LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE, CA - Allen Lund's VP of Support Operations, Kenny Lund, sat down to discuss the company's Transport Management System software with AndNowUKnow. The company shared the potential of this important product, one which is helping farmers meet growing volume demands even as the resources they have at their disposal shrink. Make sure to check the full story about this innovative software in the video above!
VENTURA COUNTY, CA - The Ventura County Sustainability Exchange (VCSE), an exclusive pre-Fresh Summit event for produce industry members, was a smashing success, giving the industry a first hand look at what makes Ventura County a one-stop-shop for sustainably grown produce.
"The event was a great success for showcasing the Bounty of Ventura County,” shared Jan Berk, Vice President/COO of San Miguel Produce. “We are fortunate to live and work in a growing region that is both rich and diverse for so many different fruits and vegetables...all in one location. San Miguel was delighted to host the many prestigious retail, wholesale and foodservice operators who came to learn more about what we, and our neighbor farmers, do here. Thank you to Nikki and Sandy of Measure to Improve for helping to pull this together for us. See ya’ll in Atlanta next year!"
Some highlights from day one of this action packed two day event included:
- A mini-tour of Calavo and Limoneira's orchards, during which attendees were able to experience to companies' history and sustainability initiatives such as irrigation programs, organic mulch practices, solar fields and more.
- Talks from guest speakers including Harold Edwards, CEO of Limoneira, Ventura County Ag Commissioner, Henry Gonzales, Food Share President, Bonnie Weigel, and Supply Chain Sustainability Manager for Pro*Act, Kathleen Phillips.
- Cocktails courtesy of Nobu Mixologist Brian Leon and hors d’oeuvres made from local produce.
- Dinner catered by Plated Events' Chef Jason Collis, who cooked up specialty dishes showcasing the versatility of Ventura County produce.
- Entertainment from the renowned illusionist, Patrick Martin.
According to a press release, Measure to Improve, LLC facilitated and organized the inaugural 2014 VCSE with the help of its sponsors: Cool Planet, Agromin, Driscoll's, Houweling’s Tomatoes, San Miguel Produce, Deardorff Family Farms, Limoneira, and Calavo.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for our coverage of day 2 of this the VCSE event.
CHARLOTTE, NC - After months of negotiations, Chiquita has announced a definitive merger agreement with the Brazilian-based Cutrale-Safra groups. Pursuant with the agreement, Cutrale-Safra will purchase the entirety of Chiquita's outstanding common shares for $682 million in cash, or $14.50/share, a 33.8% premium to Chiquita’s closing price on the last day of trading prior to the announcement of its agreement with Fyffes on March 7, 2014.
“We are pleased to make this long-term investment in Chiquita, one of the leading fresh produce companies in the world,” Cutrale-Safra shared in an official statement. “Cutrale-Safra is committed to supporting Chiquita as it continues to build out the strength of its franchises. To ensure Chiquita has the premier and most sustainable platform in its sector, Chiquita will be able to access Cutrale-Safra's substantial experience in all aspects of the fruit and juice value chain and extensive financial expertise. Chiquita will be able to take advantage of the vast knowledge of the Cutrale Group in farming, processing, technology, sourcing, distribution, logistics and marketing.”
“This transaction demonstrates our Board’s commitment to maximizing shareholder value and underscores the significant progress Chiquita has achieved over the past couple of years in our financial and operational performance,” agreed Ed Lonergan, Chiquita’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are pleased with the substantial value and significant all-cash premium we have delivered through this exciting agreement with the Cutrale Group and the Safra Group...Chiquita and Fresh Express are some of the most recognizable brands in the sector, and we are confident that Cutrale-Safra will be good stewards of the business moving forward.”
According to a press release, including the assumption of Chiquita's net debt, the overall agreement is valued at roughly $1.3 billion. The transaction is expected to close in late 2014 or early 2015.
Congratulations on coming to this exciting merger agreement, Chiquita, Cutrale and Safra!
LAKELAND, FL – Publix Super Markets Inc. may be planning a smaller format store debut for Charlotte, North Carolina.
Real estate sources from Jacksonville and Tampa tell the Tampa Bay Business Journal that the retailer is working on a 20,000 square foot model, possibly for a Charlotte location.
As we reported earlier, Publix has been considering this format for some time. Generally, Publix stores tend to range from 40,000 to 60,000 square feet. The smaller format could help the retailer compete against specialty grocers in urban neighborhoods and other small markets like college towns, which have previously been inaccessible to big box stores.
As of now, Publix has not confirmed these plans. “At this time, we can’t confirm plans for a 20,000 square foot prototype,” Kim Reynolds, a Publix spokeswoman in Charlotte, told the Tampa Bay Business Journal. “Therefore, we can’t confirm where that first prototype might be located.”
In 2013, Publix did announce that it would open 11 stores in the Charlotte area by the end of 2015, according to the Business Journal. In the Charlotte market, Publix’s top competitor is Harris Teeter, which has an 18,000 square food store in the city’s uptown area.
This move to a smaller format would add Publix to the growing number of retailers making the move away from big box stores. Let us know what you think of the smaller format trend in the survey below.
FISHERS, NY - The city of New York kicked off “the crunch heard ‘round the world” last Friday as crunchers at the Union Square Greenmarket counted down to the third annual Big Apple Crunch.
New York Apple Association (NYAA) President Jim Allen joined GrowNYC, city, and other local officials to lead the countdown to the noontime crunch. The Big Apple Crunch included a number of events held statewide, as the NYAA donated a whopping 2,000+ New York Gala and Empire apples for participants at the event, supplied by Samascott Orchards in Kinderhook, according to a press release. Crunchers even included actor and New York City resident Kevin Bacon.
“Apples are this event’s icon of local food and healthy eating for both logical and sentimental reasons,” said Allen. “Apples are abundant here in the largest apple-producing state in the East, their health and lifestyle benefits are well documented, and everybody loves them!”
Syracuse University’s men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim joined NYAA's staff at a Big Apple Crunch event at the university. He was joined by NYAA Consulting Dietitian Linda Quinn, MS, RD, CDN, and NYAA Marketing Director Molly Golden at Schine Student Center. Apples for the Syracuse event were donated by NYAA-member Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards. A total of 18 New York colleges and universities participated in this year’s Big Apple Crunch.
This year’s Big Apple Crunch, a local celebration of the national Food Day held annually on October 24, was hosted by GrowNYC, Food Day, and the New York City Office of Food Policy.
ESSEN, NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA - Aldi is taking aim at middle class shoppers with the launch of a new range of organic produce offerings intended to increase the affordability the category. According to AOL Money, these new organic carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and onions could cost as little as 25% of their counterparts at rival retail locations.
"At Aldi we believe it's important for organic produce to be available to everyone,” shared Joint Managing Director of Corporate Buying Tony Baines. "Now more than ever, they can buy their entire weekly shop at Aldi, safe in the knowledge they are purchasing the best quality products at everyday low prices.”
With many families still sticking to thrifty budgets and living on slim paychecks, Aldi is hoping this move towards affordability will bring more people into its stores and, importantly for our industry, down the organic produce aisle. Prices for these produce items will range from 79p to £1.49, compared to rival prices which range on average from 85p to £2.45.
“Following customer feedback, we know our shoppers want to buy more organic products, but price is often the reason why it's not a regular purchase,” Baines elaborated to the Daily Mail. “This is why we've launched a 100% British organic range at an affordable everyday low price.”
In addition to beefing up the produce aisle, Aldi also shared that it will be increasing its core range of products by 11%, offering new options in fresh meat, convenience food, mother and baby, household and beers, wines and spirits.
According to AOL Money, the full line of new produce offerings will be in UK stores by January 2015.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for future updates on Aldi and the UK retail industry.
ASHTABULA, OH - VistaTrac has a new app on the market, the Harvesting Module, which immediately caught my eye as a potential value for members of the fresh produce industry. This cool piece of tech allows farmers wireless access to custom harvesting data and productivity reports, giving them on-the-go access to the information they need to enhance the productivity of their farming operations.
VistaTrac shares that the Harvesting Module can be customized to collect farm-specific productivity and product data. When purchased, the app comes with several standard data collection prompts, including Farm Name, Field Number, Grade, Variety, and Size.
According to a press release, VistaTrac is compatible with several popular accounting software systems, such as Sage, QuickBooks, Microsoft Dynamics, and any accounting package that allows 3rd party integration. VistaTrac shares that its app is also able to export data in both PDF and Excel files formats, giving it versatility that many may find appealing.
With iPod and iPad compatibility, the VistaTrac app could be appealing to the large body of farmers in our industry on the hunt for the latest technology to give them the edge in the fields and the sales office alike.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for future cool tech updates on products relevant to the fresh produce industry.
CENTRAL VALLEY, CA – New research is suggesting that there might be an unexpected side-effect of the historic drought conditions California has experienced over the past several years: enhanced fruit quality. By studying how pomegranates and grapes react to drought conditions compared to produce raised under standard conditions, Tiziana Centofanti, a research scientist working at the Department of Agriculture lab in Parlier, CA, showed that stress conditions can in fact enhance a crop's nutritional profile, according to NPR.
"My research is about physiological response to stresses and drought is one of those," Centofanti explained to NPR. "Plants, when they are stressed...tend to produce higher content of phenolics, antioxidants."
The negative effects of drought conditions on the physical appearance of the fruit which Centofanti documented is something California's farmers are sadly all too accustomed to. Pomegranates grown in Centofanti's experiments are often cracked and less aesthetically appealing looking than their well-watered counterparts. Yet, the interaction of salt, boron, and selenium during the fruit's growth cycle has been demonstrated to double the antioxidant content of pomegranates, NPR reports.
Centofanti believes that this enhanced nutritional value offers tantalizing possibilities to California farmers operating under the strained conditions imposed by the weather.
"I believe that if we're able to market this fruit as environmentally friendly because it uses less water, and it's grown in the Central Valley, where we have so much drought problems, consumers will be ready to buy the fruit, because it's environmentally friendly," she explains.
It's no secret that the sustainability movement, especially in California, is one with tremendous market power. Could California farmers capitalize on these market forces in order to make the most of difficult circumstances? Maybe. After all, it wouldn't be the first time our industry pulled a silver lining out of challenging circumstances.
According to NPR, Centofanti's team plans on submitting its findings on grapes and pomegranates for publication next year. She is also experimenting on the effect of drought conditions on peaches, as well as the specialty foods, opuntia cacti and agretti. I know I certainly will be waiting with anticipation to read the her full findings when they are published.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for future updates on the California drought and the steps the resilient farmers of our industry are taking to combat it.
SIDNEY, OH - Freshway Foods is inducting three road warriors into its prestigious Million Mile Club. John Lawrence, Mike Bradley, and Herb Donahue have successfully achieved one million safe driving miles with the company.
“Our drivers are the critical link to providing exceptional service for our customers, and getting our product delivered safely is our top priority,” said Freshway Foods President Devon Beer. “We are extremely proud of John, Mike, and Herb for reaching one million accident-free miles. The dedication and the careful approach applied to their jobs provides a fine example for the rest of our drivers. We look forward to many more drivers reaching the same milestone.”
John, Mike, and Herb each received a custom leather bomber jacket, a die cast model of a Freshway truck, a gift card, and an engraved plaque.
Over 20 drivers were also recognized for various safe driving milestones during the celebratory event. “Freshway is proud to showcase the accomplishments of all of our drivers,” said Tony Arnold, Director of Human Resources. “We are especially proud to recognize our Million Mile Club safe drivers. Their talent, commitment to safety, and overall productivity have earned them the right to be part of an exclusive club. They are ambassadors for safety.”
Congratulations on this achievement, John, Mike, and Herb!
What do you think of when you see beautiful, lush palm trees reaching for the sky?
We think of our tender, plump Medjool dates hanging in proud clusters, soaking up the warm sun.
Nestled in the beautiful, sun-drenched Bard Valley, located along the southern most border of California and Arizona, our majestic date gardens enjoy the optimum climate for growing the finest Medjool dates in the world.
Meticulously cared for by our team of dedicated farmers, Bard Valley Natural Delights Medjool dates are handled with equal love and care once they are picked and hand-selected for packing at Datepac, the largest Medjool packing facility in the world. Started by our growers in 2002, Datepac operates under the strictest standards to deliver the highest quality size, flavor, and texture to our customers worldwide.
Growing Medjool dates is a labor of love, a test of strength and a triumph of human spirit. And we love every minute creating the most luscious Medjool dates available.