Lipman distributes 1,200 backpacks to Immokalee schoolchildren
Lipman, one of North America’s largest field tomato growers, recently distributed more than 1,200 backpacks filled with school supplies to Immokalee, FL, elementary and middle school students at a community event at the Immokalee Sports Complex.
N.J. officials celebrate Farmers Market Week
New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials marked Farmers Market Week on Wednesday, Aug. 6 with a visit to the Bordentown City Farmers Market in Bordentown City, NJ.
Gov. Chris Christie proclaimed Aug. 3-9, 2014 as Farmers Market Week in New Jersey and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, likewise, proclaimed the week National Farmers Market Week to remind consumers to visit these markets this summer and fall.
Lori Ernst named VP of audit services at Food Safety Net Services Certification & Audit
Food Safety Net Services Certification & Audit, based in San Antonio, TX, recently appointed Lori Ernst as its vice president of audit services.
In her new position, Ernst will be responsible for maintaining the integrity of FSNS C&A audit and certification programs, including training of new employees. In addition, she will develop and maintain new programs as well as oversee the FSNS C&A certification body.
Dolbec modernizes facility, launches line of potato bags
Patates Dolbec, one of the larger producers and packers of potatoes in Eastern Canada with over 10,000 acres of land, has significantly invested in modernizing their packing center, including new bagging equipment.
Located in St. Ubalde, Québec, the family-owned business has launched a new line of packaging. A new, more attractive and functional line of bags has been designed to showcase and promote their potatoes to consumers.
California Giant’s domestic berry programs go well into fall
As of late July, California Giant Berry Farms in Watsonville, CA, a leading producer and marketer of strawberries and other berries, was in heavy production of strawberries and blackberries out of California and blueberries out of the Pacific Northwest.
Tomato market strong, enters typical August scenario
It happens every year. August is the month that every homeowner with a garden becomes a tomato farmer, and many small farmers come out of the woodwork to supply their local farmers’ markets with an abundance of round red tomatoes or even heirloom varieties.
“We call it the dog days of August and this year we are starting to experience it a little early,” said Manny Gerardo, who works the sales desk at Bernardi & Associates Inc., in Nogales, AZ — a place he has worked for 25 years.
Weis Markets launches annual local produce campaign
Weis Markets launched its annual Your Neighbor’s, Our Farmer local produce program, which highlights the contributions and commitment of 13 local farmers that provide produce to some of Weis Markets’ 163 stores.
Eubanks seeing high volume of quality South Carolina peaches moving though the pipeline
COLUMBIA, SC — Supermarket produce departments are moving an excellent volume of quality South Carolina peaches this summer, despite a cold snap that damaged early-season peaches in the state, according to Martin Eubanks, assistant commissioner for the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.
“We lost the first six weeks of the growing season due to a late-spring freeze, but we’ve had high-volume and high-quality peaches in our peak production months of July and August,” Eubanks said Aug. 1. “We will see volume falling off late this month, with some shipments into September.”
Fresh Insights: Focusing on professional development for retailers and leaders
Early in my career with fresh produce retailing, I entered a management training program with a dynamic world-class 70-unit Northeastern grocery chain. My three-inch training binder held nearly 20 1.5-hour training class modules to complete in addition to my daily in-store role as a produce team leader.
The rigorous reading list added eight to 10 books on varied management and leadership topics such as, Whale Done, Fish!, and Good to Great, all read on personal time.
Regular coaching and one-on-one mentoring sessions were required as well as regular written reports.
USDA releases six-month progress report on 2014 farm bill
WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released on Wednesday a six-month progress report on the 2014 farm bill that includes updates on scores of hard-fought specialty crop programs.
Since the bill was signed into law on Feb. 7, Vilsack said the U.S. Department of Agriculture has made “tremendous progress” in implementing the massive legislation, such as by distributing critical disaster assistance to farmers in record time and developing new risk-management programs for producers.