Sunday will cool off in to the 70°s, but Monday, April 22, the highs will be back in the 80°s.
HEAT FOLLOWED BY COLD OUT WEST
The main growing regions of California, Arizona, and Western Mexico will all experience a 2-day heat wave this Thursday and Friday followed by a 2-day cooling period on Saturday and Sunday. Temperatures across the state will rise by 15° on average this Thursday and Friday compared to today’s temperatures. Saturday and Sunday will cool off again by an average of 10°, but then look for temperatures to rise again starting Monday of next week.
Regions affected will be coastal California, the San Joaquin Valley, desert regions of California and Arizona, Baja California, Culiacan, and the Sonoran growing regions of Hermosillo and Ciudad Obregon. Please check the app for specific temperatures per location and commodities affected.
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS
Watermelon season out of south Texas is getting close. Expect maximum temperaturess over the next 10 days to be in the upper 80°s and minimum temperatures to be in the upper 60°s, winds ranging from 20 – 25mph daily. There is currently a slight chance of rain for tomorrow and again next Wednesday, April 24.
FLORIDA AND GEORGIA TO SEE RAIN THURSDAY AND FRIDAY
All growing regions in Florida will see a decent shot of rain this Thursday and Friday. Regions will see anywhere from .50 to 1.0 inches of rain over the two days. This rain will cover all regions from central Georgia down to Homestead, Florida. This rain will be followed by two days of cooler temperatures on Saturday and Sunday. Please check the app for specific locations and all commodities that will be affected.
Thank you again for your support, and we will be back later this week with another update.
DONNA, TX - All eyes are on the Tex-Mex border right now, from political questions to changes in import/export valuations and everything in between, making this perhaps one of the most important times to attend the Viva Fresh Expo.
Kicking off its fifth annual show, the event highlights the products, flavor, even culture of the Tex-Mex Corridor, shining a light on the region and its producers.
“We are very excited leading up to Viva Fresh as we start our harvest the week of the show on our Italian Sweet Onions grown right here in the Rio Grande Valley,” Tommy Wilkins, Director of Sales for Grow Farms, Texas, shares with me. “The crop looks awesome with only two weeks before harvest, and we can’t wait to get these beauties in retail—production should run through the month of May.”
Grow Farms operates in multiple states, and its Texas arm serves as a gateway to multiple Mexico products.
“Born out of a family of growers, Grow Farms has positioned itself to help retailers navigate the Tex-Mex corridor,” Tommy says.
This summer, the company will have more than doubled its production out of Central Mexico, offering ample volumes of staples like cucumber and bell peppers through October from Zacatecas-based shade houses. Grow Farms’ mango season, on the other hand, has been in full swing since February, with May on deck to bring better supplies around as the category joins Grow Farms’ sister company Champagne Mango.
“Viva Fresh has been a powerful springboard into the summer sales program as we lay out plans with the retailers Viva Fresh provides. Not only is San Antonio and the J W Marriott a beautiful venue, the show has outperformed all expectations. Our team is very excited to roll out our menu to the rest of the country,” Tommy concludes.
The ribbon gets cut on Thursday, April 25—hope to see you there!