RPE Colorado seeing steady volume and good quality
From his Monte Vista-area office, David Tonso, general manager of RPE Colorado, said 2013’s San Luis Valley crop continues to ship in “steady volume and with good quality.”
Tonso, who took the GM position in July 2013, oversees RPE’s Colorado office at Hi-Land Potato Co., where spuds from Metz Potato Co. and Spud Seller are also packed and shipped.
“We’re seeing an annual volume of 2.5 million hundredweight, mostly russets,” he said, adding that the operation also ships reds, yellows and some colored specialty varieties.
Phillips Mushroom Farms hires new farm manager for MD facility
“We fared OK through the storm in January,” Kevin Donovan, national sales manager for Phillips Mushroom Farms in Kennett Square, PA, told The Produce News. “We did not lose power, and our staff and our trucks were, for the most part, able to get to where they needed to be. We got some snow and cold temperatures, but it was a lot worse just north of us.”
Donovan was referring to the polar vortex that swept across North America in early January. The weather phenomenon blanketed the Northeast with record low temperatures.
Southeast Produce Council announces Charity Golf Classic
The inaugural Southeast Produce Council Charity Golf Classic, benefiting the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, will be held June 18-19 at Chateau Elan in the beautiful mountains of Braselton, GA.
Crowley moves Guatemala-based teams to new facility
In an effort to better serve customers and business partners, Crowley Maritime Corp.'s Guatemala-based liner and logistics teams have moved into a new office space in the heart of Guatemala City, the country's bustling metropolis and most populous city in Central America.
Modeled after Crowley's Jacksonville, FL, headquarters, the office's open layout maximizes the workspace while promoting a collaborative environment and synergy between the two business units, which were previously housed in separate buildings.
The root(s) of the matter? Good health
Healthy roots are absolutely essential to orchids, according to the American Orchid Society. Without a substrate conducive to root establishment, growth and function, an orchid cannot absorb the nutrients and water it requires.
What are the properties of a suitable growing medium? It should be firm and yet well aerated. Having these two characteristics, such a medium can offer a foundation to which the roots can attach themselves, while at the same time allowing the aeration necessary for their proper function.
Tips on proper orchid care and handling
Orchids sell because they are beautiful, long-lasting and they’re priced within a range that customers are willing to pay. In addition, consumers are learning that orchids are simple and easy to care for. Commercial orchid growers are doing an effective job of conveying this message through catchy marketing campaigns such as Green Circle Grower’s Just Add Ice.
Harris Teeter CEO retires; merger with Kroger complete
The Kroger Co. and Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. completed their merger transaction Jan. 28. The two companies also announced the retirement of Thomas W. Dickson as chairman and chief executive officer of Harris Teeter.
"We are pleased that our merger is complete and look forward to bringing together the best of Kroger and Harris Teeter to benefit our customers, associates and shareholders," W. Rodney McMullen, CEO of Kroger, said in a press release.
Cut orchids can add variety to supermarket floral departments
Changes in the types of cut flowers that a floral department carries have been shifting from simply offering traditional cut flowers and bouquets to including specialty cuts. As traditional floral shops continue to close, floral consumers are looking for alternative places to purchase their flowers. Floral buyers and floral managers who are willing to incorporate high-margin specialty cut flowers, such as orchids, will position themselves for repeat business.
Next wave of emerging orchid varieties
Floral trends are cyclic, ebbing and flowing like the surf. We are currently in a mass-market trend with the wildly popular Phalaenopsis orchid plant. Since 1999 the orchid industry has been riding the crest of a wave of popularity with the moth orchid. Sales and demand are still growing, mainly through creative marketing concepts and the introduction of new colors and sizes.
However, like top surfers, orchid growers around the world are looking out on the horizon to capture the next big wave, so they’ll be ready to ride it when it arrives.
The business of orchids
Do you have too much to do and not enough time to do it?
Do you have sales goals that stretch your very limits of sanity?
Have retail prices on blooming items been falling each year, making it harder and harder to hit gross revenue targets?
Are your floral departments under pressure to reduce labor hours?
Could your floral departments sell more upgrades if they had the time to make them?