Southeast Produce Council: An idea comes to fruition
I remember when the idea of forming the Southeast Produce Council was just that -- an idea. I felt that there was a real need to bring together the different factions that make up the produce industry in the Southeast. Our region has long been a leader in agriculture, and we are also home to some of the more innovative and leading supermarket chains in the country. It was a natural progression to form an association that would link us in a way that had never been realized on a regional basis in the South.
Idaho-E. Oregon Onion Committee on a quest for new moniker for the area's onions
"Big" is a word used to describe much about the onion industry of the Snake River Valley of Idaho and the adjacent counties of eastern Oregon. With its average 21,000 acres planted each year, the region makes up the largest storage onion-producing region in the United States and accounts for more than 24,000 carlots shipped and 25 percent of all fresh bulb onions consumed nationally in the United States each year.
Baloian Packing changes name to Baloian Farms, unveils new logo
Fresno, CA-based Baloian Packing Inc. has formally changed its name to Baloian Farms in an effort to more clearly communicate the organization's long-standing heritage as a premier grower, packer and shipper of fresh produce. As part of the new identity, Baloian Farms is also unveiling a new corporate logo.
Banana demand exceeds supply
The top-selling fruit in U.S. produce departments is now in shorter supply than usual as a result of storms that tore through banana-producing regions last fall.
China issues highlighted at 39th World Ag Expo
TULARE, CA -- A total of 140 seminars on nearly every conceivable agriculture-related topic, from cooking demonstrations to dealing with an increasingly hostile business environment, were presented during the three days of the World Ag Expo held here Feb. 14-16 at the International Agri-Center. Among them was a series of international trade seminars that included three separate 90-minute-long sessions that addressed China.
Bonipak bolsters sales force
Veteran California produce industry member Jim Llano has been named director of sales and marketing at Santa Maria, CA-based Bonipak Produce Co. Mr. Llano joined Bonipak three weeks ago with a mandate to oversee and manage the Bonipak sales staff in the further development of retail and foodservice accounts. Mr. Llano leaves a position at Wenatchee, WA-based Stemilt Growers Inc., where he handled California export sales. While at Stemilt, Mr. Llano introduced multiple-load volume of Stemilt apples and pears directly into Puerto Rico and Mexico.
Shipper learns costly lesson from new wood packaging regs
More than 5,000 cartons of cantaloupes were shipped back to Costa Rica Feb. 2, resulting in a total loss because the pallets they were shipped on were not certified as pest- free. The rejection was the first known case involving Phase 2 of the new standard for Imported Wood Packaging Material, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service and enforced by the Department of Homeland Security and its Customs & Border Protection Department.
PMA to launch new database to share RFID tagging information
Pressure is on grower-shippers to find solutions for radio frequency identification device tagging, and the Produce Marketing Association hopes that a new effort to create a central database to share the latest information will help. The biggest challenge for radio frequency identification devices is to find ways for them to work at the pallet level, said PMA's Gary Fleming. "There's a lot of misconceptions] out there."
Fyffes buys 60 percent of Brazil's largest melon producer
Fyffes PLC, based in Dublin, Ireland, announced Feb. 7 that it has acquired 60 percent of Nolem, which is Brazil's largest melon producer and exporter. Nolem owns 5,000 hectares of Brazilian farmland and markets 9 million boxes of melons per year. The business will continue to be managed by Andre, Marcelo and Eduardo Gadelha. The Gadelha family will own 20 percent of the company.
California Giant expands web site
For those who are eager to share berry important information, Watsonville, CA-based California Giant has added its own Cal Giant berry blog to its web site. The blog is just one new element in the company's effort to offer useful, timely and new information for visitors to its web site (www.calgiant.com).