Archive For The “News” Category
By J&J Family of Farms
Westlake, FL: J&J Family of Farms is pleased to announce a new, one of a kind pepper variety: Sunny Sweet™ Peppers.
Like no other sweet pepper in its category, Sunny Sweet™ Peppers have a much sweeter taste than mini sweet peppers due to their higher BRIX1. The unique proprietary field-grown variety pepper also has a very small seed cavity located at the very top of pod, making it easier to enjoy as a bite size snack, easily stuffed, or cut up in a salad.
“We really wanted the packaging to reflect the true uniqueness of this pepper by creating a fun brand that will make an impact among our customers and their consumers,” said Angela Gamiotea, Marketing Manager. “We are excited to introduce this new Sunny Sweet™ brand, as this is just a glimpse of what’s to come in terms of product innovation at J&J Family of Farms.”
Sunny SweetTM Peppers are currently grown only in Florida and J&J is harvesting through the entire Florida growing season. The peppers are currently all yellow, but next year J&J is looking to provide other colors such as red and orange. Sunny Sweet™ Peppers are available in a 1lb. resealable bag.
“With the mini sweet pepper category growing in retail, we are thrilled to offer a product that isn’t in the marketplace yet,” said Lynn Rundle, Chairman and CEO. “Our growers also love it, because it has a great yield and grows beautifully on the plant. We are confident that once consumers taste this pepper, they will want to get their hands on it.”
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About J&J Family of Farms: Established in 1983, J&J Family of Farms specializes in growing cucumbers, bell peppers, squash, tomatoes and eggplant. J&J manages over 14,000 acres of production from its own farms and partners and has operations in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Texas, Arizona and Mexico. For more information, visit www.jjfamilyoffarms.com or SunnySweetPeppers.com
by Earth Source
Constellation Brands, the No. 1 import beer company in the U.S., has granted Earth Source, an international and domestic fresh produce grower representative, the right to source and distribute Corona Extra branded limes under an agreement brokered by The Joester Loria Group.
Earth Source, an industry leader skilled in providing premium fresh produce, will oversee the procurement, packaging, and distribution of the limes, which will be available in both Corona six-packs and bulk boxes. Earth Source’s Corona Extra – branded limes will be specially selected for size and quality, providing consumers with the perfect limes to complement the #1 imported beer brand in the United States.
“Corona Beer and Corona Limes are the perfect couple for any beach, slope or party,” said William Ison, Director of Business Development of Earth Source. “We are delighted that Constellation Brands and the Earth Source team will be working to together to provide Corona Extra consumers with perfect limes to accompany their favorite beer.”
About Earth Source
Established in 2006, Earth Source is a grower representative and part of the Four Seasons Family of Companies. Earth Source has cultivated strong, long-term relationships with key grower partners across North America and globally to bring the freshest and highest quality produce to their customer base throughout the United States. They are an industry leader in providing a premium selection and variety of fresh produce with full traceability and transparency for seamless year-round availability.
Four Seasons Family of Companies has been in business for over 41 years and is located near Lancaster, PA. At their state-of-the-art facility, Four Seasons supplies reliable solutions for fresh produce distribution through a spectrum of services. The Family of Companies supply and support their customers with logistics and transportation capabilities, Sunrise Logistics and Sunrise Transport, with a fleet of over 150 owned trucks delivering across the U.S. daily.
About Constellation Brands
Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B), a Fortune 500® company, is a leading international producer and marketer of beer, wine and spirits with operations in the U.S., Mexico, New Zealand, Italy and Canada. Constellation is the No. 3 beer company in the U.S. with high-end, iconic imported brands such as Corona Extra, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Modelo Negra and Pacifico. The company’s beer portfolio also includes Ballast Point, one of the most awarded craft brewers in the U.S. In addition, Constellation is the world leader in premium wine, selling great brands that people love, including Robert Mondavi, Clos du Bois, Kim Crawford,
By Sunonions
PARMA, ID – It’s official: Sunions are a phenomenon. It’s a rave. America’s first tearless and sweet onion hit retail shelves across the United States last December to accolades from consumer media nationwide. In just the first two months of what is the first season in wide distribution, Sunions reached more than one billion media impressions and counting in print, radio, web and television media including appearances on ABC’s The Chew and Good Morning America.
Consumers are responding to the buzz all across the country and visiting their local stores looking for Sunions. Along with dozens of questions regarding availability fielded through the Sunions website, messages streaming in from shoppers who put Sunions to the test demonstrate an overwhelmingly positive response.
“Just tried your onions. They are the best – I’m so surprised,” said one shopper. “I have bought ‘sweet onions’ before and was always disappointed. I couldn’t believe the taste! I hope I can always get them.”
“Just bought some and the statements are true,” said another shopper. “I sliced it up and there was a very strong onion odor but no tears and no bite! I buy a lot of onions and these will be on my list – good product.”
A game-changing product of more than three decades of research, development and natural hybridization by Bayer Crop Science, Sunions are a long-day sweet onion variety grown in the USA. But unlike other long-day onions, Sunions actually become sweeter and more tearless in storage.
It all comes down to the levels of volatile compounds responsible for pungency and tearing in onions. The levels of those compounds in other onions remain stable or increase during storage. In Sunions, these compounds do the exact opposite and decrease in prevalence to create a milder, sweeter and tearless onion over time. This natural process also promotes a strong level of consistency from bulb to bulb.
Unlike any other onion variety, a sensory panel with full authority and power to determine ship dates follows a tightly-controlled protocol that includes both flavor and tearlessness. Sunions will ship only once they are certified ready by this panel of tasting experts and with the support of a food lab test determining the proper levels of volatile compounds.
Sunions are marketed and distributed exclusively by Generation Farms, Onions 52 and Peri & Sons Farms.
By Lipman Family Farms
IMMOKALEE, FL — Lipman Family Farms – North America’s largest open field tomato grower has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ontario, Canada based Huron Produce, a greenhouse grower and distributor of tomatoes and vegetables with operations in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Huron Produce packs under the Suntastic® brand. The expansion into greenhouse product will allow Lipman Family Farms to offer its customers hothouse and field grown tomatoes and vegetables on a year-round basis.
“The Huron Produce acquisition is truly transformative,” said Darren Micelle, COO of Lipman Family Farms. “We look forward to the opportunities resulting from the introduction of our proprietary varieties into the protected agriculture space. We have innovative new products planned that will create value for our customers. Likewise, Huron Produce can now expand their customer offering to include field grown product. This is a classic win-win transaction. The addition of Huron gives us extraordinary product depth, expands our collective capabilities and broadens our distribution footprint, allowing us to better serve our customers with a single, year-round solution for tomatoes and vegetables. We’re excited to welcome the Huron team to the Lipman family.”
Huron Produce is a multigenerational, family owned company with over 50 years in the produce business. Commenting on the acquisition, Jeff Kints, President of Huron Produce said, “The transaction with Lipman will allow Huron to build on our years of success, accelerate our business strategies and enhance our service and product offering to our customers.”
As part of the acquisition, Lipman plans to expand operations with new facilities in Canada, Nebraska, a second location in Denver and a warehouse in McAllen, Texas. The acquisition is expected to close in April 2018.
About Lipman Family Farms
Lipman Family Farms is the largest field tomato grower in North America. From seed to shelf, Lipman’s total supply chain control – research & development, farming, processing, repacking, logistics to marketing – delivers the consistency and quality that has made Lipman Family Farms North America’s most dependable source of fresh tomatoes and vegetables.
Fort Valley, GA – Mother Nature has provide good construction weather this winter which has spurned a fury of activity at the site of Pure Flavor®’s greenhouse project in Georgia. Ground leveling completed in late fall lead to a smooth start of construction of the company’s new 75-acre high tech greenhouse facility in Peach County.
Over the course of the last few weeks once post holes were dug and back filled, Dutch greenhouse builder Havecon began erecting the main structure with full scale implementation now underway. From a timing standpoint, the project is on track for completion by late summer with the first crop of tomatoes & seedless cucumbers to be planted shortly thereafter.
“Building a high-tech greenhouse in Georgia was part of our growth strategy to extend our reach across North America. Being strategically located in Peach County allows us in some instances to have same day & next day deliveries in the southeast region”, stated Matt Mastronardi, Executive Vice-President. Pure Flavor® researched more than 400 sites throughout North America before settling on Peach County, GA. The 75-acre greenhouse project broke ground in September 2017 and will be built in 3 phases of 25 acres. Phase 1 is expected to be completed in late Summer 2018.
“Greenhouse tomatoes & seedless cucumbers grown in Georgia will help breathe new life in to the category. It will help our retail (& foodservice partners) in the region to have fresher product on store shelves while maintaining consistent quality and availability year-round. In the end, it is the consumer who will benefit from great product grown in the state of Georgia”, said Mastronardi.
“We are connecting our customers with the project in every way possible with frequent updates via social media, the photo gallery, and video stories shot by drone”, said Chris Veillon, Chief Marketing Officer. A custom website was built just before the groundbreaking in September 2017 to announce the project, the page now serves as the central resource for everything to do with the Georgia project. “A connected customer is an informed customer, we can’t wait to get our first plants in the greenhouse later this summer”, commented Veillon. Pure Flavor® expects the first crops to be picked in early Fall 2018.
About Pure Flavor® –
Pure Flavor® is a family of greenhouse vegetable growers who share a commitment to bringing A Life of Pure Flavor™ to communities everywhere. Our passion for sustainable greenhouse growing, strong support for our retail & foodservice customers, and focus on engaging consumers is built on a foundation drawn from generations of growing expertise.
We are the next generation of vegetable growers, inspired to put quality, flavor, and customers first by providing greenhouse-grown vegetables from our farms that are strategically located throughout North America.
By U.S. Department of Transportation
The U.S. DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced additional steps to address the unique needs of the country’s ag industries and provided further guidance to assist in the effective implementation of the Congressionally-mandated electronic logging device (ELD) rule without impeding commerce or safety.
The Agency is announcing an additional 90-day temporary waiver from the ELD rule for agriculture related transportation. Additionally, during this time period, FMCSA will publish final guidance on both the agricultural 150 air-mile hours-of-service exemption and personal conveyance. FMCSA will continue its outreach to provide assistance to the agricultural industry and community regarding the ELD rule.
“We continue to see strong compliance rates across the country that improve weekly, but we are mindful of the unique work our agriculture community does and will use the following 90 days to ensure we publish more helpful guidance that all operators will benefit from,” said FMCSA Administrator Ray Martinez.
Since December 2017, roadside compliance with the hours-of-service record-keeping requirements, including the ELD rule, has been steadily increasing, with roadside compliance reaching a high of 96 percent in the most recent available data. There are over 330 separate self-certified devices listed on the registration list.
Beginning April 1, 2018 full enforcement of the ELD rule begins. Carriers subject to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) that do not have an ELD when required will be placed out-of-service. The driver will remain out-of-service for 10 hours in accordance with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) criteria. At that point, to facilitate compliance, the driver will be allowed to travel to the next scheduled stop and should not be dispatched again without an ELD. If the driver is dispatched again without an ELD, the motor carrier will be subject to further enforcement action.
The Agency is committed to continuing the ongoing dialogue on these issues.
The waiver and guidance will be published in the Federal Register.
For more information on ELDs please visit: www.fmcsa.dot.gov/eld
Artichokes are a healthy vegetable and here are five reasons why. Also, fresh produce is coming to hundreds of Dollar General stores this year.
Ocean Mist Farms is the leading grower of fresh artichokes and the only one to offer more than one artichoke option for you as a consumer – whole, raw artichokes to cook from scratch, organic and conventional, or washed, trimmed and ready to Season & Steam in a bag.
5 health benefits
- Antioxidants A study by the US Department of Agriculture found that artichokes rank number one over all other vegetables when it comes to antioxidant levels, including anti-inflammatory antioxidants. Don’t ignore the artichoke leaves or you’ll miss out on a plethora of nutrients!
2 FIBER One medium sized artichokes contains 6 grams of dietary fiber, which is a quarter of your recommended daily value! While artichokes are high in dietary fiber, they are low in calories – only 60 calories per artichoke.
- Protein Artichokes hold 6 grams of protein, making it one of the top vegetables that contain a significant amount to easily get more protein in your diet.
- Prebiotics You can find inulin, one of the most available and the more promising prebiotics in the food supply, in artichokes. It helps improve gut, heart and digestive health!
- Vitamins Artichokes are a very good source of Vitamin C and Vitamin K, which help growth and repair of tissues in all parts of your body, assist in blood clotting and is helpful for your bone health.
For recipe inspiration, visit www.oceanmist.com
Dollar General
Hundreds of remodeled Dollar General stores are adding fresh produce following successful tests.
That company has 1,000 store remodels planned for 2018, with about 400 of those locations featuring “traditional plus” stores including 34 cooler doors to merchandise an expanded perishables assortment. Of the 750 traditional-plus stores to be operating by the end of the year, about a third will include an assortment of fresh produce, bringing to 450 the number of stores carrying fresh fruits and vegetables.
It’s looking like another good year is shaping up for California strawberry shipments, despite a few punches from Mother Nature. In fact, with a little luck, shipments might set a record.
A fast start for shipments was the story earlier in California’s 2018 strawberry season because as of March 3 volume was more than double that of last year — 7.78 million trays compared to 3.7 million trays in 2017. However, some cold weather put a damper on things as volume was slashed.
But strawberries can rebound pretty fast and now there are adequate supplies expected for Easter (April 1st) and early April from Southern California, although it could be mid- to late April before heavy volume becomes available.
Both Santa Maria and the Watsonville districts suffered significant frost damage earlier this month, while Ventura and Orange Counties faired much better. Those latter two counties should have decent volume in time for Easter shipments.
However, strawberry growers weren’t as lucky in the northern shipping areas of California. For example, Red Blossom Sales Inc., of Salinas, which grows berries in Santa Maria, lost up to 30 percent of its product as a result of the March freeze.
Meanwhile Ventura and Orange counties should hit peak shipments in early April, with Santa Maria following by only a few days – probably mid-April. Peak loadings are expected to extend through the middle of May, including Mother’s Day, May 13th.
Salinas strawberries are expected to have good volume during the first half of April.
California has 33,791 acres of strawberries this year, down from 36,387 acres in 2017, with all shipping districts showing decreases in acreage.
Planted acreage has declined 13 percent over the past three years, while total volume has increased by 6 percent, resulting in two consecutive years of record fruit shipments.
Assuming the weather cooperates, California weekly strawberry shipments during the summer and fall are projected to equal or surpass 2017 totals. Last year, California strawberry shipments exceeded 206 million trays.
For decades, the U.S. produce industry has had the protection of the Perishable Agriculture Commodities Act (PACA) offering protection from unpaid bills and other unscrupulous business dealings. Unfortunately these protections do not extend to produce truckers.
For a long time the Canadian produce industry has wanted something similar to America’s PACA, but resistance has been common from key government leaders.
In a message to the trade last January, the Fresh Produce Alliance (made up of members of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, the Canadian Horticultural Council and the Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation) pointed out they were “disillusioned” with a letter from Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, to the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.
The letter was a response to the committee’s request for an examination of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Model Law as a payment protection program for Canada’s fresh produce industry.
“The insolvency frequency of the fresh produce industry does not warrant the right to such an extraordinary remedy, which would have a significant effect on credit cost and availability and shift losses to other creditors,” according to the Bains-MacAulay letter.
The Canadian produce industry has been lobbying for a number of for a PACA, but disappointed with the decision. However, they contend efforts will not cease to convince lawmakers of the need for a PACA-like trust for Canada.
“While consideration was given to Canada’s loss of preferential treatment to the PACA dispute resolution process in the United States, the government does not support the industry’s claim that produce businesses have been substantially impacted by this decision with many companies not being able to afford the PACA double bond and writing off monies owed,” according to the Fresh Produce Alliance letter. Canadian leaders have been asking for a PACA-like payment protection program for more than 30 years, since the PACA was established in the U.S. in 1985. The PACA puts produce sellers first in line among creditors of a bankrupt firm.
The issue has added urgency since 2014, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture revoked the privileged status Canadian sellers had under the PACA, because Canada lacked a similar program. Since then, Canadian firms that want to file a complaint against a PACA licensee have to provide a surety bond before the complaint will be investigated. The bonds are twice the amount of the claim.
A strategy to keep the issue before Parliament continues by The Fresh Produce Alliance.
As part of the strategy, the FPA said a letter is being sent to the key parliamentarians which expresses the industry’s deep disappointment and also identifies areas for continued effort.“We want to reaffirm our commitment to achieving a solution for industry and will continue to keep our members advised as we move forward,” according to the letter, signed by Canadian Horticultural Council Executive Director Rebecca Lee, CPMA President Ron Lemaire, and DRC President and CEO Fred Webber. “CPMA, DRC and CHC will continue to now look at our efforts at making sure our politicians realize there is a public policy value in having farmers protected when they sell fresh fruits and vegetables in the event of a bankruptcy,” Lemaire said.
(I have been advocating for 30 years the U.S. PACA include produce trucking under the protections afforded the produce industry, particularly in a case were there is a claims dispute. However, the produce industry has shown no interest and when necessary has actually opposed it. The USDA also seems to view it as a “hot potato.” — Bill Martin)
As the the port of Philadelphia’s $392 million Main Channel Deepening Project approaches completion, cargo volumes in the port are surging, according to PhilaPort.
In 2017 container cargoes grew by 19 percent, leading all ports on the Atlantic seaboard. The growth is especially significant since the port is busy implementing its $300 million capital improvement plan.
“We have a lot of exciting developments all occurring at the same time; record cargo growth, preparation for the deepened channel and the arrival of our new cranes,” said Jeff Theobald, executive director and chief executive officer of PhilaPort. “It’s all very good news and we want to make sure we support the surge in cargo with proper training and landside and infrastructure improvements.”
The first two of a total of four super post-Panamax cranes are due soon at the port’s Packer Avenue Marine Terminal. Ocean carriers are already supporting the growth by scheduling Ultra Large Container Vessels to call the port. Several 11,000 TEU vessels started calling PAMT in December and 12,200 TEU vessels are expected in the coming days. Recently the board of directors of the port of Philadelphia granted funds to the Pilots’ Association for the Bay and River Delaware to train for these new class of vessels 12,000–14,000 TEUs.
The long-anticipated completion of the Delaware River Main Channel Deepening Project from 40 to 45 feet is drawing to a close. In March, the port expects announcements on a phased approach, which will allow vessels to utilize increased arrival and departure draft depth.
| PhilaPort, the port of Philadelphia, is an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania charged with the management, maintenance, marketing and promotion of publicly-owned port facilities along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, as well as strategic planning throughout the port district. PhilaPort works with its terminal operators to modernize, expand and improve its facilities, and to market those facilities to prospect port users. Port cargoes and the activities they generate are responsible for thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the Philadelphia area and throughout Pennsylvania. |