Maggie Bezart leaves Ocean Mist Farms
Maggie Bezart, vice president of marketing and sales for Castroville, CA-based Ocean Mist Farms since 1999, left the company April 15 with an eye toward pursuing other employment. She will consult for Ocean Mist through June.
Senate rejects AgJobs, but supporters remain hopeful
WASHINGTON Although the Senate voted April 19 not to debate the AgJobs bill, supporters say they were pleased with the vote tally and believe there is enough support to pass it in the Senate later this year.
INDUSTRY VIEWPOINT: Reinventing the supplier-customer relationship
To paraphrase a quote I read recently, "Why change? Survival is not a requirement." For many companies in the produce industry, that choice is not theoretical. Either they change the way they're doing business, or they won't likely survive. As United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association heads into our second century of service to the produce industry, our members are coming together to share a vision, construct their own individual plans, and then go out into the marketplace to not only survive but thrive.
Earthbound Farm honored at IFPA expo with Fresh-Cut Produce Award
PHOENIX - At an April 15 gala dinner feting one of the larger gatherings in the 18-year history of the International Fresh-cut Produce Association's annual conference and exhibition, Earthbound Farm and its founders, Drew and Myra Goodman, were named recipients of the 2005 Fresh-Cut Produce Award.
Presented by the IFPA and The Produce News, the Fresh-Cut Produce Award recognized Earthbound Farm for its revolutionary work in advancing organically grown fresh-cut products.
New York apple growers vote to continue marketing order
New York state apple growers have voted decisively to reauthorize the New York State Apple Marketing Order, with 71 percent of the ballots cast in favor of re-certifying the order for another eight years.
The referendum was carried out over the past month and certified April 19 by Nathan L. Rudgers, New York state commissioner of agriculture.
Dovex Marketing to end Blue Bird organic fruit sales
WENATCHEE, WA - Dovex Marketing Co. announced April 19 that it will stop selling the organic fruit of Blue Bird Inc. at the end of the 2004 crop season..
Dovex has been selling the organic fruit of Blue Bird since 1999. The combined volume of Dovex and Blue Bird increased from 200,000 cartons in 1999 to 800,000 cartons in 2004, of which 80 percent is from Dovex growers.
United announces 2005 board officers and nominees
The United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association has announced the produce industry leaders nominated to serve on its 2005 board of directors. Ascending to chairman of the board is Nicholas J. Tompkins, president and CEO of Apio Inc. in Guadalupe, CA.
Mr. Tompkins has been CEO of Apio since its founding in 1979. The company is a manufacturer and marketer of pre-cut value-added vegetables to the club store, retail and foodservice sectors, as well as an exporter of fruits and vegetables throughout the world.
Ready Pac has tickets to the movies
More than 1 million packages of Irwindale, CA-based Ready Pac Produce Inc.'s European-style salads will move through supermarket shelves this month as Ready Pac's Your Ticket to the Movies promotion entices consumers to eat their greens.
The free movie ticket promotion rewards purchases of any three Ready Pac European-style salads made from April through the end of July.
Isador Albinder was 91
Isador (Izzy) Albinder, owner of Hudson River Fruit Distributors in Milton, NY, died April 5 at the age of 91.
Mr. Albinder, who had homes in Poughkeepsie, NY, and Hollywood, FL, was born in Russia in 1914 and came to the United States in 1930. He settled in Brooklyn, NY, where he went into business with a small retail fruit store in 1941, selling apples first from a pushcart, then from a horse-drawn wagon and ultimately from a truck.
Acreage decline portends good year for Texas melons
Texas cantaloupe and honeydew producers are expecting a good year this year after three or four seasons of low prices. Their optimism may be well founded considering that acreage has taken a substantial cut in the past two years.