REEDLEY, CA - It’s almost here, folks! The International Fresh Produce Association’s (IFPA) Global Produce & Floral Show is taking place later this month, bringing a whole host of supply-side savants to the exhibition floor. Mountain View Fruit Sales is one grower ready to wow buy-side attendees.

“We will be featuring our newest brand called Autumnripe, which represents our late season peaches. These are extra special as they have been growing all season long and are now ready for harvest,” Krista Beckstead, Director of Marketing, began telling me. “The longer time spent growing on the tree compared to other varieties makes them extra sweet and juicy. They are only available for a short time (September to October), so you have to grab them before they are gone.”

Mountain View will also be showcasing its red, green, and black grape varieties. The grower is right in the middle of its grape harvest, seeing excellent eating quality due to the perfect growing conditions as of late. Mountain View’s citrus season is also just kicking off this month, starting with Rascals Mandarins.

“When attendees come to our booth, we want them to know that we are not just a box of fruit—we are your partner, and we care about your business and success and being part of your overall stonefruit, grape, or citrus program. If the retailer has a successful program with our fruit, then we have done our job well and are successful also. That's a true partnership,” Krista explained. “We also want retailers to know we truly have the best fruit and the best growers.”

Krista also noted that the main goal of exhibiting and attending the show is to meet with Mountain View’s current retail buyers to discuss the stonefruit season that is just wrapping up and how its programs with them performed. Plus, the company values keeping close relationships with those partners and meeting with them to simply catch up on not only business but life.

“My favorite part of the annual IFPA show is just having everyone together and seeing longtime friends and colleagues that I don't normally get to see at the smaller shows,” she shared. “IFPA is THE show that everyone attends and even though it is a hectic three to four days, it's filled with lots of reconnecting and catching up with produce industry peeps that are also considered friends.”

While there will be plenty to see on the show floor at the upcoming IFPA event, Mountain View’s booth is certainly one to watch out for.

FLORIDA - Residents of Florida are racing to evacuate as Hurricane Milton hurdles toward the Gulf Coast. The Category 5 storm has brought sustained winds of 180 mph—doubling its strength in under 24 hours—the National Hurricane Center reported yesterday afternoon.

According to CNN, hurricane warnings were issued for parts of Florida yesterday, with the impacts of the storm slated to hit the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday night.

The most recent report we saw stated that residents of Florida were facing extreme backups on the interstate highways while attempting to evacuate to the North. These backups will also cause delays for any food transportation vehicles that may be on the road.

We are unsure how the storm will impact Florida’s fresh produce growers, but we will certainly be touching base.

For more updates, stick with AndNowUKnow.