SALINAS, CA – Mann Packing Company is welcoming Terence Billingsley to its retail sales team. According to Jeff Freeman, Vice President of Retail Sales, Billingsley's wealth of retail and sales experience will make him a valuable part of the Mann Packing team.
“Terence will bring a focus on increasing market share, driving shopper-centric programs and promotional planning and trade development programs to our sales team,” he said. “Along with his impressive background and proven skill set, Terence has an infectious enthusiasm that will serve him well as he manages accounts in his region.”
Before joining Mann Packing, Billingsley worked at Unilever as the Safeway Customer Business Manager. He has also served as Vice President of Sales at Promoworks where he worked with the Safeway marketing team to sculpt its in-store shopping experience and at Kraft Foods as a business leader of its brands at Safeway.
According to a press release, Billingsley received a Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration at Sonoma State. He and his family live in American Canyon in Northern California.
Congratulations on the new position, Terence!
CASTROVILLE, CA – Ocean Mist Farms is using new technology to combat the affects of drought conditions on its crops.
“The Salinas Valley is experiencing serious drought conditions, getting only 15 inches of rain in the past three years,” Chris Drew, Product Manager for Ocean Mist, told TechRepublic. To counter these conditions, Ocean Mist Farms has traditionally conserved water mainly through night irrigation and drip-line irrigation.
Now, however, Ocean Mist is looking to technology for help. According to TechRepublic, Chris, a graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obisbo with a degree in crop science, is working to bring that tech to the field. To help Ocean Mist adapt to the drought conditions, he partnered with John Deere and installed Field Connect, a prototype sensor array, in the artichoke fields.
The Field Connect collects data like soil temperature, air temperature, soil electro-conductivity, soil-moisture content, leaf-wetness and solar-radiation level from the field and sends it to John Deere servers for analysis.
Checking the soil-moisture content allows Ocean Mist to determine the time to water based on moisture at root depth to more accurately conserve water. The soil electro-conductivity allows Chris to monitor when it is time to fertilize and how much water to add based on changes in salt conductivity, according to TechRepublic.
At John Deere, the information gets analyzed, manipulated and made available on servers that Chris can monitor via a secure web application. According to Chris, before Field Connect was available, Ocean Mist relied on 10-year averages when making decisions. Now, the company is able to react in real-time to the needs of the plants.
When asked about the main advantage of using Field Connect by Tech Republic, Chris said, “Time. Saving time by not having to dig holes to see the soil’s moisture content.”
Looking to the future, Ocean Mist is planning to use technology in its harvesting, total water management, equipment maintenance and soil prep, fertilizing and planting.
LAKE CITY, MN – SweeTango Apples is unveiling a new website in order to kick off its fall marketing season. SweeTango believes that the updated retailer section, new profiles and snapshots of its growing partners, and a host of delicious recipes and apple pairings will give its partners the content they have been asking for with apple season drawing close.
“SweeTango is a premium variety, and our customers love the snap of satisfaction that comes with biting into the apple,” says Tim Byrne, Executive Director of Next Big Thing, A Growers’ Cooperative which grows and markets SweeTango. “The new SweeTango.com is a great reflection of the SweeTango experience – bold, zesty and flavorful.”
To check out the new website for yourself, click here.
According to a press release, the new website is part of SweeTango's “The Sweet Spot of the Apple Season” national marketing campaign. This campaign focuses on combining traditional retail promotions with innovative new digital ones for an enhanced interactive customer experience.
Other new website features include:
- Biographies of SweeTango's growing partners in the U.S. and Canada
- “The SweeTango Story” – a video sharing the origin of the SweeTango variety
- Information about retailers, store locations, and SweeTango events
- Grower stories, sampling opportunities, and media clips as the season approaches
- Retail partners will be able to access grower sales, SweeTango images, logos, in-store signage and more.
According to a press release, SweeTango apples are sold for a limited time each fall. They are a crossbreed between the Honeycrisp and Zestar! apple varieties.
LOS ANGELES, CA – 4Earth Farms has announced that it has been granted the SQF CODE Edition 7.1 - Level 3 food safety certification, the highest protocol level the internationally recognized Safe Quality Food Institute can grant to industry members.
“Food safety has been the foundation of our business,” David Lake, 4Earth Farms CEO and Co-Founder, said. “We were always driven to have a state of the art warehouse, the cleanest packing room and the finest produce, but this process has allowed us to quantify it. We knew we were good at food safety and product quality control, but going through the SQF 7.1 Level 3 Certification process has taken us to a whole new level.”
Lake went on to add that the reason 4Earth Farms took these steps because of how highly it values the trust and confidence of its business partners.
“Confidence is what we want to provide to our customers,” he said. “Confidence that in an imperfect world, 4Earth Farms is investing time, money and energy to do everything in our power to make sure consumers of our produce are safe and satisfied - everyday.”
According to a press release, 4Earth Farms says that the new certification level essentially makes all of its workers a key part of the food safety team.
“We believe passionately that effective food safety must be embedded in our company’s culture. For 4Earth Farms, food safety is a company-wide initiative and our entire team is committed to constantly raising the bar and striving to be better!” said Mark Munger, V.P. of Sales and Marketing at 4Earth Farms.
”Over the past 12 months our team worked on researching and updating our program with guidance from SQFI and outside consultants to enhance our systems and establish new protocols,” he added. “For a 160,000 square foot complex that conducts warehousing, packing, organics and logistics – to obtain the this high level of certification is proof to our commitment and effort.”
According to a press release, SQF Level 3 Certification covers all aspects of company operations including food handling, risk analysis plans and procedures, systems development, employee training and management responsibility geared at maintaining the highest level of quality and performance.
Congratulations on attaining this impressive certification, 4Earth Farms. It's always great to see a company going the extra mile for something as important as food safety.
SALISBURY, NC – Food Lion has remodeled 31 stores in the greater Wilmington, N.C. market as part of the grocer’s new “Easy, Fresh and Affordable… You Can Count on Food Lion Every Day” strategy.
“Since announcing our new strategy, we’ve been doing a lot across the Food Lion chain to create positive change. We’re proud to continue that momentum by launching the first market of enhanced stores that bring all the elements of our new strategy to life to make shopping easier for customers,” said Beth Newlands Campbell, President of Food Lion.
The new format has expanded the selection in stores with thousands of new items with a dedicated Gluten Free section and a wide selection of quality fresh produce and meat that carries a Double-Your-Money-Back guarantee, according to a press release.
“Our customers told us that they want a grocery experience where it’s easy to shop, easy to save and easy to figure out what is for dinner tonight. In these enhanced stores, we’ve worked to deliver just that. We invite our customers and the Wilmington community to come out and experience grocery shopping reimagined at Food Lion and let us know what you think about our new stores,” she added.
To celebrate the launch of the new format stores, Food Lion is giving away $10 gift cards to the first 50 customers at each of the 31 locations every day from Wednesday, August 20 through Saturday, Aug 23, according to a press release.
“Despite offering low prices and great opportunities to save in our stores every day, we know that there are still many people in our local communities struggling with hunger. We want our customers and communities to know they can count on Food Lion to be their partner in eliminating the choices families are forced to make when they’re hungry, like choosing between dinner and rent or gasoline and buying groceries,” added Newlands Campbell.
Food Lion has also celebrated the launch of the 31 stores by donating 150,000 meals valuing $31,000 to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast North Carolina and 27 local feeding agencies in the Wilmington, N.C. region.
Food Lion will continue to roll out storewide enhancements in the market over time with the launch of additional 45 remodeled stores in the greater Greenville, N.C. market in November.
NEW MEXICO – The state of New Mexico is launching a “New Mexico Certified Chile” trademark to protect its chile from foreign competitors by putting it in the same protective status as Idaho potatoes or Florida oranges.
The Spokeman-Review reports that Governor Susana Martinez, members of the New Mexico Chile Association and other officials unveiled the program before a packed room of chile aficionados on Tuesday.
“Whether you prefer red, green or Christmas (a mix of both), you want to know that your chile was grown in New Mexico by farmers with generations of experience, in rich soil and the kind of intense sunlight that makes this flavorful food,” she said.
This program builds on an existing law that makes it illegal to advertise any products as New Mexico chile unless it is grown in the state.
KOB4 News reports that foreign competitors are known to flood American markets with lower quality and less expensive chile and even falsely label it as grown in New Mexico. Farmers say that these false claims take money away and weaken the overall reputation of the New Mexico product.
Chile farmers in New Mexico are currently seeing a robust harvest with farm workers hauling the state’s famous green chile by the ton.
“We did have some rain but we just had luck on our side,” said Glen Duggins, a local chile farmer. “Every time it rained, we needed the water, and it hasn’t hurt us. The chile is just beautiful – the mild, the hot, the extra hot – looks like a bumper crop!"
The chile industry has a strong impact on New Mexico’s economy. It supports more than 4,000 jobs in that state and has an economic impact of more than $400 million, according to KOB4 News. New Mexico is hoping this trademark will protect and enhance the industry.
JACKSONVILLE, FL - Winn-Dixie and BI-LO’s parent company, BI-LO Holdings LLC, has decided not to pursue its initial public offering that it filed for in 2013 under the name Southeastern Grocers LLC.
The company did not specify a reason for withdrawing its IPO in its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week, and BI-LO Holdings spokesman Brian Wright said via email to the Jacksonville Daily Record that the company doesn’t comment on these matters.
When speaking about the reasons the company withdrew its IPO, Francis Gaskins, Research Director at Equities.com, tells Reuters, “With not very exciting topline revenue and growing losses…it’s over leveraged. They don’t have the numbers that investors are interested in.”
The New York Times reports that Winn-Dixie filed for bankruptcy in 2005, emerging a year later. In addition, BI-LO spent a year in Chapter 11 protection from 2009 to 2010. In 2011, BI-LO Holdings purchased Winn-Dixie and joined the two brands, and moved its headquarters to Florida.
In September of 2013, Southeastern Grocers filed for an IPO of up to $500 million and stated that it was looking to repay debts and build working capital, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Jacksonville Daily Record reports that after expanding this year with the acquisition of a group of stores from the Delhaize Group, BI-LO Holdings currently operates 830 supermarkets in eight Southeastern states under the Bi-Lo, Winn-Dixie and Harveys names.
TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher announced yesterday that farmers in Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem, Atlantic, Camden and Cape May counties could still apply for disaster assistance.
On May 22, 2014, a storm brought excessive rain, flooding, high winds and hail that damaged crops, according to a press release. The USDA determined that there were sufficient production losses from the storm to warrant a Secretarial natural disaster designation.
This distinction makes farmers in the six counties eligible to be considered for assistance from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) as long as eligibility requirements are met.
In order to be designated a primary natural disaster area, a county must have sustained a 30% or greater production loss to a single crop due to the disaster. Farmers in the eligible counties have eight months from the date of a Secretarial disaster declaration to apply for emergency loans, according to a press release. FSA considers each loan application on its own merits.
Farmers are encouraged to contact their local FSA office for details. To find a local office, click here.
IDAHO FALLS, ID – Kingston Cross Dock & Cold Storage has named 30 year industry veteran Brian Osborne as the new facility General Manager. According to a press release, in his new position Brian will be focusing on upgrading Kingston's coolers, software, and food safety systems, in addition to working closely in business development and improving customer service practices.
Having held multiple senior level sales and management positions with other leading produce companies, such as Southern Specialties and Carb Americas, David Kingston, CEO of Kingston Companies, is confident that he has found the right man for the job in Brian.
“Brian has an excellent reputation and a broad wealth of knowledge in cold storage, operations, and the industry in general,” he shared. “With the growth we have experienced at Kingston Cross Dock this year, Brian’s skill set are a perfect fit to ensure our operations and general customer service continue to improve.”
Osborne said he was excited to continue working with Kingston in his new role.
“With the upgrades we’re making, I am excited for the upcoming season,” he said. “Kingston has made great strides this summer with solid investments in the facility and its people. With the team and facility improving each day, we are set for another great season at KCD.”
He also added, “I want to thank the solid team around me at KCD. They have welcomed me into the fold and embraced the new developments underway.”
According to a press release, Brian began his career with the Pompano State Farmers Market in 1980 after serving for 4 years with the USMC.
Congratulations on the promotion, Brian!
LADERA RANCH, CA - Dulcinea/Pacific Trellis Fruit Manager John McGuian has announced that he will be parting ways with the company at the end of August.
A Pacific Trellis company representative thanked John for his commitment to the company and his many years of service:
“John, a 25 year veteran of the produce industry, has been a great asset to the company since his joining. He was of great assistance to us on this latest acquisition, helping us to transition it from a public company structure to a more market and grower focused operation.”
John shared similar feelings about his time with the company in a press release.
“I have had the great fortune to work for outstanding organizations and help get them positioned for success for the future. I know that the team will do great things with Dulcinea Farms going forward, and I wish them all the success in the world.”
While Pacific Trellis and Dulcinea Farms will no doubt miss him, John leaves it in a position of strength. According to a press release, Pacific Trellis is experiencing its best yield ever in Mexico and a similarly great harvest in Arizona. Although, like many in the produce industry, it has felt the pressure of the water crisis in California, its harvest in the San Joaquin Valley has also been strong with increases in both yield and acreage.
In light of this success, Pacific Trellis Fruit has created a new position for Research and Development, naming former Syngenta employee Paul Collazo to the job. Pacific Trellis is confident Paul's work will help them maintain its advantage with both its existing and new proprietary melon varieties.
Pacific Trellis has also decided to retain 8 year Dulcinea Farms veteran Steve Dabich as Director of Sales.
“I look forward to the continued expansion in the years to come as the premier branded melon supplier in the industry,” he said.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for any further updates on the future activities of this exciting grower.