Industry
At the 2023 SXSW conference, Avocados From Mexico’s immersive pop-up radiated avocado enthusiasm to attendees in all five senses.
In the next few years, SNAP participants in these states will have the option to use mobile payment methods — like tapping or scanning their personal mobile device — as an alternative to their physical SNAP card.
Fresh produce advocates have voiced concerns over new H-2A wage rate updates, with one calling it a “fatally flawed” approach to setting adverse effect wage rates that should be “scrapped in its entirety.”
A President Biden-appointed Equity Commission has outlined a path for USDA reform. The ag agency is already making changes, offering farm assistance and appointing a chief diversity and inclusion officer.
The deal means that Realty Income will acquire and provide funding for properties housing Plenty’s indoor farms and will lease back to the indoor grower with long-term net leases.
The hybrid conference seeks to impart thought-provoking advancements and updates from the USDA’s 29 agencies, with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack leading the event.
The California Fresh Fruit Association has applauded a 35% water allocation, which was previously 0%, but is emphasizing the need for storage, management and infrastructure improvement.
Attendees and exhibitors came ready to get inspired, learn from each other and share best-in-class produce at this year’s Global Organic Produce Expo, held Jan. 30-Feb. 1 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
U.S. agricultural exports reached $196 billion, with sales in seven agricultural export markets setting records, according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
“The data is clear: fruits and vegetables improve lives, but people aren’t consuming enough and we have to change things. Not simply for the good of the industry, but for the good of the world,” Cathy Burns said.
During a GOPEX 2023 panel discussion, indoor ag leaders shared how successful growers customize their CEA operations to address specific crops, regions and markets to maximize supply chain resiliency.
The indoor hydroponic grower’s chief revenue officer shares why he thinks controlled environment agriculture will continue to grow and sharpen its connection with consumers in 2023.
Leaders from Walmart and One Madison Group will join Plenty’s board of directors. Funds will aid Plenty’s growth, which includes using its technology platform to sell multicrop farms directly to business partners.
The 4,200,000 square feet of facilities in the Salinas Valley are an average 42 years old and are in desperate need of updates, according to the CEO of Growers Ice, a post-harvest real estate company.
This year the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service will select up to three states to receive funding and support to run an Electronic Healthy Incentives Pilot, or eHIP, for SNAP participants in their state.
Bladimir Moreno, owner of agricultural labor company LVH, led a multistate criminal enterprise and was sentenced to 118 months in prison, according to the Department of Justice.
Leaders, innovators and pillars of business were among those who died in 2022, remembered by peers for their professional contributions and their lasting impact on the people who knew them.
Supply chain disruptions were endemic when the COVID-19 pandemic began, didn’t ease much in 2021 and haven’t been totally resolved in 2022.
A portion of proceeds from the sale-leaseback will repay a $30 million bridge loan from Mastronardi Produce to AppHarvest, along with the first two years of prepaid rent at the Berea farm, according to a news release.
While 2022 had its share of challenges from labor and supply chain shortages to drought and other devastating weather-related events, the year also offered much for which to be thankful.
The USDA leaned in on efforts to support farmers and ranchers in the second half of 2022, boasting a wide span of initiatives that included everything from providing emergency relief to bolstering the organic program.
In 2022, consumers continued to ask questions about how their food is grown, harvested, produced and packaged. Interest in organic produce, regenerative agriculture and sustainable packaging options kept rising.
Too wet. Too cold. Too dry. Weather can be a wildcard come growing season, and 2022 saw fruit and vegetable production in multiple regions challenged by extreme or prolonged conditions.
It was quite a year for the International Fresh Produce Association — especially considering it the first year ever for the behemoth industry group of 3,000 members worldwide.
Considering the plethora of produce options available to consumers in the U.S., there were a few commodities in 2022 that kept our attention.
From fresh produce growers to distributors to retailers, finding labor was a challenge in 2022. Here are a few stories that reflect the importance of farm labor reform for the fresh produce industry in 2022.
The Affordable and Secure Food Act was not able to secure bipartisan support in the Senate’s lame duck session.
If passed in the final weeks of 2022, the Affordable and Secure Food Act would streamline the H2-A program, offer agricultural wage stabilization and provide a path to citizenship for farmworkers.
The USDA reports farmworker wage trends from the last year, highlighting statistics that will inform H-2A wage changes for 2023.
Recent investor reports and leadership changes have prompted concerns about the rapidly growing vertical farm operator, but the company says it’s ramping up to deliver revenue.