Atlantic’s Art Galletta ready for Jersey blues to start
HAMMONTON, NJ — The 2014 New Jersey blueberry season should start “a little later than last year,” according to Art Galletta, president of Atlantic Blueberry Co., based in the southern New Jersey community that is known as “The Blueberry Capital of the World.”
The season “looks to start around June 18” and “should quickly ramp up,” Galletta told The Produce News Wednesday, May 28.
Volume statewide last year was “pretty good,” he said, coming in around 65 million pounds.
Sundale Vineyards puts in 1.13-megawatt solar energy system to power cold storage
Sundale Vineyards in Tulare, CA, has recently completed the installation of a 1.13-megawatt solar photovoltaic power generating system that will supply power to the company’s cold storage facility.
The installation “will power the entire cold storage for the season,” said Sean Stockton, president of Sundale Sales, the company’s marketing arm. “We cleared out eight acres” to put in the installation, which is located directly south of the cold storage facility and packing plant.
To-Jo Mushrooms adds to senior leadership
To-Jo Mushrooms Inc. announced that Kevin Delaney has joined the company as vice president of sales and marketing and Amy Steenrod has been appointed director of human resources.
Local movement offers opportunities and challenges
At the United Fresh convention in Chicago, a panel of experts on the buy side addressed the local food movement with Bill Pool of Wegman’s Food Markets Inc., summing up the tone of the debate: The opportunities outweigh the obstacles, but there are obstacles.
Pool, who is manager of produce safety for that Rochester, NY-based chain, was joined on the panel by David McInerney, co-founder of Fresh Direct, and Kathleen Phillips, supply chain sustainability manager for Pro*Act LLC.
Giumarra's Meyer lemons just around the corner
Giumarra Wenatchee will again market its crop of New Zealand Meyer lemons in July. The company noted that an excellent growing season produced fruit with a well-balanced sugar-to-acid ratio.
First vessel shipments are expected to be available July 14. Giumarra Wenatchee is also taking early season air freight orders.
Northwest producers expecting quality stone fruit season
The starting gun will sound shortly, and the stone fruit season in the Pacific Northwest will be under way. All indications are for a successful season in 2014.
Coosemans Worldwide opens new division on the L.A. market
Coosemans Worldwide Inc. opened a new specialty and organic produce division under the California Specialty Farms banner on the Los Angeles Produce Terminal Market.
PJ Petrillo named administrator and general manager of FreshXperts
FreshXperts, a consulting group for the fresh industry based in Kansas City, MO, announced PJ Petrillo as administrator and general manager on June 3.
Diamond’s Tim Wetherbee sees good volume and quality ahead
HAMMONTON, NJ — As probably everyone knows, the winter of 2013-14 was long, harsh and extremely cold in most sections of the eastern United States, including New Jersey.
So when at the end of May The Produce News visited Tim Wetherbee, sales manager at Diamond Blueberry Inc., here, to discuss the upcoming New Jersey blueberry season, his first comments spoke directly to that issue: “We came through the winter pretty well,” he declared.
New Columbine Vineyards cold storage to increase capacity, reduce precooling time
A new cold storage facility at Columbine Vineyards in Delano, CA, will double grape storage capacity for the company and will also “help us with precooling and the turnaround on grapes from the fields,” according to Anthony Stetson, sales manager.
“We built the new facility on our property right her adjacent to our old one,” Stetson told The Produce News May 30. “The structure is completed” and finishing touches were in process. “It will be ready to go when we start harvesting here the end of June.”