Latest News From Florida

Tom Karst, Chris Koger, Amy Sowder and Ashley Nickle take you through the big stories of the week, from developments related to H-2A wages to company news born from increased demand for online grocery services.

Florida Ag Expo, an annual trade show with educational seminars for vegetable and specialty crop growers, has decided to forego its 2020 event. 

Get a rundown of the news of the week from Tom Karst, Chris Koger, Ashley Nickle and Amy Sowder on topics from Trevor Suslow leaving PMA to Oleen Smethurst receiving the Canadian Produce Person of the Year Award.

The Florida Tomato Exchange is keeping tabs on Mexican tomato imports through a new website, TomatoMonitor.com.

Veronique Sallin, co-founder of Clermont, Fla.-based IMG Enterprises Inc., parent company of IMG Citrus, is Florida’s 2020 Woman of the Year in Agriculture.

The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association has scheduled two regional meetings to provide updates on issues affecting the state’s growers.

Port Manatee, Palmetto, Fla., has seen its containerized cargo business rise at a record pace, in part due to fruit imports.

Manny Wong, owner and president of Fullei Fresh, Miami, has been named the Minority-Owned Small Business Person of Year for South Florida by the Small Business Administration.

Miami-based WP Produce is partnering with The Produce Moms to increase awareness and build a following for Desbry brand of tropical avocados, a large variety that’s slow to oxidize after being cut.

Aaron Troyer, president of Troyer Brothers, Fort Myers, Fla., is the new chairman of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association.

The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association has announced Class 10 of its Emerging Leader Development Program.

As Florida’s fall harvest season begins, there are new efforts to provide COVID-19 testing for farmworkers.

The Trump administration plans to take steps to protect U.S. growers of seasonal produce against what it calls threats of increased imports.

U.S. growers, trade groups, Florida officials and members of Congress testified virtually in front of federal agencies that imports, mostly targeting Mexico, are increasingly making harder for U.S. farms to survive.

Del Monte Fresh Produce NA, Coral Gables, Fla., has opened its own packing facility in Michoacán, Mexico, said Chris Henry, vice president of sales and product management for avocados.

The heat and humidity that tropical avocados crave has shown up right on schedule in South Florida, said Mary Ostlund, director of marketing for Homestead-based Brooks Tropicals Inc.

A partnership is building a 312,000-square-foot cold storage facility for imported perishables in South Florida by the fourth quarter of 2021.

University of Florida researchers at the newly created Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ Food Systems Institute will work on economically and environmentally sustainable solutions to feeding the world.

The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association is accepting applications for its next Emerging Leader Development Program class.

A University of Florida survey on COVID-19’s effects on the state’s agriculture industry shows that most operations continue to operate, and expect to weather the long-term effects of the pandemic.

The new coronavirus COVID-19 hasn’t changed one reality: Publix has an iron grip on Florida grocery sales. 

Reseachers working on a solution to citrus greening disease, aka huanglongbing (HLB), at the University of Florida, have discovered another possible solution.

The University of Florida is asking for growers to participate in a study on the pandemic’s effects on the state’s agriculture industry.

Reviving an idea that promoted Florida produce following a natural disaster, the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences has a new “buy local” program, SWFL Fresh.

An updated nutrition book for citrus growers is available from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

The Florida agriculture department has added an interactive map and other updates to its website that links growers to consumers during the pandemic.

The National Watermelon Promotion Board, Winter Springs, Fla., is realigning resources to adapt to new market realities.

Suffering millions in lost farm sales because of COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants since mid-March, some Florida growers are now selling some of their crops directly to consumers.

The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association is helping growers find consumers to buy their produce during the COVID-19 crisis.

TAMPA, Fla. — I hope the 2,700 people who flooded the Tampa Convention Center for the Southeast Produce Council’s Southern Exposure expo absorbed some vitamin D.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue visited the Florida Strawberry Festival and hosted a roundtable with industry members, where concerns over fair trade were voiced.

The Office of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has scheduled hearings for growers to talk about concerns of unfair competition with Mexican products.

TAMPA, Fla. — Making connections, deepening relationships and learning the latest were all activities on parade at the Southeast Produce Council’s Southern Exposure 2020 trade show. 

A referendum on proposed amendments to the federal marketing order for Florida tomatoes is set from May 11 through June 1.

Grimmway Farms, Bakersfield, Calif., is offering a limited supply of numerous vegetables under its Cal-Organic label from its Southeast production areas.

Aija Paolillo is the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension citrus agent for DeSoto, Hardee and Manatee counties.

The Florida strawberry crop for Well-Pict Berries, Watsonville, Calif., will be in peak harvest in February.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on three Florida and one Texas business for violating the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.

As part of its sponsorship of the Life Time Miami Marathon & Half Marathon, Chiquita Brands International, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is providing bananas to runners.

Nikki Fried, commissioner of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, is promoting Florida products in a pre-Super Bowl event.

When President Trump signed the USMCA, responses from the U.S., Canada and Mexican fresh produce industries were generally positive.

TMC Produce Solutions has opened a new office in Florida’s Miami/Pompano Beach area.

Hugh Hinton Branch, who founded Hugh H. Branch Inc. in 1957, has died.

Citrus volume out of Texas as of mid-January was on pace with last year, and growers were not reporting any major quality problems.

Florida citrus growers anticipate a good season this year, weather permitting, thanks to good volume and favorable growing conditions.

World Direct Shipping, Palmetto, Fla., has extended an agreement with Port Manatee, and added a third vessel to its service.

Despite challenging conditions, a number of Florida strawberry growers continue to ramp up their volume of organic berries every season.

In the wake of trade deals that have left some U.S. produce growers unhappy about an influx of imported fruits and vegetables, the new American Grown campaign is taking its message to consumers instead of lawmakers.

The Commerce Department’s decision in May to withdraw an agreement suspending an anti-dumping investigation on Mexican tomatoes entering the U.S. set off a contentious debate on imported tomatoes in 2019.

U.S. orange production forecasts have remained steady in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest citrus report, but Florida should expect a slight increase over last year’s final production.