LOS BANOS, CA - As we approach the close of our fifth consecutive summer drought, California growers are looking to another kind of technology to trim on water use.

With the use of drones equipped with state-of-the-art thermal cameras, some growers are monitoring their fields from the sky for things like leaks in irrigation lines and areas that need more attention.

As they become both easier to use and more affordable, NBC News reports that drone technology is becoming more and more of a farm tool in not only California, but also Canada, Australia, South Africa, and Latin America.

“Hook it up to a smartphone. Boom. Take off and you're in business,'' said Ian Smith of San Francisco-based DroneDeploy, an industry leader in drone software development.

More recently, growers can order a commercial-grade drone online for $2,000 and receive it in the mail days later, Smith continued.

While many farmers have not yet exercised the full potential the technology presents, a few spanning from ranchers to fresh produce growers have, and reported the potential of saving enough water to equate hundreds of family households, according to the report.  

One thing that may help open the doors a little wider is a change in the rules of the operation for commercial drones.

Yesterday, August 29, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a system to grant exemptions to some rules for those companies who show they can operate drones safely, requiring a written test instead of flying and gaining a $150 license. With an estimated 600,000 drones hitting the skies this year, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta stated that the administration created an environment where emerging technology can be rapidly introduced while protecting the safety of the world’s airspace, according to CBS News.

Brandon Stark, Director of the University of California's Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Safety, said the change, and emerging technologies, could further attract growers to using drones as tools.

"We're just getting started. The research is still inits infancy,” Stark told NBC, adding that he is seeking drone use that would enable the ag industry to diagnose what ails a plant, such as deficiencies in water, from the sky instead of the field.

We will continue to report as technologies and innovations seek to save water and other resources in the fresh produce industry.

QUERETARO, MX – After achieving a successful First Stage, Agropark has announced that the Second Stage of its integral center for smart greenhouses will begin on September 7, 2016. 

The announcement was made by Agropark’s Managing Director, Alberto Amkie. According to a press release, the Second Stage will directly offer 5,000 jobs to the community, and another 2,300 indirect jobs.

Agropark serves as a unique agro industrial park speciailizing in the production of vegetables and flowers with exportation quality. The company announced the Second Stage of its operations in response to the success of its First Stage, satisfying the needs of both its investors and employers. 

The First Stage of Agropark resulted in 2,400 jobs and has serviced 11 national and international agricultural companies. The company’s currently 295 hectares will soon boast an additional 528 hectares, transforming Agropark into an Agro Smart Solutions Center. 

This expansion will increase the number of greenhouse hectares from 180 to 220 hectares. The remaining 362 hectares coming from the Second Stage will be utilized for warehouses, green areas (parks), and a residential zone of 50 hectares to improve the quality of life for the park’s employees. 

Currently, the warehouses at Agropark yield up to 560 tonnes per hectare of tomatoes, and 275 tonnes per hectare of pepper, for each cycle.

The company stated that Agropark is one of the most ambitious agro industrial projects in Mexico and the world, due in part to its comprehensive vision, efficiency, and environmentally responsible technology. Through this cluster of high-tech greenhouses, Agropark stated that is positioning itself to become the first Agro Smart Solutions Center in the American continent.

Agropark, and its resulting concept, was developed by entrepreneurs that believed in the Mexican field and industry talent; showcasing a new vision and commitment to produce high quality products from the country. 

In addition to its exportable products, Agropark offers its clients water wells, infrastructure for channeling rainwater, wastewater treatment, paved interior roads, medium power and natural gas distribution, among other details.

As Agropark undergoes its Second Stage, with eyes set on even further growth, stay with AndNowUKnow for the latest developments.

Agropark

GLENNVILLE, GA - Temperatures are beginning to cool and we’re entering the last stretch of 2016, where root vegetables like onions and sweet potatoes will start taking center stage on menus. AndNowUKnow connected with industry expert Delbert Bland, President and Owner of Bland Farms, to reflect on the sweet onion season and forecast what is to come.

“We’ve been blessed. The Vidalia onions have been good this year, and I went down to Peru recently to take a look at the upcoming onion crop to find that it is excellent. Overall, crop has been fantastic,” said Delbert, adding, “The demand is just right. People naturally love Vidalia onions, and what makes the Peruvian onion so great is that it comes from the same seed variety, just grown in the Southern Hemisphere.”

Bland Farms does all of its own growing in Peru, with Georgia personnel doing regular site visits to check in on quality. However, Delbert explains, because the region isn’t too rainy and has consistent weather, the seasons are much more predictable.

"Demand for both sweet potatoes and sweet onions is excellent. Demand continues to trend upwards due to their versatility and nutritional values,” said Jeff Rhoden, Senior Sales Manager at Bland Farms.

Bland Farms is launching into its third year of sweet potato production, slated to harvest the first week of September.

Sweet potatoes have been coming from storage since the 2015 harvest, so the fresh crop will be a welcome addition to the Bland Farms lineup of products.

Bland Farms 

ATLANTIC OCEAN - Now positioned about 160 miles west-southwest of Key West, Florida, the tropical disturbance known as 99L has strengthened to become Tropical Depression Nine, and is still on track to bring stormy weather to parts of Florida. The system may even strengthen further, meteorologists say, becoming a tropical storm as it heads into the Gulf of Mexico.

"As Tropical Depression Nine moves farther away from Cuba, it will be moving into an area more favorable for strengthening,” explained AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski. AccuWeather’s latest report suggests that the storm will make landfall along the western side of central and northern Florida later this week, following to the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas during Labor Day weekend.

As reported by the National Hurricane Center, the depression may bring about 4 to 8 inches of rain over Cuba, with some areas potentially receiving up to 12 inches of rain through Wednesday. As for Florida and including the Florida Keys, rain totals may reach between 3 and 5 inches through Wednesday, with isolated areas seeing as much as 7 inches. Those in the affected areas should prepare for flash flooding, the National Hurricane Center warned.

"Enhanced showers and gusty thunderstorms can be expected, with localized flooding possible along the system's path,” added AccuWeather Meteorologist Ed Vallee.

As the system continues to strengthen into tropical storm territory and beyond, AndNowUKnow will keep you updated, including possible effects on the state’s agriculture.

SAN DIEGO, CA – In a concentrated effort to highlight families cooking nutritious and delicious meals together, Produce for Kids has partnered with Meijer to present a national photo contest through the rock and roll-based nutrition show, Jump with Jill.

“Our goal is to provide simple solutions to help families enjoy home meals more frequently,” said Shari Steinbach, Lead Dietitian and Nutrition Manager for Meijer. “Research has shown that family meals have both health and money-saving benefits.” 

The campaign is an extension of Jump with Jill’s live national tour, presented by Meijer, and will recognize family-style cooking with the #FamilyFoodRockstar photo contest. According to a press release, by sharing pictures of themselves shopping, cooking, or preparing meals together, families will have the chance to win a $100 Meijer gift card. 

“When families cook at home, the meals tend to be lower in fat and salt, have more fruits and vegetables, and are better portioned,” said Jump with Jill Creator, Jill Jayne. “But the benefits of family meals are beyond just nutritional. The social and emotional connections kids strengthen with their families when they eat together help kids perform better academically, engage less in high risk behaviors, and reduce their risk for obesity and disordered eating. How could we not get behind encouraging families to make time to eat together?”

The contest will run from September 1 – October 4 for residents of Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. To enter the contest, consumers need only to follow the below steps:

1. Get cooking: Decide on a healthy and delicious dinner using the Produce for Kids and Meijer recipes, available here
   
2. Share a photo: Capture themselves at any stage of meal creation and post to social media with the hashtag #FamilyFoodRockstar 
3. Stay tuned: Like or follow Jump with Jill on social media to find out if they’ve won a $100 Meijer gift card

This Family Food Rockstar campaign and partnership with Jump with Jill and Meijer, will follow the recent string of Produce for Kids partnerships to educate consumers about healthy eating, while raising funds for kid-centered nonprofits. 

Jump with Jill was created by a Registered Dietitian and musician, to give nutritional education through catchy songs and upbeat dance moves to keep kids engaged on the subject of health. Meijer and its 223 supercenters and grocery stores offers consumers a quality and affordable selection of fruits and vegetables to use as a foundation for healthy eating.

For further instructions and requirements, visit the Jump With Jill website here.

Produce for Kids Meijer

PITTSBURGH, PA - Giant Eagle went on a hiring spree in Pittsburgh, PA, looking to fill 400 spots last weekend at several locations.

Last Saturday, August 27th, the retailer hosted hiring events at five different locations in the region, looking to fill a number of spots in various departments, including specialty positions as needed, according to a report by news source WTAE.

Positions included:

• Grocery and Produce Clerks
• Cashiers
• Meat Cutters
• Cake Decorators
• Pharmacy Techs

Candidates who participated were able to have on-site interviews and possible same-day job offers, with the company offering sign-on bonuses for specialty positions.

This is the second major hiring event Giant Eagle has hosted this summer, having held Ohio events to fill over 300 positions just last June. The company also alluded to further strategic moves last week, when CEO Laura Karet publically discussed a consistent need for reinvention in an increasingly competitive market.

The company stated when looking for new employees that it offers competitive wages, paid time off, and more while looking for members who enjoy performing a variety of tasks in a fast-paced work environment, and are passionate about delivering exceptional customer service.

AndNowUKnow will continue to keep you in touch with all the latest in growth and reinvention on the buy-side and beyond.

Giant Eagle 

TIJUANA, MEXICO - Produce packaging company Embalajes Agricolas Sambramex has upped the access to its services via the launch of its new, user-friendly website earlier this month.

“We are excited about the launch of our new website, which provides customers with detailed information about our products and highlights the value-added services that we have provided to our customers since our inception,” Juana Ramirez, Sales Manager for Sambramex, commented in a press release.

She continued, “The new site also shows how we have expanded our product line over the years in order to proactively provide berry and tomato growers with a full range of clamshell sizes to meet their packaging needs.”

The company noted that the new website, sambramex.com.mx, now enables it to present these packaging solutions and services for customers in an easy-to-navigate, custom WordPress format. Users can quickly find the packaging they need for the specific commodities that they grow.

Sambramex has endeavored to offer innovative packaging solutions to growers throughout Mexico since 2009, providing growers with value-added services including product design, inventory management, mechanical labeling and padding, and regular delivery routes throughout central Mexico.

The launch also coincided with notable Mexico-based show, Aneberries, which took place just days after the website’s debut.

“Aneberries has always been an excellent show for Sambramex because we value the time that we can spend with our customers and other members of the berry industry before the season starts," Juana tells me of the event. "The conference provides important insights for berry growers who come together, not as competitors, but as partners who are working together toward a common goal of increased sales and berry exports. Sambramex is proud to sponsor the conference and support Aneberries each year, because it is our goal to partner with our customers to also help them grow by providing them with integrated packaging solutions and efficient customer service.”

An event that looks to facilitate exports, ensure food safety, as well as encourage, promote, and defend trade and opening new markets for Mexico's fresh berries, Sambramex is one of the original supporters of Aneberries since its inception in 2009.

You can learn more about the company and see the website for yourself by clicking here.

Sambramex 

NEW YORK, NY - Ten candidates spanning the U.S. have become the inaugural students to receive the James Beard Foundation’s (JBF) National Scholarships.

“We are proud that our Foundation’s newest scholarship program is committed to awarding $20,000 in financial aid to ten extraordinary scholars each year,” said Kris Moon, Vice President of the James Beard Foundation, according to a press release. “A desire to pursue a career in the culinary arts is no longer limited to cooking in the kitchen. Just as the types of careers available in the culinary arts have evolved, so too is the Foundation’s scholarship program.”

Moon added that the National Scholars Program supports a diverse group of students exploring virtually every educational discipline, including history, anthropology, economics, management, or the sciences—as viewed through the lens of food.

Included in the recipient’s was Davis, CA’s own Holland Dougherty, a student at the University of California, Davis, where she is completing her PhD in agriculture, specializing in animal studies.

The foundation emphasized a focus on diversity, ensuring that every region of the U.S. was considered when naming those who demonstrated potential for leadership roles in culinary arts, food studies, agriculture, hospitality management, and related fields. To see the inspiration behind the program for yourself, watch the video below.

Administered by nonprofit organization Scholarship Management Services division of Scholarship America, the program is part of the larger James Beard Foundation Scholarship Program, which is awarding more than $750,000 in financial aid available in 2016, the largest annual total in the Foundation’s history.

To learn more about the program and see past winners, click here.

Congratulations to all recipients of this notable award.

James Beard Foundation

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - As competition in the retail sector continues to mount, Target has been quietly working in the background to cultivate new technological innovations that would put itself ahead of the game. This summer, Target has begun hosting a tech-focused incubator in its Minneapolis headquarters, fostering ten teams of startups in the 8,000-square-foot space. This comes in the same year that the company announced it plans to spend more than $2 billion starting in 2017 on tech and supply-chain improvements.

According to a report from Engadget, Target has been pursuing both the aforementioned incubator it founded in partnership with Techstars, as well as a food innovation-focused "Food + Future coLab” in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab and Ideo. Target has already begun testing a concept from the labs at one of its Boston stores, which allows people to scan fruits and vegetables to identify their nutritional value and to pay for the item based on its freshness.

The teams will go through 14 weeks of both programming and mentorship from executives like Brian Cornell himself, Target’s Chairman and CEO. The company says 50 percent of these startup teams have female Co-Founders and two are international, from Canada and Hong Kong respectively.

Teams participating in Target's accelerator include DIY craft company MakersKit, educational interactive game company MakerBloks, and DIY wedding flower arrangement startup ItsByU.

The company is also currently hiring staffers for a tech project codenamed “Goldfish,” Engadget says, that will be located in Target's Sunnyvale, California, online and mobile data analytics office. The job posting for the project merely reads, "We're a brand new team, intent on changing the way people shop." The source names Amazon and Paypal alum West Stringfellow, also Target’s newly hired VP of Innovation, as Goldfish’s Founder.

"We're looking first and foremost to help these startups," Stringfellow explained to Engadget. "If there's a symbiotic opportunity, great. If not, that's OK, too. We'll be learning from their discipline, focus, excitement and passion, and a second-order effect will be us taking some of that and applying it to our products and teams and practices."

Walmart, who earlier this month bought e-commerce startup Jet.com for $3 million, has more tech startups in its crosshairs as well. The company has a San Francisco Bay Area outpost called WalmartLabs, which focuses on digital products and services like Walmart Pay.

"We've got several new things in the works I can't announce," Walmart's Chief Technology Officer Jeremy King told Engadget. "But let's just say you'll see us make it even more compelling to use your phone in the store."

Bottom line—a wave innovation is on its way. By partnering with startups, these retailers are digging to previously untapped tech ideas, which could potentially change the face of grocery shopping in even the next for years. I, for one, couldn’t be more excited to see what comes next.

Target

BROOKLYN, NY – A shipment of specialty vegetables recently seized in New York had more than just a unique flavor profile to offer consumers, as authorities uncovered almost $4 million worth of heroin and cocaine hidden amongst malangas. 

The drug-packed root veggies were no match for the Border Patrol’s K9 officers, as the suspect selection of specialty taros were uncovered during a routine inspection at the Red Hook Terminal.

As the true nature of the shipment was unveiled, authorities exposed 970 packages, or 121 lbs., of heroin with an estimated street value of more than $3.5 million. As an added and nefarious treat to the already suspect shipment, authorities also seized 58 packs of eight lbs. of cocaine, which was estimated to be worth more than $135,000. 

“This is a significant seizure,” said Robert Perez, head of New York Field Operations.

Officers stated that this bust was the third biggest the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s New York office has yet seen, according to the New York Daily News. The intercepted haul was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations, no arrests have yet been made. 

The collection of malangas, and its less than veggie-like travel partners, were shipped from Ecuador with an intended landing target of Miami. 

As the criminal underside continues its persistant efforts, which fruits and veggies will secure the next starring role in a produce drug bust? AndNowUKnow will continue to have your breaking news as it unfolds.