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Red Sun Farms, Heritable Agriculture and CIV partner to accelerate indoor strawberry innovation

Red Sun Farms, Heritable Agriculture and Consorzio Italiano Vivaisti announced significant progress in their collaborative effort to develop leading indoor-grown strawberries at the Vineland Research Station facility. The partnership combines CIV’s expertise in strawberry genetics and germplasm, Heritable Agriculture’s AI-driven breeding models and Red Sun Farms’ indoor growing capabilities to advance how premium strawberries are bred and produced. By using AI simulations to predict crop performance, the partnership is streamlining breeding timelines and optimizing key traits for greenhouse

Get ahead in 2026: Natural Grocers shares key trends for living well

Natural Grocers has released its Top Trends for 2026. Now in its 10th year, the forecast outlines emerging practices and products expected to influence four core categories: health and wellness, body care and beauty, food and beverage and ecologically thoughtful living. Guided by insights from the company’s Nutrition Education team — including registered dietitians, nutrition therapists and certified natural foods chefs — along with Natural Grocers’ marketing and analytics professionals, the 2026 predictions combine research, consumer behavior and hands-on expertise. The result is a practical

Schnucks expands farmer’s market concept, building on local produce partnership

Schnuck Markets Inc., in partnership with Foodshed.io, is expanding its farm-direct-to-store program, increasing the number and variety of farms supplying its locations to boost freshness and flavor for customers. The pilot program launched in fall 2024 with one farm supplying multiple Schnucks stores across the St. Louis region. After its success, Schnucks expanded the initiative in 2025 to include more farmers and additional store locations. “This program is a natural next step in our mission to strengthen our local food economy and provide our customers with the freshest possible products,”

Salix Fruits builds on citrus leadership and logistics agility to drive growth in 2026

Salix Fruits, a leading global importer and exporter of fresh fruit, has released its annual review highlighting its strongest-performing categories in 2025, key logistics developments and strategic priorities for 2026. The company said citrus—particularly lemons and easy peelers—along with apples and pears led performance across core markets in 2025. Growth was supported by an increase in program business with retailers and foodservice operators, a more efficient mix of Southern and Northern Hemisphere supply, standardized quality specifications with growers and packers and a disciplined

Bimi Baby Broccoli celebrates street food culture at Museum of Food & Drink’s Street Food City exhibition

Bimi Baby Broccoli, a global sponsor of the World Food Photography Awards, will be featured at the Museum of Food and Drink’s upcoming exhibition Street Food City, opening to the public Dec. 6 at MOFAD’s DUMBO location at 55 Water St. The exhibition will be open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. Tickets are available here. Street Food City highlights the entrepreneurs, recipes and cultural traditions that shape New York’s diverse street food scene. As part of the exhibition, MOFAD will present a curated selection of images from the World Food Photography Awards, showcasing street

Mission Produce appoints Douglas Stone to board of directors

Mission Produce Inc. has appointed Douglas M. Stone to its board of directors as an independent Class I director, with a term set to expire at the company’s 2027 annual meeting of stockholders. With the appointment, the board has expanded from 10 to 11 members. Stone also has been named to the compensation committee, effective Nov. 26, 2025. As part of the change, Bruce C. Taylor will step down from the committee. Stone brings decades of leadership experience in the agribusiness sector. He most recently served as president of AgriBusiness at J.R. Simplot Co. from June 2018 through December
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SALINAS, CA " After a three- or four-year gestation period, it appears that D?Arrigo Bros. Co. of California finally may be able to move forward on plans to build a 219,000-square-foot facility near Spreckels, CA, near its current base of operations, here.

A Monterey County Superior Court judge has upheld a board of supervisors decision last March to permit D?Arrigo Bros. to build the facility. Advocacy group LandWatch Monterey County filed a lawsuit last spring, challenging the board?s decision by arguing that an environmental impact report was needed.

In his ruling Tuesday, Jan. 25, Judge Robert O?Farrell found that the advocacy group failed to show that the $27 million plant would significantly affect the environment and that supervisors had followed the law in approving the project. LandWatch?s board of directors and the residents of Spreckels have 60 days to consider whether to appeal the judge?s decision.

The D?Arrigo project is on a 34-acre site on Harris Road. The plant includes a 172,500-square-foot cooler building that will also house office space, a fitness room and an equipment area.

John D?Arrigo, president of the D?Arrigo Bros. Co. of California, said that the company intends to consolidate its operations in the Spreckels plant. Mr. D?Arrigo said that the facility would allow the company "one-stop pickups," something it sorely needs.

Currently, the company is using an "undersized? cooler in nearby Castroville, CA, as well as a cooler in Salinas. Both facilities are north of the company?s main farming fields and require D?Arrigo Bros. to drive its trucks through Salinas.

?We won?t pull trucks through the city," Mr. D?Arrigo said. "[The new facility] will reduce over 325,000 miles annually in field-truck trips."

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