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BREWSTER, WA - A successful settlement between Gebbers Farms and Washington State Department of Labor and Industries has been announced following allegations of COVID-19 regulation violations. In tandem with the announcement, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that workers who lived in Gebbers-provided housing were three times less likely to contract COVID-19 than other workers living in the community. Furthermore, the study found that the Gebbers workforce had a positive rate of only 0.7 percent.
“Gebbers Farms has always cared deeply about the wellbeing and safety of its workers,” said Cass Gebbers, Chief Executive Officer. “Each year, Gebbers Farms makes improvements to its temporary housing facilities to enhance the safety and comfort of its workers. This mediation agreement will result in even more improvements, and it will benefit the community at large through the farm’s donations to community charities and non-profits.”
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries originally assessed a $2.06 million fine for alleged violations in July 2020, although Gebbers Farms had implemented COVID-response protocols that it developed in consultation with an infectious disease specialist.
Under the terms of the mediation agreement, Gebbers Farms will now:
- Make $1.4 million in improvements to its facilities, including entirely new farmworker housing and sports facilities, landscaping around housing areas, additional air conditioning units, and location signage at each camp
- Continue supporting local causes by donating more than $500,000 to local health, safety, and child-development organizations
- Install a cell tower to improve cellular service for workers and communities
- Hire a full-time safety officer to oversee the development and implementation of Gebbers Farms’ existing and new worker safety programs
- Pay a fine of $10,000
According to a press release, Gebbers Farms has posted copies of this agreement in common areas for employees to read.
“Although we are pleased this issue is resolved, we have not forgotten the thousands who lost loved ones during this pandemic. Sadly, in 2020, Gebbers Farms also lost longtime team members and familiar faces to our family. These men, their families, and all Gebbers employees are part of the reason why we are gratified that the agreement includes our continued investment in our workers and our local communities,” added Gebbers.
Stick with ANUK as we continue to cover the efforts made to protect agricultural workers from the COVID-19 virus.
LE GRAND, CA - J. Marchini Farms is making moves to help retailers bring in the sales this summer with its latest seasonal launch. The supplier recently announced the return of the 2021 main fig crop.
“The California fig season is short and sweet, but it’s hands down the best time of year to eat a fresh fig,” said Francesca Fordice, Sales and Marketing. “When shoppers see fresh figs stocked at their local store, they tend to be overly enthusiastic that the California fresh fig season has started.”
Marchini’s premium fig season kicked off with the Breba crop, a short crop that only lasts for a few weeks, in the beginning of June, according to a company release. Now, the supplier is ramping up for its main fig crop, which will include three unique varieties available from August to October.
These enticing offerings include the Black Mission, Brown Turkey, and Kadota varieties, which will each offer a unique use to shoppers from now through the fall. J. Marchini’s versatile Black Mission figs have a delicate, purple-black skin and dark pink flesh and can be used in a variety of dishes ranging from sweet to savory. The Brown Turkey variety has a milder flavor and are typically less sweet than the Black Mission variety, making them perfect for salads and desserts. This fig features a brownish-dark purple skin with an alluring pink flesh. The Kadota variety, on the other hand, has a yellowish-green skin with an amber color flesh when ripe, and are often canned or dried, as they are practically seedless. This variety is less sweet than others, making them optimal for baking and cooking.
Regardless of how they choose to utilize them, consumers will surely be in search of delicious figs this summer, so make sure those shelves are stocked.
SANTA MARIA, CA - Catching up with industry members has to be top of the list for me, especially when I’m also gleaning market insights. One of my go-tos for Brussels sprouts info is none other than Crystal Chavez, Gold Coast Packing’s Marketing Coordinator.
“The current Brussels sprout crop is offering great quality, but it is coming along slowly as there are a bit of yield issues,” Crystal commented, noting that the number of cases per acre are slightly lower than projected. “Weather has not been a factor for our Brussels sprouts crop, as we’ve experienced great weather here on the California Central Coast, which is keeping the market steady and firm.”
Crystal remarked that this steady market has seen pricing similar to what it was a year ago, with steady numbers hovering around $30.
“Gold Coast has great quality coming out of our fields. We expect quality and volume to continue on a high note as we move into the holiday months when the demand for Brussels sprouts always increases,” she added. “We offer Brussels sprouts in whole, halved, and shredded formats for foodservice and whole sprouts for retail. We started offering smaller packs of Brussels per a customer’s request, and these smaller offerings have become popular for meal kits.”
What once was a niche offering has become essential for multiple operators. Be sure to keep both retail and foodservice customers happy by keeping Brussels in stock!
As always, check back in with AndNowUKnow for the latest news in the fresh produce biz.
LOS ANGELES, CA - T&G Global is ambitiously bolstering its workforce, as the purveyor has recently announced it is recruiting 150 permanent positions across its apple operations. This move comes as the supplier sets out to expand its apple business to meet global demand and provide career opportunities to existing talent within the industry.
“Our apples business has an ambitious growth strategy in place to grow our premium Envy™ and JAZZ™ apple brands to meet worldwide demand. To achieve this vision, it’s critical we have a talented, passionate, and supported team who are empowered to be their best,” said Director of Operations, Craig Betty.
The 150 new permanent roles are being advertised internally amongst T&G’s casual and contracted seasonal workforce, as well as externally in the local community, according to a company release. Those employed will move through T&G’s harvest and post-harvest roles, developing a thorough understanding of operational and growing processes, including spending time developing the supplier’s 2D orchards as it continues its path to automation.
“Across our growing operations, we’re re-developing our orchards to 2D planting structures to support the efficient use of automation and robotics in the future,” Betty explained. “We’re committed to our roadmap to automation and continually optimising our supply chain to increase productivity. By ensuring we have skilled team members in our operations, we’ll be able to help fast-track this process.”
In addition to finding support at the peak of the apple season, T&G will also need to recruit thousands of people nationwide for the upcoming season.
“Recruitment remains a critical focus for the upcoming 2021/22 season,” Betty continued. “This season, our team did an incredible job hiring more than 950 New Zealanders to work alongside a reduced number of RSE team members. However, at the peak of the season we were still short around 300 people per day, which meant we left a significant amount of fruit on trees. With these new positions, we expect our productivity to increase as we build our team’s skills and capabilities, however we’ll still require additional seasonal team members to join us throughout the harvest.”
T&G is currently offering its existing seasonal team members the opportunity to apply, while also looking externally to fill the 150 positions.
“Despite our very best efforts to recruit locally last year, the 2020/21 season was extremely challenging, with limited availability of skilled people ready to work in the regions, combined with a reduced number of Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) team members,” explained Betty. “The new roles we’re creating have been developed to help us deliver on our future growth objectives, whilst also helping retain our existing talent and provide people with an opportunity to further build their skills and capabilities within our operations.”
Keep reading ANUK as we continue to report on the latest labor strategies in the fresh produce industry.
CHICAGO, IL - Hazel Technologies is continuing its mission of bringing only the best quality fruit to the produce department. Recently, the solutions provider announced a new partnership with Valicoff Fruit Company, one of Washington State’s largest suppliers of apples and stonefruit, in which the grower will utilize Hazel’s innovations to boost quality across its portfolio.
“We are proud to support Valicoff Fruit’s dynamic growth and to protect their fruit across multiple categories,” commented Aidan Mouat, Chief Executive Officer of Hazel Technologies. “Hazel is committed to listening to our customers’ goals and challenges and developing academically proven solutions that address the customers’ needs while easily integrating across the supply chain.”
The Wapata, Washington-based supplier is a family-owned business and is part of the Sage Fruit marketing group, priding itself on offering premium quality and variety across its apple, pear, peach, nectarine, apricot, and cherry programs.
Following a century of farming, Valicoff Fruit now grows over 2,000 acres of fruit and ships to major retailers and other customers in the Americas, Asia, and Europe, as explained in a press release. In 2020, the grower incorporated Hazel 100™ bin sachets to protect the quality of its offerings, which help ease logistics and lower labor costs.
“We utilized Hazel 100™ bin sachets for treatment of our 2020 crop Honeycrisp Apples,” said Brett Valicoff, fourth generation grower and President of Valicoff Fruit Company. “We experienced great quality of fruit coming out of storage and noticed a reduction of internal browning from long-term storage. Hazel’s bin sachet application allowed us to protect the fruit immediately, which simplified receiving and storage logistics. This immediate treatment allowed us to get the right fruit in the right storage timeframe. We were able to eliminate transferring of bins from conditioning rooms which greatly improved the process. This simplified process helped to produce excellent fruit condition for our customers.”
In addition to its success in the apple category, Valicoff has also successfully expanded to be one of the largest suppliers of stonefruit in the Pacific Northwest, according to the release. After repeated quality improvement in its trials of the solution, Valicoff expanded its usage of the Hazel 100 box sachets for two consecutive seasons. As a result of the partnership, the provider harnesses Hazel Tech’s apricot solutions help to maintain color and firmness, prevent chilling injuries, and ensure high quality during long-distance transit.
As more companies join forces with this innovative solutions provider to offer the highest quality offerings to their retail partners, keep reading AndNowUKnow to stay up to date.
WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced D’Amore Produce Solutions has satisfied a reparation order that was issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) and lifted the sanctions against the company. As part of its requirements to conduct PACA-related business, D’Amore Produce satisfied a reparation order that was issued in December 2020 in the amount of $40,405 for unpaid produce transactions.
Direct from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service:
The Saginaw, Michigan, company can continue operating in the produce industry upon applying for and being issued a PACA license. Andrew M. Damore was listed as a member of the business and may now be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee.
PACA provides an administrative forum to handle disputes involving produce transactions; this may result in USDA’s issuance of a reparation order that requires damages to be paid by those not meeting their contractual obligations in buying and selling fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. USDA is required to suspend the license or impose sanctions on an unlicensed business that fails to pay PACA reparations awarded against it, as well as impose restrictions against those principals determined to be responsibly connected to the business when the order is issued. Those individuals, including sole proprietors, partners, members, managers, officers, directors, or major stockholders, may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee without USDA approval.
Once a reparation order is fully satisfied and it is confirmed that there are not any outstanding unpaid awards, USDA lifts the employment restrictions of the previously named, responsibly connected individuals. USDA also requires any unlicensed company that fully satisfies all unpaid reparation awards to obtain a license if it continues to operate in the industry.
For more information and to read the press release in full, please visit the link here.
PLANT CITY, FL - I’ve heard the term “new normal” recently, and like many others in our industry, it had me wondering what that meant for fresh produce. To get an understanding of what the new normal looks like for the berry category, I reached out to James Peterson, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Wish Farms, to see what this season holds.
“I think COVID-19 and the entire pandemic helped berry demand grow. People are more conscious of their health and trying to eat healthier, and berry growers have done a very good job of outlining the category’s health benefits. I think there has only been an increase in demand over the last year and a half,” James tells me.
Buyers, this means that ample shelf space for berries is a must in the produce department. As consumers continue to prioritize the category in their baskets, now is an optimal time to get strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries on display to not only mitigate any supply hurdles but also to meet this rising shopper demand.
Throughout the peak of the pandemic and into 2021 James explains that the market has remained stable, and he believes that it will likely continue.
“As we’re seeing, the market is better than it has historically been in this window, and we're hopeful that this is the new normal,” he says. “Although we've had to recalibrate our approach as demand has changed, it’s been good for us because the same berry volumes are being moved at higher pricing. As more people keep eating at home, many of them are consuming more fruit, and that’s obviously great for our business.”
To meet climbing demand with quality, Wish Farms is growing Monterey and Cabrillo variety strawberries at its Santa Maria, California, summer planted ranches and Salinas, California, operations. As the summer moves along, the grower will transition to just its Santa Maria farms for planting. Wish will be growing raspberries and blackberries out of Santa Maria as well, offering retailers more varieties to stock their displays.
“We certainly have increased our acreage of raspberries in California and have more going in the ground next year,” James explains. “The category is a focus for us and we feel that varietal wise, we're growing raspberries that are top of the class when it comes to eatability. We're super excited about where our raspberry program is going in both California and Mexico. It was the fourth berry needed for us to complete our 52-week supply, and we're excited to keep expanding.”
With continued category growth on the horizon, James says one thing will remain the same: Wish Farms is confident on flavor and will innovate to maintain the quality that it covets.
“We have a saying in our office, ‘food is supposed to taste good.’ It’s a pretty simple mantra to live by, which is why I encourage buyers to seek out flavorful fruit. To be successful with your berry program you have to find the most flavorful varieties and that will unlock sales.”
What will the future of the category hold as more changes await our industry? Keep a tab open for AndNowUKnow as we explore the latest developments.
WOODLAND, CA - Happy National Watermelon Day, y’all! What better way to ring in this occasion than by celebrating one of Syngenta Vegetable Seeds’ newest varieties? The company developed its new Valor watermelon to help growers maximize profitability, and Syngenta has committed to donate a portion of the proceeds from every plant sold to American veterans’ organizations through the National Watermelon Association (NWA).
“It’s an honor to be part of a charitable initiative that supports American veterans while also supporting American farmers with high-quality varieties,” says John Reese Franklin, Syngenta’s Technical Sales Representative and a Veteran Sergeant in the U.S. Army. “I believe we have something special in this dynamic variety, and I look forward to seeing the donations Valor provides to American veterans’ organizations as well as the benefits for those who grow it, and ultimately, those who buy it.”
Set to be introduced in the 2022 growing season, this initiative is being funded by Syngenta’s Full Count® Plant Program, which provides Syngenta genetics to every major U.S. production region from preferred transplant producers.
According to a press release, Valor is a 79-day maturity watermelon with a firm flesh, blocky fruit shape, and a medium-dark green, pixelated rind. It has demonstrated good field holding ability, a higher fruit set, and offers various benefits, including intermediate resistance to Fusarium Wilt race 1 and Anthracnose race 1.
“Our work on disease resistance breeding and new variety development is helping growers maximize profitability,” says Javier Martinez-Cabrera, Head of the Americas at Syngenta. “In addition to Valor, we’ve recently introduced other innovative new varieties like SP-7, a non-harvestable pollenizer that can maximize yield of seedless watermelons, as well as traditional seeded pollinizers. This is just one more example of our focus on delivering unique varieties for growers.”
Valor follows Syngenta’s recent introduction of popular varieties like Powerhouse and Summerlicous seedless watermelons, featuring the appearance, flesh firmness, field-holding ability, and taste desired by retailers and consumers.
Maximizing the excitement of this launch, Syngenta is teaming up with NWA to support U.S. veterans. The two organizations share a rich history and a common goal of promoting U.S. watermelon growers and driving innovation within the industry, and Syngenta is a 2021 Platinum Sponsor of the NWA.
“The NWA is thrilled to team up with a valued industry partner like Syngenta to raise money for two national veterans’ organizations,” says Bob Morrissey, Executive Director, NWA. “Together, we can make an even bigger impact for those who have sacrificed so much for this country, and we couldn’t do it without the support of the watermelon growers who are at the heart of all we do.”
Cheers to this new variety and the worthy cause it supports.
TORONTO, CANADA - I recently engaged in a debate with a friend regarding artichokes. The crux of the argument was whether artichokes were really all about the tender hearts or if the firmer leaves had any redeeming value. My view is there is room on my dinner plate for both the artichoke heart and the leaves. But my friend would have none of it. ‘Once you’ve had the heart, the leaves just don’t measure up,’ was the basis of her argument. Although we ended the debate in a stalemate, I did offer to whip up some artichoke nachos, using only the leaves once they are in season.
The good news, for my friend, is that artichokes become more available starting in September and hit their peak in October. In fact, the peak coincides with baseball’s pennant race and post-season. Since we are talking artichokes and baseball, no better time to bring out our trusty planning instrument, Produce Moneyball to help figure out where we are going with artichokes. In the insightful words of iconic baseball personality Yogi Berra ‘If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.’ If that ‘someplace else’ is anywhere other than artichoke supremacy, you don’t want to go there.
The accompanying graph shows 2020 volume began to ramp up in September starting in week 37 and hit a peak in week 44 as the calendar switched into November. FOB costs were unseasonably high throughout this time period during the COVID-affected 2020, but did come down as volumes increased. This year, Produce Moneyball is predicting a more normal year as COVID is placed in our rear-view mirror. FOB costs are expected to be lower in 2021 than they were in 2020 rising to the mid-teens as demand picks up during its peak. Keep checking with Produce Moneyball, it’s a good gut check to ensure you are getting to the heart of the artichoke matter and for knowing where you are going with produce costing.
Mike Mauti, Managing Partner, Execulytics
Leading the Execulytics team, Mike brings more than 20 years of experience as a leader in the fresh foods industry. Over this time, Mike has gained expertise in retail operations, procurement, and merchandising. Specific skills around grocery retailing, particularly in produce buying and selling, make Mike a valuable partner for suppliers and independent retailers alike.