WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has imposed sanctions on five produce businesses for failure to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA).

According to a recent USDA press release, the following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:

• Excell Prod., Inc., operating out of Los Angeles, CA, for failing to pay a $15,526 award in favor of a California seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Wing Tsan was listed as the officer, director, and major stockholder of the business.
• Torres Produce, operating out of Delano, CA, for failing to pay a $23,820 award in favor of a California seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Jose L. Torres and Angelica Torres were listed as the officers, directors, and/or major stockholders of the business.
• Edgar Garzon, doing business as GSP Distributors, operating out of Los Angeles, CA, for failing to pay a $7,466 award in favor of a California seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Edgar Garzon was listed as the sole proprietor of the business.
• Legacy Produce Inc., operating out of Santa Cruz, CA, for failing to pay a $38,818 award in favor of a California seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Sue S. Herfurth and Ken G. Herfurth were listed as the officers, directors, and/or major stockholders of the business.
• Penny Tsigaris, doing business as Manavi Produce, operating out of Oceanside, NY, for failing to pay a $117,544 award in favor of an Arizona seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Penny Tsigaris was listed as the sole proprietor of the business.

PACA provides an administrative forum to handle disputes involving produce transactions; this may result in a reparation order being issued that requires damages to be paid by those not meeting their contractual obligations in buying and selling fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables.

The USDA is required to suspend the license or impose sanctions on an unlicensed business that fails to pay PACA reparations awarded against it as well as impose restrictions against those principals determined to be responsibly connected to the business when the order is issued. Those individuals, including sole proprietors, partners, members, managers, officers, directors, or major stockholders may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee without USDA-approval.

In the past three years, the USDA resolved approximately 3,700 PACA claims involving more than $66 million. Its experts also assisted more than 7,100 callers with issues valued at approximately $100 million. These are just two examples of how the USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.

Agricultural Marketing Service

CHINA & TAIWAN - A super typhoon, the first of the year, is headed for Taiwan and China, with each respective country having begun necessary preparations this morning when the news broke.

Labeled a Category 5 typhoon on the scale of 1 through 5 by Tropical Storm Risk, weather authorities in Taiwan estimate the wind speeds near the typhoon, Nepartak’s, center at a minimum of 125 miles per hour, according to Reuters.

China is on alert, already having experienced severe flooding in the last week that have amounted to losses worth more than $5 billion. Taiwan authorities, in turn, have announced the close of financial markets tomorrow as work and school closures have been announced. Airlines have also begun canceling flights across the island, and the bullet train has suspended service, among other transportation services.

According to the report, Nepartak is expected to hit Taiwan's east coast in the early hours of Friday, July 8th, an area that has a lot of mountains and is sparsely populated. It should then lose a lot of its strength, weakening the tropical storm by the time it hits China on Saturday.

While much of the travel and transportation looks to be affected for both, it appears that much of the region is more of an auto industry hub than fresh produce, although China has already seen damage to 1.9 million hectares of crops as a result of flooding, and import/export could be affected by the extreme weather.

While the season is starting off on the strong side, it is common for typhoons to happen in the region this time of year, usually strengthening over warm waters and then weakening on land, Reuters notes. With the improvement of preparations, Chinese and government has been able to mitigate the damages by enforcing evacuations and, much like today, making preparations well in advance.

AndNowUKnow will continue to track this and other weather occurrences to keep you up to date on what could influence the produce industry, this summer and beyond.

MCLEAN, VA - Adding to its ever-growing portfolio of U.S. farmland, Gladstone Land Corporation has revealed its purchase of approximately 401 acres of farmland in St. Lucie County, Florida, for the price of $5.1 million. This is roughly equivalent to $12,718.20 per acre.

“We are privileged to make our first acquisition in Southeast Florida with a highly-regarded vegetable grower as our tenant-partner,” shared Bill Frisbie, Gladstone’s Managing Director for the Eastern United States. “We now own 48 farms across the U.S., and we seek to continue building and diversifying our high-value agricultural portfolio. This property is farmed for bell peppers and green beans.”

As part of the acquisition deal, Gladstone entered into a lease agreement with a yet unnamed “leading grower and marketer of fresh vegetables” for a 7-year lease, according to a press release. The lease will provide for annual rent escalations and two, 7-year extension options.

“We like being real estate partners with farmers, and we seek to buy farms that grow fresh fruits and vegetables that are healthy for people to eat,” added President and CEO of the company, David Gladstone. “We have built our farmland portfolio based on the idea that the produce section of the grocery store is a good place to base our business because returns on fruits, vegetables and nuts have been growing at a stronger pace than other areas of the food sector, and we believe that trend will continue.”

Gladstone is currently the owner of 48 farms, comprising of 23,857 acres in 7 different states across the U.S., valued at approximately $339 million.

Gladstone Land Corporation

BAKERSFIELD, CA - The list of Sun World marketer licensees continues to grow, this time with the company welcoming California licensed grower-marketers: Jakov Dulcich & Sons (Sunlight International Sales) and Sun Pacific.

The grower has introduced grapes sold under such recognizable proprietary brands as SUPERIOR SEEDLESS®, MIDNIGHT BEAUTY®, SCARLOTTA SEEDLESS®, SABLE SEEDLESS®, SONERA SEEDLESS®, AUTUMNCRISP®, and ADORA SEEDLESS®—all of which Sun Pacific and Jakov Dulcich will now be able to grow and market to meet the growing global demand.

“Our proprietary grapes are grown and distributed by some of the world’s finest producers and marketers in most major grape growing regions of the world,” explained Sun World’s Executive Vice President, David Marguleas. “The addition of Sun Pacific and Jakov Dulcich, two longstanding and prominent California grower-shippers, along with our own expanding California production, ensures that consumers will enjoy even more distinctive proprietary seedless grapes throughout the year.”

Sunlight and Sun Pacific join 58 other marketer licensees.

Beginning in 1969 with 72 acres of citrus, Sun Pacific today grows, packs and ships over 35 million cartons of fresh fruit, according to a press release. Sun Pacific is a major grower of kiwi, navels, tomatoes, table grapes, and the exclusive provider of Cuties®. 

Since Jakov Dulcich and wife Antoinette first settled in Delano, CA, in 1959 from Croatia, the Dulcich family has been involved in table grape production. Now, brothers Nick and Peter Dulcich grow, pack, and ship grapes sold under the Pretty Lady brand by Sunlight International Sales. 

Both newly added companies have already begun planting what Sun World calls its “most important grape varieties” with their initial commercial volumes available beginning next year. 

The company added that customers can source these varieties from Sun World in 2016 and most of the varieties will be available from Sun World, Sunlight International and Sun Pacific starting with the 2017 season. Product will be offered under the Sun World brand, or under the Pretty Lady brand and the Sun Pacific brand with a co-branded product seal identifying the Sun World variety.

Sun World Sunlight International Sun Pacific

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - In an effort to boost fresh produce consumption and reach consumers, Kroger’s Central Division has announced a partnership with The Produce Mom®, launching July 10, 2016.

“The Produce Mom offers a brand and social media personality that is relatable and accessible to Kroger shoppers,” John Elliott, Public Affairs Manager for Kroger Central Division, commented in a press release. “We look forward to combining her message with Kroger’s industry-leading produce quality and variety. Kroger and The Produce Mom share a desire to not only increase consumption of healthy produce, but increase consumer awareness about the nutritional value of produce and help customers try new produce options.”

The partnership will include:

• In-store signage
• Digital and social media marketing campaigns
• Internal communications
• Community relations

All Krogers Central Division produce departments will display The Produce Mom’s monthly calendar The Produce Challenge™, which has been featured in medias like The Huffington Post and Oprah.com, and encourages consumers to shop the entire department.

Lori Taylor, Owner of The Produce Mom, will appear on Kroger’s internal broadcast station KTV, according to the release, to offer insights for both industry and consumers, with in-store events to be hosted in select stores throughout the year.

“The Produce Mom is extremely happy to expand our brand programs and broaden our influence with Kroger,” Taylor said. “My entire adult life I have been a Kroger shopper. Like all brands in The Produce Mom Family, there is authentic knowledge and passion at the core of this partnership. Our goal is to drive sales of produce at Kroger and attract shoppers through in-store education and digital communication strategies.”

The Produce Mom’s network and partners, including the Department of Education and student leadership group Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, will support in-store events, which will be open to the public and broadcast on social media.

As more and more retailers look to join the push for more fresh produce consumption, AndNowUKnow will continue to report new partnerships and strategies to achieve that goal.

Kroger The Produce Mom®

MONHEIM, GER – Announcing a new program based on cultivating and inspiring open innovation, Grants4Traits, Bayer is looking towards finding proposals and technologies which could increase commercial seeds and traits.

"Agriculture urgently needs new solutions. Crops worldwide are facing increasing pressure from weeds, insects, diseases and unfavorable climate conditions. We at Bayer see innovation as the main driver to solve this," said Dr. Adrian Percy, Head of Research and Development at Bayer’s Crop Science Division. 

To promote innovative research which could result in increased crop productivity, Bayer is offering the following possible assistance through the program, according to a press release:

• Funding
• Scientific assistance
• Development of research projects or ideas
• Possibility of support extended into long-term research collaborations

Grants4Traits will focus on finding such programs and technologies that could result in innovative traits or approaches to yield enhancements and better control in agricultural crops. Bayer stated this support could lead to innovative commercial seed products.

"Yet, this challenge is too big for one company alone. This is why big or small companies, universities and other research institutes need to join forces in order to sustain innovation and find the best solutions for sustainable agriculture together," continued Dr. Percy.

Bayer stated that university researchers, scientific institutions, or start-up companies working on such traits to increase crop yields, quality, and safety measures are encouraged to participate in the new program.

Some traits or approaches which Bayer suggests as possible innovations are:

• Methods to protect crops from herbicides or decreased weed pressure
• Approaches to optimize gene or protein expression, activity, and regulation
• Solutions to protect crops from insects, nematodes, or fungal diseases

Grants4Traits is the next open innovation project of Bayer’s Crop Science division following the success of Grants4Targets, a program aimed at finding new methods of crop protection, which was launched earlier this year. Since that time, Bayer stated that 67 proposals have been submitted with more than 20 projects supported by the company.

The deadline for participation in Grants4Traits is October 31, 2016. Applications for the grant can be submitted online here, with only non-confidential information to be included.

As industry leaders continue to look towards increased ag production and betterment, AndNowUKnow will have the latest in breaking opportunities and announcements.

Bayer

SALINAS, CA - Coming off of a successful debut of showcasing innovations in technology to the ag community, the Forbes AgTech Summit is returning to Salinas.

Kicking off Wednesday, July 13th, with two days of networking and innovation, Forbes’ Paul Noglows, executive producer of the event, took the time to tell me about the exponential growth he is seeing from this year compared to last, and some of the new things that have been added to the agenda.

“I’m really excited about how this program has come together,” Paul says, explaining that he has attended and been on panels of many similar events and this is one worth attending. “I understand with a lot of technologies and innovations that you can get to the field and sometimes things don’t work. This one, however, is very well put together.”

Already, the event is seeing a 50% growth margin, with close to 600 participants anticipated, in comparison to last year’s 400.

“We’ve also expanded the program itself,” Paul explains. “Part of my goal with this year’s show was to build the best Innovation Showcase we could; last year we had 22 startups, this year we’ll have 40.”

Another addition is what attendees will be able to see–six different cutting-edge agricultural technologies from six different companies, covering just about every aspect of in-field innovation.

On that list is Tanimura & Antle for a second year in a row, bringing both its innovative Plant Tape and a tour of its Spreckels Crossing complex.

“Tanimura & Antle is glad to again be participating in the Forbes Ag Tech Summit,” Rick Antle, President and CEO of Tanimura & Antle, tells me. “This year, in addition to again demonstrating our revolutionary Plant Tape Automated Transplanters, we will be touring attendees through Spreckels Crossing, Tanimura & Antle's Agricultural Employee Housing Complex.”

Rick adds that Plant Tape is currently under beta test on the Tanimura & Antle Farms, with the plan to begin limited commercial sales in 2017 in the USA and Australia with full commercial availability in 2018. “The Plant Tape system is well suited for transplanting all leafy greens, brassica's, tomatoes, leeks, melons and sugar beets.”

Spreckels Crossing, as we have reported previously, was conceived and constructed to house a H2A labor force to ensure a long term supply of labor, which Rick explains is imperative to the continued success and existence of the agricultural industry in the Monterey County of California.

“As construction progressed, we identified that experienced agricultural workers were available from drought-impacted areas of California, and by being able to offer workers safe, clean, and affordable housing together with an aggressive wage and benefit package, we were able to recruit enough workers to meet our labor needs,” Rick says.

Companies and their respective technological offerings, which those in attendance will be able to see in the field, include:

• Tanimura & Antle’s Plant Tape
• Blue River Technology
• HeavyConnect
• SkyView HD
• Spensa Technologies
• UC Davis’ Robovator

And these are just a few of offerings the Forbes AgTech Summit will highlight over the two days. Also on the agenda are behind-the-scenes tours of innovators like Mann Packing and Taylor Farms, as well as a full roster of keynote speakers like Bruce Taylor of Taylor Farms, Kevin Murphy of Driscoll’s, Ben Chesler of Imperfect Produce, Tim York of Markon Cooperative, Tom Nassif of Western Growers, and many more.

For more details on the agenda itself, click here.

Check back as we bring you more details of the highly anticipated Forbes AgTech Summit.

Forbes AgTech Summit Tanimura & Antle

BUFFALO, NY - What better time than after American Independence Day to talk about stuffing your face with food competitively? But instead of the hot dog eating competitions you might be used to, how about trying a kale eating contest instead? Coming up on July 9th at the Taste of Buffalo food festival, kale loving competitors will be able to battle it out for $2,000 and the title of kale-consuming champion. 

Competitive eaters sanctioned by Major League Eating will have eight minutes to consume as much of the leafy green vegetable as possible, according to Thrillist, in what is being referred to as “Kale Yeah!” 

“'Kale Yeah, the World’s Healthiest Eating Championship,' is a fun way to encourage everyone to digest the importance of eating healthy and choosing healthy options,” said Michael Cropp, President & CEO of the Independent Health Foundation in a statement. “As birthplace of the chicken wing and other food favorites, Buffalo is also leading the way by promoting nutritional options available at the Taste of Buffalo and through this one-of-a-kind special event.” 

The city of Buffalo has already began prepping 40 pounds of kale for the showdown, nicely fashioned into an easier-to-consume salad with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Competitive eating stars such as Eric “Badlands” Booker, Crazy Legs Conti, and “Buffalo” Jim Reeves will all be in attendance, the source reports.

Will inundating our guts with kale replace hot dog contests as the new Independence Day tradition? Maybe not, but you may just start finding a little bit of the green stuff wedged beside your ketchup and mustard if the trend continues.

Taste of Buffalo

LOS ALAMITOS, CA – Frieda’s Specialty Produce is looking to offer retailers an enticing addition to their produce departments with lychee and rambutan, now in peak season. 

“Our bright, new branding and fun labels for ‘Luscious Lychee’ and ‘Rockin’ Rambutan’ will attract shoppers, as well as help them identify the often-confused fruits,” stated Karen Caplan, President and CEO. 

The company said in a press release that both top-selling fruits are now available in bulk, and easy-to-merchandise clamshells. 

Lychees, coming from Mexico, are packaged in 10-lb bulk and 12/12 oz clamshells. Rambutan, from Mexico and Guatemala, are available in 5-lb bulk and 14/12 oz clamshells.

“Based on customer requests, we developed these clamshells to extend the shelf-life and make both lychee and rambutan easier to merchandise. To maximize shelf-life, both of these fruits should be refrigerated and the clamshells make that easy,” finished Caplan.

Retailers, wholesalers, and foodservice distributors interested in taking advantage of peak-season lychee and rambutan can contact Frieda’s account managers for more information.

Frieda's Specialty Produce