Senate finds fewer funds for specialty grants, snack program
WASHINGTON -- A Senate subcommittee found fewer funds for specialty block grants and the fruit and vegetable snack program compared to the House's spending bill, but the produce industry pledged to push the funding levels back up during conference.
Western Growers Association praised Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D- CA), Larry Craig (R-ID) and other members of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee for securing $10 million in funding for Specialty Crop Block Grants in the Fiscal Year 2007 Agriculture Appropriations bill.
Peter Rabbit Farms honored
Peter Rabbit Farms in Coachella, CA, was recently named vendor of the year at Marsh Supermarket's annual Fresh Perspectives event.
Fresh Perspectives is an annual opportunity for the Marsh Supermarket produce managers to come together for a day of education and inspiration. It is also the annual award event for the chain's produce managers. This is the second time Peter Rabbit Farms has been honored with the award, with the first being in 2003.
IN THE TRENCHES: First impressions are good business
Although much of my produce career was spent in New York, I was born and raised in Cleveland. I can remember the time my father took me to my first Major League Baseball game when I was 8. Not only was it the most exciting and thrilling time of my life, it was also the most impressive.
2006 shaping up to be banner year for Jersey blueberries
Optimism abounds throughout the major blueberry-growing region of New Jersey. Grown on 7,500 acres and situated among the sandy acidic soils of the "pine barrens," which give New Jersey blueberries their unique and robust flavor, the state's blueberry growers are marveling at the quantity and quality of this year's crop.
Growers Express partners plan more involvement
As of the start of June, several employees of Salinas, CA-based Growers Express LLC are no longer with the company.
Gone are Randolph Breschini, president; Barry Eisenberg, vice president of technical services, and Marty Metcalf, director of logistics. Woody Johnson, vice president of sales and marketing for Growers Express, declined to specify the nature of the departures other than to confirm that the three are no longer employed with the company.
Indiana Department of Agriculture celebrates first anniversary
On April 25 of this year, Indiana Lt. Governor Becky Skillman and Indiana Agriculture Director Andy Miller released the Indiana State Department of Agriculture's first annual report -- it was the one- year anniversary of the department's official creation.
Hunts Point co-op holds board elections
James Margiotta of J. Margiotta Co. in the Bronx, NY, is the newly elected member of the board of directors of the New York Hunts Point Terminal Produce Cooperative Association Inc. The announcement was made during the organization's June 13 meeting, according to Myra Gordon, deputy assistant director of the market.
Stemilt: bagged cherries dominate
Greater merchandising flexibility and more efficiency at retail are the two key reasons that retailers will continue to favor random- weight bags as their cherry package of choice, according to marketers with Wenatchee, WA-based Stemilt Growers.
Stemilt Marketing Director Roger Pepperl said that bagged cherries continue to dominate the retailing landscape, and new styles of bags are giving retailers choices and making bags even more attractive.
Heat wave to hit parts of the West
The National Weather Service is predicting a "mega heat wave" to hit northern California, the central coast, southern California and the southwest deserts starting Thursday, June 22 and last well into next week.
The uniqueness of this heat wave is the combination of its intensity and longevity. Many temperature records will be threatened and broken. Forecasted temperatures into mid next week include Salinas at 90 degrees locally to 105 in south county; Bakersfield at 103-106; Blythe at 110-113 and Coachella upwards of 118.
RuBee proposed as RFID alternative
The move toward full adoption of radio frequency identification technology has encountered many hurdles along the way. But some seem just a bit too high to clear, especially for the produce industry.
Probably the biggest hurdle is that radio frequency signals have trouble penetrating liquid. In technology-speak, cartons of fresh produce present a "harsh environment" that result in RFID readings that are less accurate than are typically recorded when RFID chips are used on hard goods or non-liquid grocery items, such as soap or cereal.