SEATTLE , WA - It’s Yumi watermelon and cherry season over at Charlie’s Produce! The supplier is ready to meet summertime demand for these fresh fruits, and I recently got in touch with P.J. Cawley, Global Purchasing Manager of Organics and Farmer’s Own, and Laura Severance, Marketing Director, to discuss what’s in store for this season.

“Charlie’s Produce has plenty of availability this season on Yumi watermelons, with more traditional yields. We continue to expand the program as the demand and following for the Yumi brand increases,” P.J. told me. “During peak season, we ship over a million pounds a week.”

In California, Charlie’s Produce’s Yumi watermelons are grown from mid-May through the majority of July. Washington-grown fruit starts in the last week of July and runs through Labor Day, including conventional watermelon.

The supplier provides dynamic branding to entice retail shoppers to add Yumi watermelons to their carts. Plus, it touts a fresh-cut program, available in organic and conventional, and will have availability of the new Yumi Organic watermelon x Healeo Juice in August.

In addition to watermelon, Charlie’s Produce reports a strong crop for Yumi cherries this year.

“We launched Yumi red and Rainier cherries in the summer of 2023, with availability from early June to late July,” Laura added. “Eastern Washington is known for growing the best cherries. Long, warm days and cool nights provide the perfect growing climate for lots of orchards on hills and slopes in the Yakima and Wenatchee areas.”

The Yumi brand has had an impressive track record in recent years. Yumi strawberries launched in 2022, blueberries and cherries launched in 2023, raspberries and blackberries launched in 2024, and northwest-grown cranberries will be coming this fall.

Stop by booth #314 at the Organic Produce Summit to try the organic Yumi watermelon and learn more about Charlie’s Produce’s organic programs. And keep reading ANUK to stay up to date on the industry’s latest.

DALLAS, TX - A collaboration of epic proportions is taking place in the transportation segment. Uber Freight has partnered with Aurora Innovation to launch Premier Autonomy, which provides early access to over 1 billion of Aurora’s driverless miles to Uber Freight carriers through 2030. The program furthers their commitment to integrate and deploy autonomous trucks on the Uber Freight network. Uber Freight will be one of Aurora's first customers on its Dallas-to-Houston route, with driverless hauls at the end of 2024.

“Uber Freight and Aurora see a tremendous opportunity to democratize autonomous trucks for carriers of all sizes, enabling them to drive more revenue, scale their fleets, and strengthen their bottom lines,” said Lior Ron, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Uber Freight. “Autonomous trucks will make moving goods more efficient, and this industry-first program will help facilitate and accelerate the adoption of autonomous trucks with our carriers. We’re proud to work alongside the amazing team at Aurora to bring this technology into the hands of carriers and ultimately usher in a new era of logistics.”

Premier Autonomy will pave the way for Uber Freight carriers to begin driverless operations in the years to come. The program offers carriers an early and streamlined path to purchase and onboard the Aurora Driver.

Today, a human-driven truck takes two to three days to move freight from Dallas to Los Angeles. With the Aurora Driver, that trip has the potential to be completed in a single day. A press release noted that Aurora’s research indicates autonomous trucks could be up to 32 percent more energy efficient than traditional trucking.

“With Uber Freight, we can provide hundreds of carriers priority access to autonomous truck capacity that they wouldn’t otherwise have. Working with carriers of all sizes is one of the many ways we will transform the industry and see thousands of driverless trucks on the road,” said Ossa Fisher, President of Aurora. “It’s exciting and validating that companies like Uber Freight are reserving our long-term capacity for their customers. We all see collective value in this offering.”

For carriers interested in the Premier Autonomy Program click here; for more from the press release, click here.

Stay tuned for more transportation news in the industry.

SACRAMENTO, CA - Using less to make more has long been the fresh industry’s mantra, but ensuring consumers understand this is another labor entirely. Sacramento’s acclaimed Museum of Science and Curiosity (MOSAC) is working to make a dent in this effort with its Water Challenge Exhibit, interactive displays that illustrate how farmers are working hard to use less water.

“Our water exhibits bring home the fact that water is essential to grow our food and that California farmers are leading the world in conserving it,” Farm Water Coalition Executive Director Mike Wade said. “It’s important that everyone knows that farmers are using water in an efficient manner and that as consumers, we all depend on farmers.”

Jacob DeBoer, Regional Marketing Manager with American AgCredit, and Kevin Ralph, AgWest Farm Credit’s California President, reflected on the importance of creating innovative ways to educate Californians about California ag’s crucial role. It is why, according to a press release, Farm Credit organizations serving the state’s farmers and ranchers are contributing $100,000 to Cultivate California this year.

“Providing accurate information about California agriculture to our state’s mainly urban population is critically important, and every year Cultivate California finds new creative ways to reach people online and get them to engage with the content,” Ralph said. “Farm Credit looks forward to continuing to help them spread the good news about the state’s farms and ranches.”

Since opening in November 2021, more than 331,000 visitors have toured the facility, which features dozens of interactive exhibits on health care, nature, space exploration, and more, in addition to water. The complete release is available here.

“Firmly rooted in American AgCredit’s core values is an unwavering commitment to the communities where we work and live,” DeBoer said. “The MOSAC exhibit does such a great job of educating California consumers on how vital water is in growing the food that feeds our families, and how farmers are always aiming to optimize their water usage to ensure they’re being good stewards of our land.”

The MOSAC exhibit is one part of Cultivate California’s toolkit. Wade said a recent digital campaign reached about 10 million people in 2023 and resulted in over 165,000 people engaging with the material through likes, comments, and shares. To reach an even broader audience, the campaign is branching out into social media platforms that cater to younger audiences.

“None of this would be possible without the ongoing support of the Farm Credit system,” Wade said. “Farm Credit is among our most generous supporters, allowing us to drive our messaging the way we intended.”

Making science fun while impressing the importance of practices society takes for granted is a key way to educate Californians and beyond about the vital link between farms, ranches, water supplies, and our way of life as a whole. Cultivate California strives to do so while also sharing how the ag community is working hard to grow even more food and fiber while using less water, a commendable and critical mission!