Specialty Crops
Because fresh produce lacks long-term storage and futures hedging, retail buyers must ditch rigid sourcing calendars and build flexible supplier partnerships to navigate constant market shocks.
Elevated Foods is connecting small-scale specialty crop growers directly to major retailers, using lab-backed soil health data and streamlined logistics to bring regenerative agriculture into mainstream grocery aisles.
A pioneering pilot from the U.S. Food Waste Pact reveals that redirecting farm-level surplus strawberries into commercial kitchens can deliver an 80% revenue boost over juicing channels for growers while offering foodservice operators a 22.4% cost savings.
By establishing a new proprietary farm and tripling its local blackberry footprint, Berry Fresh says it is extending its summer harvest window and enhancing domestic retail consistency with superior fruit varieties.
Advanced nutrient analysis is giving fresh produce growers the hard data they need to prove soil health directly translates to superior crop quality, opening the door for better margins at retail.
The Transfarmation Project has unveiled its second demonstration hub in Iowa, where the Faaborg family transformed a 30-year hog farming operation into a thriving specialty mushroom business.
Micropep submitted U.S. and EU regulatory dossiers for its peptide biofungicide Promisin, giving produce growers a residue-free tool to combat fungal diseases in grapes and potatoes.
By combining hands-on climate resilience trials with cooperative aggregation strategies, Chatham University’s Eden Hall Campus is demonstrating how regional specialty crop producers can scale up to meet commercial buyers’ standards without incurring massive financial risk.
On AgriTalk, Richard Fordyce outlined key August deadlines, simplified quality loss coverage for 2023-24 crop damage and pending congressional relief efforts.
Deerpoint Group has tapped the agricultural executive as its first chief revenue officer to oversee the expansion of its automated irrigation and crop nutrition technology into new regional markets across the U.S.
Meteorologists warn of a powerful late-2026 climate pattern that threatens to disrupt the fresh produce sector with severe market and operational volatility, which will force retailers to rely on predictive data and diversified sourcing networks to keep shelves stocked and stabilize costs.
The request allocates $10 billion to row and specialty crop producers for crops planted in 2026, with the remaining $1.1 billion designated for Florida farmers hit by winter storms in late 2025 and early 2026.
An unseasonably warm winter in the Southwest desert has accelerated a destructive whitefly virus outbreak, cutting yields by up to 40% and forcing major shippers into a temporary, near-total two-week supply blackout before northern crops recover.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the enrollment period and payment rates for the new Assistance for Specialty Crops Farmers program to support producers facing elevated costs and unfair foreign trade competition.
Driven by a volatile cocktail of geopolitical conflicts and skyrocketing fuel and fertilizer costs, the U.S. fresh produce industry is navigating a hidden crisis where stable retail averages mask a shrinking financial safety net for independent farmers.
Great Lakes Tek Flex will tackle the unique challenges of Midwestern growers by connecting them with autonomous robotics and AI solutions to solve labor shortages and accelerate technology adoption across the region.
Following the House passage of H.R. 7567, industry organizations are urgently calling on the Senate to swiftly approve the bipartisan farm bill to provide vital economic stability and competitive investments for American family farms.
USDA expects to announce payment rates for its $1B specialty crop aid in a few weeks after closing acreage reporting, which will determine how relief is distributed across eligible crops.
While the USDA begins rolling out long-awaited specialty crop grants, National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles warns that the $1 billion in emergency relief for the industry remains stuck in neutral, leaving farmers waiting on urgently needed relief that has yet to arrive.
Agriculture expert Will Westmoreland explains how the Iran conflict has triggered surging prices for fuel, fertilizer and plastics, creating a direct economic bridge between Middle Eastern instability and rising costs in the U.S. produce aisle.
As production costs skyrocket and retail giants consolidate, growers struggle to maintain margins in an imbalanced supply chain.
The National Potato Council CEO breaks down the push for a more resilient farm bill and why targeted relief is essential for the future of specialty crops and U.S. growers.
National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles details how the industry moved from the legislative sidelines to the heart of the 2026 Farm Bill.
USDA says it will provide $1 billion in assistance for specialty crops, sugar and commodities not covered through the previously announced Farmer Bridge Assistance program, but with $500 million in losses to just russet potatoes alone, the figure falls well short of the full funding needed.
In a letter to the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture Committees, the caucus calls for the immediate release of the $1 billion in USDA Farmer Bridge Assistance Program aid earmarked for specialty crop producers.
Just the russet variety of potatoes alone are looking at $500 million in losses this year, says National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles.
More from the dynamic expo floor at the recent NYPS at New York City’s Javits Center.