Florida expects good winter crop despite Southeast drought
Hardly a day passes without a major network or newspaper reporting on the severe drought occurring in the southeastern United States. The Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services is concerned that viewers and readers -- those in the produce industry included -- might be getting the impression that Florida will not have crops to feed the nation.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein opts not to offer AgJOBS to farm bill
WASHINGTON -- The Senate continued work on the 2007 farm bill with hopes for a fix to agricultural worker shortages dashed and the threat of a veto looming.
Carissa Mace to lead FPFC
The Fresh Produce & Floral Council has welcomed back a former staffer to lead the organization upon the retirement of its long-time president at the end of the year.
Carissa Mace will return as president of the Southern California-based council starting Dec. 10. She will replace Linda Stine, who announced her retirement earlier this year after 13 years at the helm.
A search committee, headed by FPFC Chairman of the Board Raul Gallegos of Bristol Farms Supermarkets, conducted a six-month nationwide search before settling on this industry veteran.
Personnel changes at The Sholl Group
Darci Eckermann, formerly vice president of marketing and business development for The Sholl Group in Minneapolis, has been promoted to senior vice president.
She will lead the company's aggressive growth plans by overseeing sales, marketing, safety and quality systems and partner relations, for both the licensed and value-added business segments.
Tomato producers seek relief from "audit fatigue"
Included in the exorbitant costs that fruit and vegetable growers currently face are the third-party audits associated with food safety. The problem has even been tagged "audit fatigue" by industry professionals. But tomato representatives from Florida and California are now attempting to find relief from the condition.
Access to Chilean grapes could tighten in 2008
PHILADELPHIA -- At the annual preseason Chilean fruit meeting, held here Oct. 26, the 90 importers, service suppliers and regulatory people in attendance learned that there is a likelihood of seeing the Chilean table grape access to the U.S. market become more restricted after April 1.
Sunkist realigns fresh fruit sales operations
SHERMAN OAKS, CA -- Mark Tompkins is the new director of domestic sales for Sunkist Growers, part of a realignment of responsibilities as John McGuigan leaves his position as vice president fresh fruit sales at the end of this year, announced Russ Hanlin, Sunkist's senior vice president of sales and marketing.
RETAIL VIEW: Fresh-cut products continue growth pattern
HOUSTON -- Consumer research and analysis of scan data reveal that the fresh-cut category continues to be in a very strong growth mode, and produce suppliers should continue to look for new opportunities in this arena. At least that was the major take-home point during a workshop at the recent Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit, here, that covered the shopping and buying habits of American consumers.
Honeycrisp driving apple category at Rainier Fruit
Selah, WA-based Rainier Fruit Co. recently announced that it expects to market over 500,000 euro cartons of Honeycrisp apples during the 2007-08 shipping season, a significant increase over last year.
Due in part to young orchards coming into production, this year's crop is also producing exceptionally large fruit, resulting in good promotion opportunities. Moreover, supplies should run through March, a full two months longer than the 2006 crop.
Citrus to remain the core business for Seald Sweet
HOUSTON -- Seald Sweet International LLC, based in Vero Beach, FL, has gained a lot of publicity in recent years for being a subsidiary of Uni-Veg Group, based in Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Belgium, which operates in 22 countries, owns dozens of major produce companies around the world and is linking those firms, including Seald Sweet, to be a global produce network.