Posts Tagged “greenhouse grown produce”
Mastronardi Produce Ltd., of Kingsville, Ontario, Canada is building a 71.6-acre glass greenhouse for growing Backyard Farms brand tomatoes in Oneida, NY.
“This expansion allows us to meet the incredible loyal consumer and retailer demand for this brand,” Paul Mastronardi, president, CEO of Mastronardi Produce, said in a news release. “It also ensures that all Northeasterners can enjoy what New Englanders have come to expect—fresh-from-the-vine Backyard Farms tomatoes delivered within hours.”
Founded in the 1940s, Mastronardi Produce is a large vertically integrated producer and distributor of greenhouse-grown produce, marketed under the Sunset and Backyard Farms brands.
The greenhouse will provide Northeasterners with better access to fresh-from-the-vine Backyard Farms tomatoes delivered within hours, Mastronardi said in the release.
The expansion is the first phase of the company’s ambitions for its locally grown Backyard Farms label, according to the company.
The greenhouse more than doubles Backyard Farms’ greenhouse growing acreage and increases Mastronardi Produce’s internal greenhouse network to seven locations nationwide, providing more than 4,000 acres of growing capacity.
New-York-grown Backyard Farms brand tomatoes are expected to be shipped by the fall of 2019, according to the release.
El Nino is adversely affecting many produce shipments in North America.
Unseasonable heat brought on an early, heavier-than-normal shipments for the Florida strawberry season, which started before Thanksgiving and lasted through Christmas. Now strawberry shipments are in a lull and are not expected reach decent volume by Valentine’s Day, February 14th, which is a popular event for the fruit. Assuming shipments ever get on “normal” track this season, loadings should continue through March.
Changing weather patterns are impacting fruit and vegetable production across North and South America, and it is not just field-grown produce that is being affected.
The El Niño phenomenon has played a major role in the various weather patterns and is affecting production on all items ranging from beefsteak, cluster, heirloom and roma tomatoes as well as grape tomatoes, mini roma grape tomatoes and medley tomatoes. Additionally, there are long sweet peppers, mini sweet peppers, bell peppers, seedless cucumbers, mini seedless cucumbers and baby eggplant, among others.
Lower than normal temperatures in combination with lower light levels reduce yields across the board for greenhouse grown produce during the spring and summer out of Canada, and during the winter in Mexico.
Mexican vegetables through Nogales – grossing about $3000 to Chicago.