Dragonberry Produce’s 20th Century pears
Dragonberry Produce Inc. has gained a reputation for providing its customers with sometimes unusual, but always exciting fresh produce offerings. Sales Executive Amy Nguyen said 20th Century pears are one of the commodities that has created such a strong foundation for the specialty boutique-style company located in Clackamas, OR. “The 20th Century pears we market have a delicate skin,” Ms. Nguyen said. “Our growers take the same care with these as they would with berries.”
Local Program in full swing for Sobeys Quebec
On Tuesday, July 31, The Produce News spoke to Pat Calabretta, senior director of purchasing and merchandising for Sobeys Quebec. “Things are good, we’re full swing into our local season. Cherries, berries and stone fruit are always a strong category for us, as are local strawberries. We’re definitely seeing demand pick up for stone fruit,” said Mr. Calabretta.
“We’ve had some vendors affected by weather issues. We’re here to support the vendors. Overall the quality had been good. While there have been some issues, we try to rotate the quality stock quickly,” he said.
Dave Schirmann joins Castellini
Castellini Co. LLC has hired DAVE SCHIRMANN as a salesperson and account manager at its Wilder, KY, location.
Grape commission's retail and consumer programs to continue strong through fall
The California Table Grape Commission, based in Fresno, is actively involved in a variety of trade-oriented promotional activities and consumer communications efforts throughout the California grape season. Those programs were launched in May announcing the start of the season, and they continue through the peak production periods of late summer and fall, extending even past the end of the year.
Social media documentary on location in Salinas
A documentary film seeking to present the relationships formed via social media as legitimate and powerful in the daily lives of consumers received support from the produce industry as footage was shot on location Aug. 14 in the Salinas Valley.
The film, Follow Friday, is by filmmaker Erin Faulk, who set out on an 8,000-mile, 28-day journey across the United States to seek out and speak with experts in the field of social media and discuss the way online interactions are changing how businesses and consumers communicate.
Castle Rock’s Llano sees orderly timing, excellent quality on all varieties
The summer grape season California’s San Joaquin Valley was going very well in all varieties as of Aug. 10, and showed all indications of continuing to do so, according to Jim Llano, sales manager at Castle Rock Vineyards in Richgrove, CA.
“We are pleased with the quality” of the grapes and also with the timing of the different varieties, he said.
Looking ahead, “overall we are pleased with the fall crop,” Mr. Llano said. “Everything may be a little bit earlier. However, we are pleased with the overall timing and separation between varieties.”
South African Summer Citrus honors 2012 Soccer Stars
Eight youth soccer players from across the country have been selected as the 2012 Summer Citrus Soccer Star award winners.
The young players are from diverse backgrounds and different parts of the country, yet all share a love of soccer, a spirit of leadership and determination on and off the soccer field, and have demonstrated commitment to their teams, families and communities.
The award was established by the South Africa Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum, a consortium of about 350 South African Citrus growers who export citrus to the United States.
Name change captures new direction for Klamath Basin
The former Klamath Basin Fresh Direct has officially changed its name to Klamath Basin Fresh Organics. Chairman Dan Chin said the business is solely focused on organic production, and the name change makes that direction clear.
“We did some conventional potatoes in the past,” he told The Produce News July 30. “But we’re all organic now.”
Crystal Valley adapts to changing industry
For the first time since Crystal Valley got into the Peruvian asparagus deal almost two decades ago, the firm has experienced a gap in supplies from the South American country.
Rick Durkin, director of business development for Crystal Valley Foods in Miami said that the company is changing with the times and does have multiple asparagus sources to fill the needs of its customers.
IMG Citrus to market fruit for Hogan & Sons
IMG Citrus Inc., based in Vero Beach, FL, signed an agreement with Hogan & Sons Inc., also of Vero Beach, whereby IMG will be the exclusive North American marketing agent for the 2012-13 season.
"Hogan & Sons has been in business since the 1930s," said Matt Kastensmidt, domestic sales manager for IMG, told The Produce News. "The company has an impeccable reputation, and they do an outstanding job of packing Indian River citrus, especially grapefruit."