Produce Grower magazine

07/06/2024

Our editors picked the best of the best from the California coast at California Spring Trials 2024:

https://www.greenhousemag.com/article/california-spring-trails-2024-recap/

05/06/2024

Our June issue is here! On the cover: We dig into the FMI (The Food Industry Association) Power of Produce report, which identifies insights and opportunities for the entire fresh produce supply chain.

Consumers want to incorporate fresh produce into more meal occasions, reduce produce food waste and learn more about the nutritional value of fresh foods — a boon for the CEA market and crucial information to examine for sales, marketing and packaging plans.

Read more:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/fmi-food-industry-association-power-produce-report-data-research-price-health-fresh-food-waste-shopping-habits/

04/06/2024

Happy workiversary to our associate editor, Emily Mills! You can get in touch with her at [email protected] to share story ideas or feedback or just say hi!

Another May anniversary shout out. Congratulations to Emily who is celebrating 1 year at GIE this month.

Best part about your job? Everyone in the green industry is so helpful in sharing their knowledge and experiences, and I enjoy getting to talk to people to learn more about the industry every day!

Hobbies outside of work? I enjoy reading, yoga, crocheting, traveling, spending time with family and friends and applying what I learn at work in my own garden!

Thanks for all that you do Emily!

03/06/2024

Artemy is a new harvest robot ready for the commercial market after being developed jointly by 株式会社デンソー / DENSO — a mobility supplier headquartered in Kariya, Japan — and horticulture technology company Certhon.

The 1,100-pound (500-kilogram) robot is equipped with advanced vision technology for scanning the crop by its maturity and harvests ripe truss tomatoes 🍅

https://www.producegrower.com/news/artemy-cherry-truss-tomato-harvest-robot-denso-certhon-produce-greenhouse-growing/

30/05/2024

A University of Florida study currently underway may help pave the way for a robust crop of Florida-grown hops.

Researchers with University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences believe they have identified a method for making hop-growing viable despite Florida’s incompatible climate: greenhouses 🍺

https://www.producegrower.com/news/beer-hops-greenhouse-crop-university-florida-institute-food-agricultural-sciences-research/

28/05/2024

Vertical farming technology and infrastructure company Nature's Miracle has announced the successful manufacturing and shipment of its first two customized container farms in its proprietary "MiracleTainer" series to Growterra, an Ohio-based vertical farming company:

https://www.producegrower.com/news/natures-miracle-holdings-miracletainer-series-farm-shipments-shipping/

22/05/2024

U.S. indoor agriculture company Local Bounti has opened a new controlled environment agriculture facility in Pasco, Washington.

The company said its Washington facility reports higher yields while utilizing less water, land and pesticides compared to traditional farming methods. According to the company, Local Bounti's sustainable growing methods use 90% less land and 90% less water than conventional farming methods:

https://www.producegrower.com/news/local-bounti-new-high-tech-controlled-environment-agriculture-facility-cea-pasco-washington/

21/05/2024

We love having Brian as part of the Produce Grower team! You can reach out to Brian at [email protected] to advertise with us (or just to say hi!)

Congratulations to Brian who is celebrating 12 years at GIE this month! Thanks for all that you do Brian.

20/05/2024

Vertically integrated controlled environment agricultural company and snacking tomato brand NatureSweet is applauding the recent decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade that invalidated a 2019 determination by the U.S. Department of Commerce that exporters of fresh tomatoes had “dumped” product into the U.S. from Mexico, requiring Commerce to reconsider whether dumping actually occurred and, if so, what duty rates apply:

https://www.producegrower.com/news/us-court-international-trade-ruling-tomato-import-tax-mexico-invalid-naturesweet/

15/05/2024

Today is International Day of Families!

In recognition of that, we're sharing the news that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has updated package sizes and increased fruits and vegetables in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

It's a change FMI – The Food Industry Association welcomes.

“As private sector partners with the federal government serving as points of redemption for WIC participants, FMI and its grocery members are committed to strengthening the program in a way that aligns with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and provides WIC customers with greater choice and convenience to make the purchasing decisions that best meet their individual and family needs," said FMI Chief Public Policy Officer and Senior Vice President of Government and Member Relations Jennifer Hatcher.

Read more:

https://www.producegrower.com/news/fmi-food-industry-association-wic-food-fruit-vegetable-benefits-special-supplemental-nutrition-program-women-infants-children/

13/05/2024

No fruiting vine crop can be grown without receiving all primary and secondary macronutrients and micronutrients. But the nutrient requirements of high-wire crops like tomato, pepper, eggplant and cucumber are different from many of their leafy crop counterparts.

Learn more about fruiting crop requirements to get the best quality vining crops:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/fruiting-vine-crop-nutrient-requirements/

08/05/2024

The U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule to strengthen protections for farmworkers, with the department saying the rule targets vulnerability and abuses experienced by workers under the H-2A program that undermine fair labor standards for all farmworkers in the U.S.:

https://www.producegrower.com/news/united-states-department-of-labor-finalizes-farmworker-protection-rule/

06/05/2024

Producing hydroponic strawberries is all about the fruit quality. Here are the basics of growing an increasingly popular greenhouse crop 🍓

https://www.producegrower.com/article/strawberries-201-dec-2023/

03/05/2024

Here’s what could be causing your basil crops to grow slower than expected:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/slow-basil-growth-hydroponic-production/

01/05/2024

With its organic strawberry program, Nature Fresh Farms focuses on every small detail to get it right 🍓

https://www.producegrower.com/article/nature-fresh-farms-organic-strawberries/

29/04/2024

At Little Leaf Farms, building the business begins with growing high-quality lettuce and modernizing peri-urban agriculture 🥬

Learn more about this baby leaf lettuce operation:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/little-leaf-farms-paul-sellew/

28/04/2024

Nice work, Eden Green Technology!

26/04/2024

Texas A&M AgriLife Research entomologist Kiran Gadhave, Ph.D., has been selected as one of 11 recipients of the New Innovator in Food and Agriculture Research Award from the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research.

Gadhave’s project selected for award by FFAR, funded at almost $500,000, is to develop an integrated pest management tool to offer a next-generation breakthrough solution to one of the largest hindrances to expanding specialty crop production in the Texas Panhandle — tomato spotted wilt virus and thrips.

But his research findings will impact beyond that region. Gadhave’s research will pave a new way to use independent-mobile RNA, or iRNA, as a tool against a broad spectrum of pest-pathogen threats in multiple specialty and staple food crops worldwide. He is developing a type of RNA that can deliver targeted therapeutics specifically tailored against viruses and thrips:

https://www.producegrower.com/news/texas-am-agrilife-research-kiran-gadhave-tomato-spotted-wilt-virus-thrips-integrated-pest-management-ipm/

24/04/2024

You’ve refined the integrated pest management program, including a top-notch scouting team. But with the rigors of all the other production needs, pest and disease issues continue to be a problem.

These companies — Biobest Group / BioWorks, ecoation and IPM Scoutek — offer products and services that lend extra help to your staff:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/pest-disease-monitoring-apps-scouting-biobest-ecoation-ipm-scoutek-cea/

22/04/2024

According to research from PDG Insights, consumers are just as interested in supporting local brands as they are local retailers:

💰 Almost half of US consumers say they go out of their way to buy local brands or products.
🍅 52% of respondents intentionally bought local fruits and vegetables.
🧑 Younger consumers are more intent on buying local brands across categories. Consumers under 35 are intentionally buying local brands in twice as many categories as those 55 and older.
🛍️ 68% of shoppers said that having access to local brands in the fruits and veggies category was extremely important or very important.

Does your marketing reflect that priority?

https://www.producegrower.com/article/local-produce-brands-marketing-pdg-insights/

19/04/2024

Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) represents a paradigm shift in agriculture. Food producers can leverage greenhouses and indoor farms to grow fresh produce year-round and fill the needs of communities in food deserts while offering their crops a controlled and optimized growth environment.

From high-efficiency mechanical cooling systems and supplemental or sole-sourced LED lighting to automated controls and CO2 supplementation, growers have more tools than ever to control the quality of their crops’ environment. However, the conventional wisdom of maintaining strict environmental setpoints that push plants to their production limits may inadvertently lead to inefficiencies in resource utilization.

Instead, growers can unlock new opportunities for resource efficiency and crop steering by embracing a more nuanced approach that involves tracking environmental parameter averages daily or over several days.

In his first column for Produce Grower, Rob Eddy from the Resource Innovation Institute explores how this mindset shift can lead to more resource-efficient and economically resilient operations:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/environmental-tracking-resource-efficiency-controlled-environment-agriculture-cea/

17/04/2024

Culinary herbs are adaptable to a variety of means of production. The type of system isn’t only influenced by the final product, like containerized and living versus fresh-cut and packaged herbs, as these can be produced in a myriad of systems. But what’s best for you?

Whether you grow containerized or fresh-cut herbs, there are several choices of production systems that work well for this crop.

Read more from Christopher J. Currey at Iowa State University Department of Horticulture:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/herb-production-container-fresh-guide/

15/04/2024

California-based Norfolk Healthy Produce has launched online seed sales of its first product, the Purple Tomato, a GMO product exclusive to consumers in the U.S.

Find out how this indeterminate cherry tomato is purple:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/purple-tomato-norfolk-healthy-produce-gmo/

(Photos by Norfolk Healthy Produce)

12/04/2024

With an eye on innovation and automation, Nourse Farms is expanding in 2024:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/nourse-farms-expansion-tissue-culture-lab-greenhouse-massachusetts/

11/04/2024

We love having Thomas as part of the Produce Grower team! You can reach out to Thomas at [email protected] to advertise with us (or just to say hi!)

Congratulations to Thomas who is celebrating 3 years at GIE this month!

Favorite part about working at GIE?
One of my favorite parts of working here at GIE is the travel & meeting with our partners across the country. Not only does it give us a better understanding for their needs but allows us to build meaningful business relationships that lasts for many years.

What is your favorite book?
The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin. It’s a great balance of tying in business practices & wartime events the authors experienced in the early 2000’s.

Thanks for all that you do Thomas!

10/04/2024

Customers have clear color preferences for microgreens.

Find out more on this research by Alicia Rihn, Kellie Walters and Natalie Bumgarner from the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/consumer-preferences-research-microgreens/

08/04/2024

Our April issue is here! On the cover: Gotham Greens’ Viraj Puri and Jenn Frymark share the grower’s formula for successful, calculated expansion.

https://www.producegrower.com/article/gotham-greens-expansion-viraj-puri-jenn-frymark-urban-agriculture/

05/04/2024

Kyle Freedman, CEA segment manager of Jiffy Group, explains how the company is helping the CEA industry search for alternatives to peat moss:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/jiffy-group-cea-peat-moss-alternatives/

04/04/2024

Congratulations to Nature Fresh Farms, whose Hiiros Tomatoes were named a winner in the 2024 Good Housekeeping Best Snack Awards as “Best Snacking Tomatoes” 🍅

https://www.producegrower.com/news/nature-fresh-farms-hiiros-tomato-best-snacking-tomatoes-2024-good-housekeeping-best-snack-awards/

03/04/2024

A newly launched, first-of-its-kind institute aims to address a glaring gap in the medical system by working to integrate food-based nutrition interventions into health care to treat disease and advance health equity.

The Food is Medicine Institute at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University establishes a university-wide initiative aimed at transforming health care through scalable food-based interventions, like:

💊 medically tailored meals and prescriptions for produce
🥼 nutrition education for doctors
📋 clinical care, electronic health record and reimbursement pathways for nutrition-based tools to help treat or prevent diet-related illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers and complications during pregnancy

https://www.producegrower.com/article/food-is-medicine-institute-tufts-university/