WASHINGTON D.C - Despite staunch opposition from House Republicans to allow a vote on a comprehensive immigration reform bill, President Obama had remained optimistic until now that a bipartisan compromise could be reached. In the wake of House Speaker John Boehner's most recent refusal to allow a vote on the previously passed Senate immigration reform bill however, President Obama has reportedly decided that if change is going to come this year, it will have to be through his executive authority.

“For more than a year, Republicans in the House of Representatives have refused to allow an up-and-down vote,” the President said. They are “unwilling to stand up to the Tea Party to do what’s best for the country...America cannot wait forever for them to act.”

According to Bloomberg, Obama has ordered Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to use American troops to reinforce the U.S. southern border and increase efforts to deport undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of serious crimes.

While the President acknowledges most reforms “will still require an act of Congress,” Obama is nonetheless conferring with his advisers over the extent to which he can constitutionally direct his executive authority towards further reform.

The United Fresh Produce Association greeted this news from the White House warmly. “We appreciate President Obama’s commitment to try to address our broken immigration policy through executive action...If the House continues to disregard its responsibility to address this issue, the produce industry has no choice but to work with the Administration on short-term administrative patches that will be appreciated, but are ultimately unsatisfactory,” said United Fresh President & CEO Tom Stenzel in a press release.

Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif echoed his collegues' sentiments in a statement released Monday morning. “The House leadership’s refusal thus far to allow a vote on an immigration bill puts all U.S. industries, especially agriculture, in a desperate situation... Clearly the U.S. economy would benefit from immigration reform.”

According to Nassif, the Obama administration has so far declined to give any further details of what the President specifically plans to do as his next step. Immigration activists, retailers, growers, and American consumers will have to wait, it seems, to find out what will happen next on Capital Hill.

Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for updates on this ongoing situation.  

Western Growers Association

United Fresh

Bee Sweet Citrus is kicking off its import program from Chile, Peru, and Australia this summer. From now until October, the company will be offering a wide range of citrus items including Navel Oranges, Clementines, Murcott Mandarins, Minneolas, and Lemons. Quality is fantastic this season, with the bulk of the items coming in from Peru and Chile. For retailers, there’s a number of packaging options available, including 3 pound bags or 5 pound bags and boxes. Look forward to the company’s mandarin season this fall!  Joe Berberian, Sales, tells AndNowUKnow, “Quality and volume is going to be great this season. We look at all of the products coming in on arrival and re-pack it to ensure it’s fresh and safe for all of our consumers. We’re a one-stop shop for year-round fresh citrus!”

Tiffany Gate is offering retailers the chance to give consumers the freshest in prepared foods. With its unique “kit system,” the company can provide supermarkets with fresh, locally grown produce shipped daily coast to coast. Each kit is customized with various vegetables and other ingredients that retailers can use to create salads, soups, and other prepared food items. Kits are customized to each supermarket chain, so exclusive programs are available. President Adolph Zarovinsky tells AndNowUKnow, “We can bring the point of creation much closer to the point of consumption for the consumer. We recommend retailers assemble our kits in front of the consumer to show them just how fresh the food is prepared.”

WENATCHEE, WA - Stemilt is bringing back its premium cherry program, Kyle’s Pick®, a week ahead of last season’s timing to meet popular demand. The company expects Kyle’s Pick cherries, named after Stemilt co-owner and 4^th generation grower Kyle Mathison, to be an even bigger hit this summer with greater volumes and ideal growing conditions in 2014.

“Kyle’s Pick cherries are the perfect way to keep the momentum going on cherries after the big Fourth of July holiday,” said Roger Pepperl, Stemilt’s Marketing Director. “The Kyle’s Pick seal on every bag is a mark to signify the high-quality cherries inside, which consumers recognize. A great cherry eating experience turns into a second great experience, and Kyle’s Pick cherries are proven to drive repeat sales during an important time for the cherry category.”

Stemilt ensures that only the best varieties make it into each pack with state-of-the-art electronic packing lines that determine firmness, size, and sugar level standards, according to a press release. Premium varieties include Hill Bings, Sweetheart, Skeena, and Staccato®.

“Skeena cherries will be the featured variety in Kyle’s Pick bags in the coming weeks. It’s a variety that likes to grow large, firm, and has incredible dessert flavors. We’ve had prime growing conditions in Washington State this summer, which will add to the exceptional quality of Skeena and other Kyle’s Pick cherries.”

Stemilt will pack the random-weight Kyle’s Pick pouch bag throughout the month of July and into early August. As Mathison begins harvesting cherries atop his high-elevation orchards, called Amigos, Stemilt will pack its second pouch bag in the Kyle’s Pick program series, called Half Mile Closer to the Moon. Moon cherries are harvested into late August at an elevation between 2,800 and 3,200 feet above sea level, “literally a half mile closer to the moon,” says Mathison.

“Starting now with Kyle’s Pick cherries and then transitioning into Moon cherries in mid-August is the way to differentiate your cherry program as premium. Share the story of Kyle’s Pick cherries with your shoppers and impress them with this flavor-first program in order to boost sales,” said Pepperl.

Kyle’s Pick pouch bags in July and August help retailers differentiate premium quality and most importantly, win over consumers, who traditionally buy cherries on impulse.

Stemilt

AUSTIN, TX - Whole Foods used to stand alone among mainstream suppliers of fresh, organic produce, but now in a booming and increasingly competitive market it's feeling the pressure of Fresh Market, Kroger, and Sprouts Farmers Market where it hurts: its bottom line.

"For a long time Whole Foods had the field to ourselves, pretty much. That was nice. But we don't any longer," Whole Foods CEO John Mackey said.

In the most recent fiscal quarter, Whole Foods lagged behind its competitors with no net income growth and a 2.4% decrease in comp-sales growth to 4.5%, all poor figures compared to the same fiscal quarter in 2013. Compare that to Sprouts which has enjoyed a 86% increase in net income and a 12.8% increase in comp-sales or Fresh Market's 2.5% increase in comp-sales and you quickly see room for improvement. Investors this month presumably agreed, driving down the price of Whole Foods' stock 20% after the release of its most recent earnings report, according to The Motley Fool.

The question before Mackey now is what to do next. Whole Foods is no longer the only major provider of organic produce among the major American retailers. In order to continue to grow it will need to adapt and evolve in the changing market.

As Motley Fool reporter Anand Chokkavelu noted in a recent article, Whole Foods has already begun this process, with “Make-Your-Own OJ” juice bars, increased focus on their farmer's market inspired produce layouts, and street food kiosks outside of select Whole Foods locations.

Another idea tossed around by industry insiders is a policy emulating the "Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables" selections by the French retailer Intermarche. By offering this visually-imperfect produce to customers at a 30% discount, Intermarche sold 1.2 tons of food which would otherwise have been discarded in the first two days of the sale alone. While Whole Foods already strives to minimize food waste, policies such as this could help to drop it even further, and hopefully increase its net income figures in the process. Check out Intermarche's "Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables" in the video below.

The intent is to keep Whole Foods feeling unique and authentic in a market that could have over 3,000 organic retailers within the next 10-15 years, according to the Motley Fool. To put that in perspective, Whole Foods currently has just under 400 store locations nation wide.

Organics aren't going away anytime soon and Whole Foods is going to need fresh, new ideas if it wants to continue to be an industry leader in this important market.

Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for further developments in this story.  

Whole Foods

LIMA, PERU – Though it is currently weak to moderate, El Niño will affect mango and grape crops in central and northern Peru, according to that country’s National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology (SENAMHI). 

Wilfredo Izarra, an Agrometeorology Specialist at SENAMHI, says that the temperature increase is already affecting mango plantations that are in the process of floral induction. Andina, a Peruvian news source, reports that this process requires a minimum temperature below 17 to 18 degrees Celsius.  Izarra says that there "has been an increase in temperatures of two degrees to 3.5 degrees Celsius which affects the start of the flowering process."

Warm temperatures in the central region’s Ica Valley are also affecting grape crops and could hinder pisco production as well as harming small farmers. 

The director of SENAMHI’s Climatology Unit, Grinia Avalos, said that they have been observing major negative impacts in these crops since May due to rising temperatures.  

“We have recognized temperature anomalies off the northern coast of the country.  For now we do not know if the cold waters can reverse the mass of warm water.  Everything depends on the progress of the South Pacific anticyclone to the north,” Avalos said.

Temperatures on the northern coast have increased by four degrees Celsius between May and June.

The current forecast for the next three months will maintain the temperature increase between two to three degrees Celsius above normal, according to Andina.

SENAMHI is currently monitoring El Niño and its effects on Peru.  Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for more information as this story develops.

As useful as they are, smartphones can tend to be battery hogs. If you think your iPhone or Android battery life isn’t up to par, try these quick and easy tips to get the most juice out your smartphone.

iPhone

Try turning off background app refresh. 

Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh

The blue arrow icon indicates which apps use location services.

Consider only turning off unnecessary apps that you don’t want to refresh in the background.

If enabled, this feature allows apps running in the background to refresh their content periodically. For example, if you have Google Maps running in the background, your phone will refresh the app to regularly update your location in real-time. Similarly, social media apps like Facebook will refresh to update your newsfeed which can drain your battery. You can turn this feature off on an app-by-app basis or altogether.

If you can’t see this option, you may need to update your iOS. You can ensure that your iPhone is running the latest OS version by going to Settings > General > About > Version.

You can update by checking Settings > General > Software Update.

Android

Android devices have a handy feature that shows you which applications are consuming the most battery life.

If you’re running the latest firmware (4.4 KitKat), you can see this feature by checking…

Settings > Power > Usage

If you can’t see these options, you may be running an older version. Try this…

Settings > Battery

From there, you can see which apps are using up the most battery life. Try closing unnecessary apps that are running in the background and use the most battery life. Just tap on the app, and then “Force Stop” to close it. 

Also, if you tap on one of those apps, your device may tell you some other options you have for conserving power. For example, if you tap on “Screen,” it will tell you to either reduce your screen brightness or screen timeout. You can get to those options by tapping “Display.”

To see if you’re running the latest firmware, go to Settings > About Device > Scroll to find your firmware version. If you need to update, go to Settings > About Device > Software Update.

More smartphone tips are coming your way. Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.

KINGSVILLE, ON - Red Sun Farms is wrapping up its Hacienda Special Reserve Tomatoes in brand new packaging.  The display ready box was picked as a finalist for Best New Packaging at United Fresh this year.

The display is made of a corrugate material with wood grain artwork.  Retailers have the option to have it shipped with or without the aspen wood hay.

The display ready box was designed to be reminiscent of a case of fine wine in order to compliment the flavor of the different varieties of Hacienda Special Reserve Tomatoes inside. 

The new varieties include the Brandy Yellow, Cherokee Green and Purple, Green Zebra, and Aurea Big Tiger.  Each tomato offers a unique appearance and flavor profile sure to delight tomato lovers.

Red Sun Farms

WATSONVILLE, CA – Capitalizing on summertime thoughts of pool parties and bathing suits, California Giant Berry Farms and SUNSET® Produce are co-launching their Skinny Summertime Sweepstakes. Knowing the influence the nutrition buzzword “skinny” has for consumers, California Giant hopes that thoughts of shrinking waist-lines will inspire consumers to get on-board with their promotion and put more fruits and veggies, like their famous strawberries, on their plates this summer.

“We wanted to deliver this fun opportunity and great, summery content to consumers beyond our individual audiences and felt that partnering with a complementary fresh brand and popular bloggers was a great way to take advantage of the summer eating season in a really big way,” said California Giant Berry Farms’ Director of Marketing, Cindy Jewell. “I can’t wait for our customers to realize the many ways that fresh products can be the stars of their dinner tables all summer long.”

Popular food bloggers Sam Henderson of Today’s Nest, Dani Meyer of The Adventure Bite, and Adriana Martin of Adriana’s Best Recipes will be helping California Giant send sweepstake participants recipes each week until the 4th of July. Each recipe will highlight a “skinny” fresh berry dish ranging from sides, to salads, to dips, and deserts, according to a press release.

The Skinny Summertime Sweepstakes grand prize is a $1,000 airline voucher and $500 gift card from globalhotelcards.com, but smaller weekly prizes consisting of $100 VISA gift cards will be given out as well.

To enter just look for the Skinny Summertime Sweepstakes logo on California Giant Berry Farms' homepage.

California Giant

SUNSET Produce

SOLEDAD, CA - Braga Fresh's line of romaine hearts, Josie's Organics, stole the show at the United Fresh Produce Association's annual convention this month, winning the Best New Packaging Product Award from a pool of over 40 competitors. Judges loved the blue polka dot packaging designed by Moxxy Marketing, a design meant to reflect the wholesome goodness of Braga Family produce.

“As a third generation farming family, we know a lot about quality, sustainability and hard work,” said Braga Fresh Family Farms President Rod Braga. “Moxxy designed this look to honor my grandmother. Her commitment to hard work and serving healthy meals inspires us every day to help families put fresh vegetables on the table. We named Josie’s Organics after her.”

Braga's grandmother was the inspiration for the Josie's logo which was designed to represent the Josie's tagline “deliciously organic produce” and the modern American woman: busy and focused on her health, according to a press release. The font on the packaging is also intended to remind consumers of a woman’s handwriting.

Although still relatively new in produce circles, Josie's Organics are already being sold at Whole Foods, Kroger, and many independent retailers. Sales so far have been excellent, supported by Braga's reputation for quality, food safety, customer service, and of course the award-winning packaging.

Congratulations on the Best New Packaging Product Award Braga Fresh!

Braga Fresh

SAN MIGUEL, AZ - The United States government announced that it has launched an investigation in the wake of an incident early on Thrusday morning between U.S. Border Patrol and a Mexican Law Enforcement helicopter in which shots were fired on the U.S agents. Luckily no Americans were harmed in the skirmish.

"A Mexican law enforcement helicopter crossed approximately 100 yards (100 meters) north into Arizona nearly 8 miles (13 km) southwest of the Village of San Miguel," U.S. Border Officials in Tucson said. "The incident is currently under investigation."

According to KVOA News, U.S. Border Patrol Spokesperson Andy Adame said that the Mexican helicopter was on American territory during the course of a “drug interdiction operation.” During the course of the operation, Mexican police mistakenly fired two shots on Boarder Patrol Agents, according to Reuters.

"One of the helicopters apparently crossed the line and fired on a marked border patrol vehicle," said Shawn Moran, Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council. "They missed all the agents...It is my understanding that they [the Mexican military] went back across the border and contacted the U.S. and apologized for the incident," he said.

Thursdays incident comes at a time of heightened tension on topics of border security and immigration control in the United States. Early Friday morning, The Hill reported on plans by immigration activist group United We Dream to occupy office buildings in the House of Representatives in protest of Republican opposition to immigration reform and for "harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric."

United We Dream also wants Congress to do more for undocumented minors. Over 52,000 unaccompanied children have been smuggled into the U.S. from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras alone this year. United We Dream is fighting for an expansion of the 2012 program the Obama administration passed, which deprioritized undocumented children for deportation, to include their family members.

Republicans however stand firm in their commitment to table immigration reform until the Obama administration improves security on the southern boarder.

U.S. Representative Duncan Hunter told Reuters reporters that the Department of Homeland Security informed him that there had been 300 documented incursions onto U.S. soil by the Mexican military since 2004. 152 of these incidents had involved armed subjects.

Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for developments in this ongoing situation.