Archive For The “News” Category
Los Angeles, California – Pacific Trellis Fruit is bringing back JAM GRAPES, the new black seedless grape variety from Brazil it introduced late last year. During its initial launch, the premium grape variety had only been available from October through January.
“We saw good interest when we started talking to retailers late last fall. In order to ensure a good balance between quality and supply, we closely monitored availability – to confirm everything is exactly where we wanted it to be,” explains Josh Leichter, General Manager of Pacific Trellis Fruit/Dulcinea Farms and added: “Very quickly, we were able to confirm that this grape fulfilled our expectations – and those of our retail partners – so we decided to bring them back as soon as possible.” Positive feedback from retailers was echoed by consumers and JAM GRAPES will be back on supermarket shelves in May and June, taking advantage of Brazil’s first semester harvest.
“For the current season we are adding a 1 pound clamshell as an option. It is the preferred pack style for high-margin grape varieties,” Leichter explained. The fruit will continue to be available in 2 pound clamshells as well as random weight bags.
About Pacific Trellis Fruit / Dulcinea Farms:
Established in 1999, Pacific Trellis Fruit and is one of North America’s top year-round growers, packers and marketers of premium fresh fruit, including grapes, peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, and citrus as well as pears, apples, kiwis and mangos. With the acquisition of Dulcinea Farms in 2014, Pacific Trellis Fruit added PureHeart® mini seedless watermelons, Tuscan Style™ Cantaloupe and SunnyGold® yellow mini seedless watermelon amongst other premium melons to its portfolio. Pacific Trellis Fruit is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA – with sales offices in Fresno, CA, Gloucester, NJ and Nogales, AZ.
An increase in fruit imports of South America fruit is expected by The Port of Virginia due to the recent completion of the USDA’s Southeast In-Transit Cold Treatment Pilot program.
“We’re the U.S. East Coast’s leading vegetable exporter, and this designation positions us to achieve the same success with imported fruit,” John Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, said in a news release. “This is important for logistics and supply chain managers importing agricultural products because it means this cargo will get to its market more quickly.”
Through the USDA program, which the port joined in October 2017, refrigerated fruit from South America can enter the port. The program includes containers of blueberries, citrus and grapes from Peru; blueberries and grapes from Uruguay; and apples, blueberries and pears from Argentina, according to the release.
The program allows South American fruit to enter more ports in the U.S., following a two-week cold treatment process to guard against pests. Before the program started in 2013, fruit from certain export markets were limited to Northeast ports, according to the release. From there, they were distributed to southern states.
The new port of entry will cut transportation costs and increase fruit shelf life, according to the release.
Other participants in the USDA program include ports in Wilmington, N.C.; Charleston, S.C.; Port Everglades, Fla.; Palmetto, Fla., Jacksonville, Fla.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and Savannah, Ga.
Irvington, NY – BrightFarms, the No. 1 brand of locally grown packaged salads, has announced plans for national expansion with new sustainable greenhouse farms in New England (Central MA), New York (Hudson Valley) and North Carolina. The new greenhouses will each be 280,000 square feet and sit on 20 acres of land. Each greenhouse is expected to create around 55 full-time “green-collar” jobs for residents, offering competitive wages and benefits.
The three new greenhouses will further the brand’s presence and add to BrightFarm’s network of local and sustainable farms across the Mid-Atlantic and into the South. The company currently operates greenhouses in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, supplying major retailers in a dozen major metro markets.
In order to more rapidly meet retailer demands for locally grown produce, BrightFarms will also explore acquisitions and partnerships with existing greenhouse growers in each of the new markets.
“We are committed to transforming the produce category to provide the freshest, tastiest and most responsibly grown produce,” said Paul Lightfoot, CEO of BrightFarms. “Consumers are placing high demand for locally grown, fresh salads. With local greenhouses across the Mid-Atlantic and growing, BrightFarms is well positioned to meet these demands for national retailers.”
BrightFarms plans to break ground on the new greenhouses by year’s end, with production starting in the spring of 2020. The greenhouses will each produce more than 2 million pounds of fresh, leafy salad greens and herbs per year while using an estimated 80 percent less water, 90 percent less land and 95 percent less shipping fuel than West Coast farms.
BrightFarms’ national expansion follows the announcement of its successful Series D financing, where the company raised $55 million, and the addition its new CFO, Steve Campione. Campione’s substantial experience in raising capital and making strategic acquisitions will support the company’s aggressive expansion.
About BrightFarms
BrightFarms grows local produce, nationwide. BrightFarms finances, builds, and operates local greenhouse farms in partnership with supermarkets, cities, capital sources, and vendors, enabling it to quickly and efficiently eliminate time, distance, and costs from the food supply chain. BrightFarms’ growing methods, a model for the future of scalable, sustainable local farming, uses far less energy, land and water than long distance, centralized and field grown agriculture. Fast Company recognizes BrightFarms as “One of World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” and one of the “Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Food” in the world.
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.
A moderate decline in volume has been reported for U.S. banana imports in 2018, while tomato imports are increasing, according the USDA.
U.S. imports of bananas totaled 4.2 million metric tons in 2018, off 4 percent from 2017. By value, imports of bananas totaled $1.91 billion in 2018, up 2 percent from 2017.
Guatemala was the leading supplier of bananas to the U.S. in 2018, accounting for 1.88 billion metric tons, down 5 percent from 2017. By value, imports of Guatemala bananas totaled $851.4 million, up 2 percent from 2017. Guatemala accounted for 45 percent of volume and value of total banana imports.
Other leading suppliers of bananas in 2018 to the U.S., by value and compared with last year, are:
- Costa Rica: $399.9 million, down 10 percent;
- Honduras: $218.5 million, down 1 percent;
- Ecuador: $189.2 million, up 16 percent;
- Mexico: $136.2 million, up 19 percent; and
- Colombia: $104.8 million, up 15 percent.
Tomato Imports
In 2018 total U.S. tomato imports increased 9 percent in value and 4 percent in volume.
USDA trade statistics show that total U.S. tomato imports were $2.38 billion in 2018, up 9 percent from $2.17 billion in 2017.
Volume of tomato imports rose 4 percent in 2018, climbing from 1.79 million metric tons in 2017 to 1.86 million metric tons in 2018.
Mexico is the top supplier of imported tomatoes, accounting for 87 percent of the value of total U.S. tomato imports and 91 percent of imported tomato volume. By value, U.S. imports of Mexican tomatoes, at $2.06 billion, were up 12 percent from 2017.
The volume of U.S. imports of Mexican tomatoes totaled 1.69 million metric tons in 2018, up 5 percent from 1.61 million metric tons in 2017.
By comparison, U.S. imports of Canadian tomatoes declined 7 percent in value and 9 percent in volume in 2018. Canada is the number two supplier of imported tomatoes, accounting for 9 percent of imported tomato value and 8 percent of tomato volume.
The Dominican Republic and Guatemala are number three and four ranked tomato suppliers, but both represent less than 1 percent of value.
Ready-to-eat convenience food sales over the last decade have increased, according to a new survey.
The USDA’s Flexible Consumer behavior Survey reports consumers in 2015-16 reported purchases of 2.4 ready-to-eat foods in the past 30 days, up more than 25 percent from 2007-08, when consumers reported consuming 1.9 ready-to-eat foods in the same period.
Eating out
The USDA survey found for 2015-16, about 89 percent of adults bought food from a fast-food restaurant and 90 percent of adults ate at a sit-down restaurant in the past 12 months.
The 2015-16 survey related consumers reported eating 3.6 food away from home meals in the last week, down slightly from 4 food-away-from-home meals reported in the same period in 2007-08.
For both 2007-08 and 2015-16, less than half of food-away-from-home meals were from a fast-food restaurant.
The percentage of adults who saw nutrition information on a fast-food restaurant menu increased from 20 percent in 2007-08 to 42 percent in 2015-16. The percentage of adults who saw nutrition information on a sit-down restaurant menu increased from 16 to 27 percent.
However, the percentage of adults who used nutrition information on a fast-food restaurant menu was 41 percent in 2015-16, up only 1 percent from 2007-08. The number of adults who used nutrition information on a sit-down restaurant menu actually declined, from 53 percent in 2007-08 to 43 percent in 2015-16.
The survey found that the MyPlate guide to support healthy eating is not widely known by consumers.
The survey found 24 percent of adults reported that they had heard of MyPlate in 2015-16, up from 20 percent in 2013-14. Among those who heard of MyPlate, the survey found the percentage of adults who had tried to follow the recommendations in the MyPlate plan remained stable at 35 percent over these two time periods.
Research shows women truck drivers are safer truck drivers than men, at least according the conclusion of the American Transportation Research Institute’s Crash Predictor Model. The model statistically estimates the likelihood of future crash involvement based on specific truck driving behaviors, according to a news release.
Published in 2018, the 62-page report, draws data from over 435,000 U.S. truck drivers over a 2-year time period to reveal nearly a dozen behaviors that raise a driver’s risk of being involved in a future truck crash by more than 50 pecent.
Female truck drivers were safer than male counterparts in every statistically significant safety behavior and men were 20 percent more likely to be involved in a crash than women, the study reports.
“ATRI’s Crash Predictor Model is a key input to our driver hiring and training practices,” John Prewitt, president of Tideport Distributing Inc., said in the release.
“Safety is our first concern and by understanding how driver histories relate to future crash probability, we can develop targeted solutions for minimizing safety risks.”
Other key findings from the report, according to the release, are:
- The top 2 behaviors for predicting future crash involvement, each with more than 100 percent increased likelihood of a future crash, are a reckless driving violation and a failure to yield right of way violation;
- Prior crash involvement continues to have a statistically significant relationship to future crash involvement with a 74 percent increase of the likelihood of being in a future crash; and
- Other statistically significant predictors of future crash involvement including convictions for improper lane/location, reckless/careless/inattentive/negligent driving, and improper or erratic lane change.
The report also provides a list of states that have proven track records of maximizing their enforcement resources while minimizing their share of the nation’s truck crashes.
Indiana tops that list, followed by New Mexico, Washington, California and Maryland, according to the release.
The Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in Philadelphia welcomed two super Post-Panamax container cranes from China that arrived recently.
The arrival marks another important milestone in the comprehensive modernization project underway at Packer Avenue, according to a news release.
The arrival highlights a key competitive advantage for shippers looking to improve time to market on the East Coast of the U.S.
PhilaPort has seen a 166 percent container growth in the past decade, and in 2018 handled a record 600,000 20-foot-equivalent units.
“Our terminal is currently under capacity, meaning we could handle rerouted surplus bound for nearby congested terminals immediately without blinking an eye,” David Whene, president of Greenwich Terminals, operator of the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, said in the release.
“With ship productivity as high as 140 gross moves per hour, turn-times of under 40 minutes, and an abundance of available chassis, Packer Avenue offers carriers unparalleled efficiency in reaching the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.”
With a $300 million public-private investment in the terminal, the release said Packer Avenue is a model of 21st century port operations.
According to the release, the upcoming completion of the Delaware River Deepening Project will provide a full 45-foot shipping channel through Philadelphia, allowing vessels as large as 14,500 TEUs to traverse into the port.
That deepening project is timed perfectly with the arrival of the new super Post-Panamax cranes, bringing the total operational cranes on the terminal to six (a seventh will arrive in August).
The gain in capacity will lead to improvements on the 40-minute turn times for containers coming in and out, according to the release.
“We have always known that PhilaPort’s market potential was significantly greater than reflected in past volumes,” PhilaPort CEO Jeff Theobald said.
“Now with our capital improvements nearing their completion, shippers should know that we have excess capacity and that we are open for new business.”
Lane Southern Orchards, a major peach grower and shipper based in Fort Valley, GA, is doubling the capacity of its packinghouse in a $4 million project to be completed before the 2019 season.
By the early summer peach harvest, the renovated and expanded facility will allow the company to pack 23,000 25-pounds boxes a day, putting Lane’s seasonal capacity at 3 million boxes.
Technology upgrades to grading and sorting processes is also included, along with improved cold storage and shipping and receiving facilities, according to a news release.
A Durand-Wayland robotic bin handling system, designed to be gentle on the peaches, will streamline efficiencies in the packinghouse.
International Farming Corp. purchased Lane Southern Orchards in 2015, and the peach company’s CEO, Mark Sanchez, said it has been a “great partner.”
“They understand the culture of farming and have given us the opportunity for tremendous growth,” Sanchez said in the release. “The ability to enhance our facilities to create best-in-class efficiencies and quality control is the latest example of that growth.”
In 2018, Lane Southern Orchards and Taylor Orchards of Reynolds, GA merged, combining peach/pecan acreage, facilities and innovation. A surge in plantings in 2018 and this year brings the total acreage of peaches and nuts to more than 10,000.
“The complete renovation of the original Lane facility with new technology allows us to easily handle the additional supply of peaches and be a better supplier to our existing customers while we expand our customer base,” Duke Lane III, director of sales for Lane Southern Orchards, said in the release.
Walmart will be adding hundreds of more truck drivers this year after adding 1400 drivers in 2018.
The company reports assessments, mentorship and a faster hiring process are all a part of new onboarding events that are filling critical new jobs created by Walmart’s business growth during an industry-wide driver shortage.
“These hiring events are both improving the skill level of our candidates and enriching their onboarding experience,” Lori Furnell, Walmart’s director of driver talent acquisition, said in a press release.
“We’re leaning heavily on the expertise of our Walmart road team and our certified driver trainers to grow our skilled fleet of professional drivers,” she said.
Walmart is raising driver wages, accounting for a one-cent-per-mile increase and additional pay for every arrival.
Walmart drivers will now earn on average $87,500 a year and with an all-in rate close to 89 cents per mile, according to the release.
Furnell said Walmart is transforming its hiring process to give applicants the opportunity to learn the “Walmart way.”
The release said two centralized locations — Casa Grande, AZ., and Lauren, S.C. — serve as week-long onboarding facilities for new hires to observe veteran drivers and then practice those skills “the Walmart way.”
Targeted one-on-one mentoring from veteran drivers has been introduced in the new way that Walmart hires, according to the company.
The revamped orientation initiatives have already cut in half the time between a candidate’s initial interview and a mandatory driving assessment, according to the release.
To be hired by Walmart, drivers must meet Walmart’s high minimum standards for its private fleet drivers, which includes 30 months of experience in the past three years and a clean safety record, according to the release.