FPFC installs new chairman and officers at annual gala
More than 600 members and guests honored the installation of Liane Mast as chairman of the board of the Fresh Produce & Floral Council at the organization's annual dinner dance, which was held Jan. 26 in Anaheim, CA.
Ms. Mast is in charge of the floral departments for Stater Bros. Markets, one of the nation's larger independent regional supermarket chains, headquartered in Colton, CA.
Bland Farms poised for dramatic growth
Glennville, GA-based Bland Farms has increased its presence in key onion- growing areas and is now poised for future growth.
"Bland Farms has a strategy in place that will enable us to grow and expand in many directions in the coming future," said Michael Hively, chief financial officer and general manager of the firm. "We recently broke ground on a new facility in Donna, Texas, near McAllen. It is 100,000 square feet and will have cooler space for 3,200 pallets. It will be used for storing and moving onions and custom-packing other commodities."
Thomas R. Ford to be inducted into Colorado Agriculture Hall of Fame
Thomas R. Ford, chairman of the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee in Monte Vista, CO, will be inducted into the Colorado Agriculture Hall of Fame in Denver on Feb. 28. Mr. Ford was one of several nominees to pass the rigorous screening process of the Montrose-based Colorado FFA Foundation Inc.
Colorado Agriculture Commissioner John Stulp will preside over the award ceremony, which will be held at the Doubletree Hotel Denver located at 3202 Quebec Street. The event begins at 5:30 p.m.
Senate confirms Schafer as agriculture secretary
WASHINGTON -- While lawmakers continue to wrestle over the 2007 farm bill and the produce industry lies in wait, the Senate approved former North Dakota Gov. Edward Schafer to head the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The former two-term Republican governor was quickly and unanimously approved by the Senate, and hours later took his seat along side other Cabinet heads at the State of the Union speech Jan. 28 in Washington.
Cal Citrus Packing to use AgriWorld Exchange
AgriWorld Exchange, an on-line agri-trading marketplace, announced that Cal Citrus Packing Co., with a grower base of 4,000 acres, has signed an agreement to trade produce using the AgriWorld Exchange on-line service.
The agreement will enable the company to offer its 2.5 million cartons of fresh citrus annually via on-line, real-time exchange.
Sweet Clover introduces 25-pound carton for Red Wing onions
A new 25-pound carton for Washington state's famed Red Wing variety of onions is finding good reception from high-end foodservice customers, according to Bill (Sweet Willie) Brownfield of Sweet Clover Produce.
From his Walla Walla, WA, office, Mr. Brownfield told The Produce News that the new carton provides better protection for the onions, and in addition to the Red Wings grown by Grigg & Sons in Quincy, WA, the box will be used to ship sweets and yellows.
Railex on the right track with second weekly unit train
Increasing customer demand spurred by the success of its non-stop unit train with guaranteed fifth-morning arrival from Washington state to upstate New York has prompted Railex LLC to add a second weekly unit train, which is scheduled to make its maiden voyage on Feb. 9 and arrive late at night on Feb. 15
Railex, a division of ADS Management LLC, operates the 55-car unit trains year round from two state-of-the-art, freight-forward distribution terminals in Wallula, WA, and Rotterdam, NY.
Frontera Produce's Jarrod Snider looks at the industry from many angles
Jarrod Snider, the national account manager for Frontera Produce in Dallas, has multiple perspectives on the produce industry. As a cattle rancher, the 30-year-old runs a business, Progressive Genetics, in Waxahachie, TX, with his father, Charles Snider. The father-and-son operation raises and promotes purebred cattle through exhibitions, annual production sales and the incorporation of such technologies as embryo transfer and artificial insemination.
NFL great Marshall Faulk a highlight of HAB Super Bowl promotions
The Hass Avocado Board is continuing a tradition it established several years ago of targeting the Super Bowl as a time for heavy avocado promotions in step with the Super Bowl being one of the highest-consumption days for avocados.
In fact, the board estimated that consumers would eat 49.5 million pounds of Hass avocados during this year's Super Bowl.
Save Mart honors 2007 store manager of the year
Debbie Bookil, store manager of FoodMaxx at 1845 Countryside Lane in Turlock, CA, has been named Save Mart Supermarket's manager of the year.
Ms. Bookil was presented with the company's Nicholas J. Tocco Award at Save Mart's annual management appreciation dinner held recently in Modesto, CA. This is the first time in the 14 years of this award that a woman has been the recipient.
The award was created in honor of the late Nicholas J. Tocco, co-founder of Save Mart Supermarkets.