Jasmine’s summer and fall grape programs span wide range of varieties
From early season Flames to late season Autumn Kings, Jasmine Vineyards Inc. in Delano, CA, offers a broad assortment of fresh grape varieties, grown in the Delano district.
“Thus far, we just started with Flames. It’s the only variety I am currently doing,” said salesman Brian Crettol in an interview with The Produce News July 9. “We are going to start some Princess and some Summer Royals here probably toward the end of this week.”
Southwest Michigan peach deal begins
Peach harvest in southwest Michigan is under way. “A few are in now,” said Barry Winkel, the partner and general manager of Benton Harbor, MI-based Greg Orchards & Produce Inc. The volume will grow in the last days of July.
Red Haven peach harvest will begin from this area in the first week of August, Winkel said. Southwest Michigan’s peach trees were hurt by bitterly cold weather last winter. Winkel expected about two-thirds to three-fourths of a full peach crop.
Joint food-safety effort launched by U.S. and Mexico
After months of discussions, the primary food-safety agencies for the United States and Mexico signed a statement of intent July 21 to form a partnership to promote the safety of fresh agricultural products.
Banner pomegranate season projected
Growers throughout California's Central Valley are reporting optimal growing conditions for pomegranates.
Ralph Melendez, field operations manager for Slaydeco Inc., a principal grower of early season varieties, expects the company's Granada’s to start shipping by the end of the last week of July. “A consistently warm summer has moved our traditional start date forward by about a week," he said. "We are seeing high color in the Granada’s, with a normal range of sizes. Our Foothills will follow by about a week.”
PMA Foodservice a wild success
The PMA Foodservice Conference & Expo, held July 25-27, saw a record number of attendees (1,821), foodservice operators in attendance (203), booths (164), participants in the 5k race (389), and attendees of the plant and field tours (60).
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PMA’s record-setting foodservice conference
It was a record-breaking year at Produce Marketing Association’s 33rd annual Foodservice Conference, including the unseasonably warm temperatures in Monterey, CA, which soared into the high 80s.
The conference by the numbers:
PMA Foodservice show reaches new heights
MONTEREY, CA — For a show that already is one of the favorites among produce industry members, the PMA Foodservice Conference & Expo managed to set the bar even higher this year, reaching new heights in a number of different categories.
The 33rd year of this popular event, held July 25-27, here, saw a record number of attendees (1,821), foodservice operators in attendance (203), booths (164), participants in the 5k race (389), and attendees of the plant and field tours (60).
Retail View: Bolthouse launches refrigerated retail snack program for kids
Beginning with seven new fruit- or vegetable-forward offerings, Bolthouse Farms in Bakersfield, CA, has launched a new line of kid snacks designed to be sold in a healthy kids section of the produce department.
Farm Fresh Produce Inc. hires Dennis Sever
Farm Fresh Produce Inc., based in Faison, NC, hired Dennis Sever on June 26.
Produce in Palmetto State adapts to market changes to survive and thrive
One might call Martin Eubanks the dean of produce marketing in South Carolina. A 28-year veteran in the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, who today is head of its marketing efforts as assistant commissioner of Agriculture, Eubanks has seen the produce industry in the Palmetto State adapt to market changes and as a result it has not only survived, but thrived. Eubanks not only serves on many industry boards and associations that kept the industry nimble, he helped start several of them.