UPDATE (2:38 PM Pacific, 8/26/2015): Syngenta has issued a comment on Monsanto's $47 billion bid.

ST. LOUIS, MO - Monsanto’s chase to acquire Swiss competitor Syngenta ended early this morning as the company dropped its recent $47 billion bid.

To avoid backlash from institutional investors, Monsanto has instead chosen to re-implement a share buyback program “as soon as practical” and focus its efforts on a five-year plan to double its earnings.

As of 1:15 PM EDT, Monsanto shares were up approximately 7 percent to $96.02. Syngenta’s stock, on the other hand, was down nearly 11 percent to $69.48.

The decision to finally end the pursuit came after Syngenta had repeatedly rejected several offers from Monsanto, the most recent being the $47 billion bid for the company. Syngenta had reiterated time after time that the previous offers fundamentally undervalued the company’s prospects and underestimated the significant execution risks.

According to a source close to Monsanto, officials from both companies met in person and discussed the matter over the phone. The source told Reuters that Syngenta had rejected the most recent offer this morning.

Monsanto’s latest offer included a $3 billion break-up fee if the transaction was blocked by regulators or fell apart for various other reasons. The company was persistent, despite Syngenta’s rejections, even going so far as to suggest that it would divest itself of Sygenta’s seeds and crop genetics portfolio if the deal were to go through.

“Without a basis for constructive engagement from Syngenta, Monsanto will continue to focus on its growth opportunities built on its existing core business to deliver the next wave of transformational solutions for agriculture,” Monsanto said in a press release.    

In a press release from Syngenta, the company stated that Monsanto failed to provide clarity on the following four issues:

• Their estimate of total cost and revenue synergies
• Their assumptions regarding net sales proceeds of seeds and traits
• The nature and extent of regulatory covenants that they were prepared to offer
• The assessment of risks and benefits from a tax inversion to the United Kingdom

As a result, Syngenta rejected the proposal, saying that it significantly undervalued the company and the merger was fraught with execution risk.

Combined, the two companies would have had approximately 45 percent of the global market for seeds, according to the Wall Street Journal. The annual revenue of the two companies is around $31 billion.

Monsanto Syngenta

MEMPHIS, TN - Idea Garden Marketing is welcoming Karin White as its new Marketing Strategist.

White, the former Marketing Manager for Produce for Kids, will be responsible for growing and maintaining clients’ marketing efforts, including social media, website design, digital and in-store promotions, blogging, and event planning, according to a press release.

John Avola, Idea Garden Marketing Co-Founder and Managing Partner, felt that White was the perfect choice to further enhance the company’s marketing strategies and digital and traditional programs.

“Idea Garden Marketing was founded on creating industry-setting marketing strategies and programs while providing clients with the best service possible,” said Avola. “In order to maintain that commitment and our growth, we knew it was time to expand our team and Karin is the perfect fit.”

During her time with Produce for Kids, White lead the management and execution of in-store and online promotions in retail chains nationwide, as well as cultivated relationships across more than 40 produce companies, vendors, and retail partners.

She will report to Managing Partners John Avola and Kim Avola.

Idea Garden Marketing

FRESNO, CA - The Fresno County of Agriculture has set a new record for its crops value in 2014, breaking through the $7 billion ceiling.

"This report is a testament to the resiliency and determination of the Fresno County agricultural industry," Les Wright, Fresno County Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures, told abc30. "For the first time ever, the gross value of Fresno County agriculture exceeds seven billion dollars."

According to the reports, the new amount of just over $7.03 billion beat the area’s previous 2012 record of $6.44 billion by almost seven percent. abc30 reported that the bureau credits the area’s success to its diversity, growing over 400 crops commercially. Top crops included almonds at $1.303 billion, grapes at $905.099 million, and tomatoes $524.349 million.

While this is a feat only made more impressive due to the area experiencing a four-year-long record drought with the rest of California, the Fresno County Farm Bureau (FCFB) celebrates the achievement cautiously.

"The drought challenges [the crops] are in the midst of are historic,” Ryan Jacobsen, CEO of the FCFB told abc30, saying that those crops and people that are withering due to water restrictions in the region mustn’t be forgotten. 

The FCFB also clarified that it is seeing record high expenses as well as crop values, and that the numbers do not include net income or any losses experienced by the producers.

"The decisions our society and elected officials make today, and in the coming months and year, will determine the destiny of our industry," Jacobsen added.

For all the latest agriculture and produce industry news, keep checking in with AndNowUKnow.

Fresno County Farm Bureau

MONTEREY, CA - PRO*ACT is welcoming Danny Krow to the team as its new Director of Client Services.

With Krow’s addition, PRO*ACT hopes to further strengthen and raise the industry’s awareness of the benefits it brings to produce supply chain management. Having worked for several years with FreshPoint, the produce subsidiary of Sysco, in sales, operations, and transportation, it’s clear that he has the knowledge and experience necessary to enhance the value PRO*ACT brings to the industry.

Anthony Molinaro, Vice President of Client Services, praised Krow’s extensive experience working with all aspects of the food supply chain, noting that he brings a wealth of knowledge to the team.

“He has engaged in a wide range of segments and functional areas,” said Molinaro. “He will be a real asset to our Client Services group.”

Prior to joining PRO*ACT, Krow also has worked on the manufacturer side with companies such as Chobani and ConAgra Foods. His responsibilities included developing, managing, and relationship building with national accounts, brokers, and distributors.

PRO*ACT

CINCINNATI, OH - Kroger looks to be in a hiring flurry, this time hoping to fill tens of thousands of permanent jobs across the nation with veterans and/or their family members.

Kroger has hired more than 29,000 veterans since 2009, according to a press release, with over 6,000 having been hired in 2014 alone. Now it has about 20,000 permanent positions all over the U.S., and is hosting interviews around the country on Tuesday, Sept. 15th for veterans and members of their families.

"Kroger is deeply committed to the nation's veterans and their families, and we continue to seek out opportunities to honor heroes through career opportunities," Tim Massa, Group Vice President of Human Resources and Labor Relations for Kroger, said in the release. He also added almost 70 percent of Kroger's store managers started as part-time clerks. "Kroger is a place where you can come for a job and stay for a career.”

The positions are in Kroger’s supermarket division, and inviting veterans to apply as part of its commitment active duty troops and 23 million veterans through its the multi-faceted program Honoring Our Heroes, which has raised more than $11.9 million since 2010 to help support USO programs.

"Kroger is a company that veterans can be proud to work for because of its robust involvement in our local communities," Clifton Thomas, Kroger's Category Strategy Manager for Corporate Brands and Marine Corps Veteran, said. "It has given me the opportunity to be part of a team and connect to something bigger."

According to Kroger, the online application process takes about thirty minutes and interested veterans and family members should do so by Sept. 13th. Click here to go to the online application. Applicants can then go to any Kroger store on Sept. 15th between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. with no appointment necessary.

Kroger

MONTEREY, CA - Christian Betts, Commodity & Accounts Manager at Duda Farm Fresh Foods, joined AndNowUKnow during PMA Foodservice in Monterey, CA to discuss the company’s new Salanova® blend for its Simple Salad in Seconds.

The Salanova blend is an artisan miniature leaf lettuce and can be used in a variety of salads, wraps, sandwiches, and more.

“It’s grown on a stem so that when you invert it and cut the top, it’ll fall and make a salad for you,” Betts told us.

Duda offers four different varieties of its Simple Salad in Seconds, including red butter, green butter, green frisee, and red frisee.

Simple Salad in Seconds is now available in sample sizes for customers.

Check out our short interview with Christian Betts above for more on Duda’s latest innovations from PMA Foodservice.

Duda Farm Fresh Foods

ORLANDO, FL - Fresh Express is introducing new salad kits, including two Chopped Kits and two Gourmet Café Kits.

According to a press release, the new kits capitalize on the growing demand for healthier eating options with a blend of crisp vegetables and fresh dressings, such as those made with Greek yogurt.

“Capitalizing on the trend in which 1 in 3 people are eating Greek yogurt, three of the new Fresh Express products have dressings made with Greek yogurt,” said Robert Stallman, Vice President of Marketing & Innovation at Fresh Express. “By pairing a great-tasting lettuce base with Greek yogurt salad dressings, Fresh Express is able to provide consumers what they want – delicious and healthy eating options.”

Check out these new items below:

New Chopped Kits

• Sweet Kale

Sweet Kale includes super foods such as leafy kale, green cabbage, shredded broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and a poppy seed dressing add a tasty twist to this salad.

• Bacon and Bleu with Greek Yogurt Dressing

This new salad kit combines green and red cabbage, crisp romaine, sweet carrots, green onions, bacon pieces, and a creamy Greek yogurt bleu cheese dressing.

New Gourmet Café Kits

• Santa Fe Greek with Greek Yogurt Jalapeño Ranch Dressing

Crisp romaine lettuce, double grilled chicken, mild cheddar cheese, and Santa Fe tortilla chips come together under a tangy ranch dressing that Fresh Express is sure consumers will flock to.

• Mediterranean Greek with Greek Yogurt Kalamata Feta Dressing

This salad includes a traditional lettuce blend, flatbread strips, crumbled feta cheese, and sundried tomatoes with a low-calorie Greek Yogurt Kalamata Feta Dressing.

Whether it’s for lunch or dinner, Fresh Express’s Chopped Kits and Gourmet Café bowls are great for a quick meal.

Fresh Express

BARD VALLEY, CA - The Tour de Fresh is growing as quickly as it’s approaching, and Natural Delights has just announced that it is throwing two helmets into the ring.

The company is sponsoring two riders, Michael Deusebio, Senior Director of C&S Wholesale Grocers and Jennifer Gerard, Director of Nutrition of Monterey Peninsula Unified School District.

“I’m thrilled to be riding in this year’s Tour de Fresh after seeing the positive impact that Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools had on my district over the last few years,” Gerard, an avid cyclist and nutritionist, stated. According to a press release, she will ride to support Upland Unified School District. “I’m passionate about providing healthier options for our students, so this event is giving me the opportunity to affect the lives of thousands of students in California.”

She and Deusebio will both ride the 275 mile trek from North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia, to help raise funds for Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools, helping to promote health and produce consumption for children all over the U.S.

Deusebio is an amateur racer of more than 25 years and will ride to support Martinez Unified School District.

“I love being a part of such a grassroots event like Tour de Fresh because it gives produce industry professionals the opportunity to join together to influence positive change,” he said in the release. “It was an incredible experience to witness a salad bar donation during our ride last year, and I can’t wait to do it again in October.”

According to Natural Delights, who has supported Tour de Fresh since its inception in 2013 and as a Premier and Finish Line Sponsor in 2015, Gerard and Deusebio plan to raise $10,000 together to place at least one salad bar in each district they support.

Throughout both riders' training, Natural Delights will support them by providing care packages that include its Medjool dates and Date Rolls for sustained energy and muscle recovery. The company will also provide samples to all 55 riders throughout their training, and will be included in Natural Delights Sponsors Tour de Fresh Riders training bags at the finish line in October.

To support Deusebio and Gerard, visit www.tourdefresh.com/riders and and go to their individual rider profiles.

Natural Delights

SALINAS, CA - Director of TransFresh Corporation Rich MacLeod and Landec's Steve Bitler joined AndNowUKnow to give us a behind the scenes look at how its innovative technology is increasing shelf life for blueberries to over 28 days.

“We learned as the blueberry business began to expand rapidly worldwide, we found there was a need to provide a storage solution. The blueberry crop come on very, very quickly, the shippers and packers of blueberry need a way to expand or extend the market window so they don't have to market everything at the peak,” says MacLeod.

This need for a new storage solution inspired the development of the new zipper locked pallet bag. TransFresh brought this technology to Apio to marry it with the Apio Breathway technology. 

Steve Bitler, VP of Corporate Technology for Apio’s parent company, Landec Corporation, weighed in on the combined new product as well.

“We’re able to store fresh blueberries for on the order of 28 days, at 34 degrees Fahrenheit, but when we wanted to move that into a much larger sphere, there was no better company to work with than Transfresh,” Bitler told us. “TransFresh had a knowledge base and understanding of how to work with large quantities of fresh cut produce, and they were already supplying space bags to the industry.”

To see the full interview with Rich and Steve and learn more about this storage solution, watch the full video above.

TransFresh Apio

MONTVALE, NJ - A&P has made big moves to meet the needs of its filing for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the latest being a series of layoff notices to employees. Now the retailer is doubling the number of slips it will deliver to 9,515 employees.

According to an NJ.com report, the layoffs are expected to impact 93 New Jersey stores in a list updated with the breakdown of where cuts will be made, to be delivered on Thanksgiving Day, November 26th (unless noted to be delivered on September 19th).

Kerri Gatling, spokeswoman for the Department of Labor, confirmed that the above list of over 100 stores is up to date in the report. This is a significant jump from the 4,600 cuts we reported on, and an even bigger leap since the 3,781 employees at 45 stores announced to be laid off last week.

As we previously reported, A&P has been in talks with labor unions in order to sell or close nearly half of its 297 stores as quickly as possible, as well as meet the additional requirements of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy it has filed. USA Today reports that the union leaders are currently trying to preserve as many jobs as possible and weighing the costs as far as cuts to pay and benefits.

One of the ways in which unions are attempting to preserve jobs is through bumping rights, which give senior employees whose stores are closing or selling the ability to “bump” a less senior employee. The rights and restrictions of these abilities reportedly vary between districts, however, with how long employees must be with the company to attain bumping abilities and whether or not the senior employee can retain their wages or must assume the new position’s wages.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Drain, who USA Today reports suggested to both the United Food and Commercial Workers and A&P negotiate a compromise, will rule on the matter if an amiable agreement can’t be met.

AndNowUKnow will continue to report on this story as it develops.

A&P