Idaho potato harvest gets underway on early Norkotahs
The eagerly awaited start of the 2008 Idaho potato harvest has finally arrived, according to Frank Muir, president of the Idaho Potato Commission.
The eagerness is due to two factors. First, shippers went through the 2007 crop faster than anticipated, so there is not much product in the marketplace. Added to that is the fact that the crop, delayed by cool, wet weather in the early spring, is running a little later than normal.
Some growers began harvesting early Norkotahs for the fresh market the week of Aug. 18.
Retail demos boost DNE's Australian citrus program
CULVER CITY, CA -- Australian citrus growers toured 50 major supermarkets in California as part of the annual promotions of the only Australian citrus program in the United States, run for the past 16 years by DNE World Fruit Sales in Fort Pierce, FL.
Idaho potato industry losing a champion to retirement
The Idaho Grower Shipper Association, headquartered in Idaho Falls, ID, is a voluntary trade association that has been representing the fresh potato shippers and grower-shippers of Idaho for 80 years. For the last 28 of those years, Dave Smith has been at the helm of the organization, but he is retiring Aug. 29, and Travis Blacker, formerly with Dickinison Frozen Foods, has been hired to be the new president of IGSA.
Canada's Loblaw kicks off 'Grown Close to Home program
Loblaw Cos. Ltd., one of the larger retailers in Canada, has kicked off a new program to promote locally grown Canadian produce.
Called "Grown Close to Home," the program, which was unveiled Aug. 14 and will run through the beginning of September, will be promoted on all Loblaw's outlets that sell produce -- at least 1,000 stores across the country, Mike Venton, the firm's new senior vice president of produce, told The Produce News Aug. 19.
SPC upgrades website, prepares for fall conference
The Southeast Produce Council updated its website earlier this month to give it a fresh, new look, adding some exciting functions that both grower- shippers and retailers should find quite useful.
"The site looks more professional," SPC Executive Director Terry Vorhees told The Produce News Aug. 18, noting that the site (www.seproducecouncil.com) went live just three days before.
It's official: New Philadelphia market gets the green light
PHILADELPHIA -- After seven years of discussions, an agreement was finally reached that will make Philadelphia a pre-eminent produce hub by virtue of a new state-of-the-art produce terminal.
"The deal is done," Sonny DiCrecchio, general manager of the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market, told The Produce News after he faxed his signature to the proper parties to finally seal the agreement that paves the way to construct the world's most-modern wholesale fresh produce market here.
Former Cleveland Growers starts anew as MGI Produce
Marc Glassman Inc., which owns 54 Marc's discount grocery stores in northeastern Ohio and six Xpect discount stores in Connecticut, has purchased the former Cleveland Growers Produce distribution facility in Parma, OH.
MGI Produce anticipates that its new 100,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art refrigerated complex will be operational by the end of the year.
Oregon's Italian prune season kicks off
Oregon's early Italian prune harvest got underway over the Aug. 9-10 weekend in Milton-Freewater, with growers expecting to see a 30 percent reduction in volume this year as the result of spring frost and a lack of pollination.
The late prune harvest follows within a couple of weeks and will run through mid-September, according to Eric Patrick, marketing director for Grant J. Hunt Co., exclusive sales and marketing desk for Blue Mountain Growers in Milton-Freewater.
Washington Apple Commission sees change at the top
The Washington Apple Commission voted Aug. 4 to appoint Ken Severn as its interim president. This follows the commission's action to place David Carlson, who served as president of the commission for five years, on administrative leave, effective Sept. 1.
Details about Mr. Carlson's removal as president have been slow to emerge. Personnel matters are protected under Washington's confidentiality guidelines. As a result, detailed background information about the board's decision is not available to the general public.
Fay delivers Florida rain-dancers' plea -- and then some
One can't help but think about the phrase, "Be careful of what you ask for, and how you ask for it, for indeed you will get it," when one thinks of Tropical Storm Fay.
People in Florida, especially those located from Lake Okeechobee south, have been praying for rain for two years to ease the serious, sometimes critical, drought conditions the area has suffered. What they didn't necessarily want, however, was for about a year's worth of rain to fall in a few scant days.
But that's exactly what Tropical Storm Fay has done.