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President Bush approves specialty crops bill

WASHINGTON - Right before the holidays, the produce industry got some good news from Washington. President Bush signed the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act Dec. 21, funneling precious new money into programs that promote fruits and vegetables. Three years in the making, the new law authorizes $54 million annually for five years in grants that are designed to enhance the competitiveness of each state?s fresh produce crops. 'As a model for federal agricultural funding, none of the millions of dollars earmarked for the produce industry will come in the form of direct subsidies," said Western

Frank Basile, long-time employee at Monterey Mushrooms, was 55

Frank Basile, a well-known and well-respected produce industry veteran, died of liver cancer on Dec. 15 at his home in Gilroy, CA. He was 55. Mr. Basile was senior sales manager for the Western region at Monterey Mushrooms in Watsonville, CA, for more than 22 years. As a sales manager in the produce industry, customer relationships are paramount, and Mr. Basile enjoyed the utmost respect of his many customers, according to Monterey Mushrooms. He made a significant contribution at Monterey; he played a major role in building Monterey?s Western region sales portfolio as well as performing a key

L&M taps experienced veteran for position in Northeast

L&M Cos., headquartered in Raleigh, NC, announced that it has hired Arthur O?Leary as marketing manager for its Northeast operations. Mr. O'Leary will use his 25 years of experience with various industry associations to help build and enhance all the company?s produce segments in the New England and New York regions. In addition, he will be involved in advertisement planning, business programs and product development. For nearly 20 years, Mr. O'Leary served as regional manager for the Northwest Pear Bureau. Covering Canada, metro New York, New Jersey and New England, he worked with retailers

United and restaurant industry to hold supply chain meeting

WASHINGTON -- For the first time, top executives with produce companies and restaurants are planning to meet in early October to open a dialogue about supply-chain issues as part of a new partnership between the National Restaurant Association and the United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association. United said that the partnership, which was announced Jan. 5, is part of a new focus on supply-chain issues, and the group is exploring a similar initiative to formalize the lines of communication with the retail segment. Reaching out to the restaurant industry first was an easy fit since Jennifer Tong

Food-safety certification helps to build interest in sales for New Limeco LLC

By Tad Thompson A new PrimusLabs Global Certification is proving very beneficial for sales at New Limeco LLC, according to Eddie Caram, the general manager of the Princeton, FL, firm. "This has opened doors to what consumers and the chainstore buyers want," Mr. Caram told The Produce News Jan. 11. In December, the firm's distribution facility and Florida avocado fields were certified with a 97 percent approval rating He added, “People we are partnering with in Guatemala and Belize are also into food safety traceability since it became a big concern for us.” Mr. Caram indicated that New Limeco

USApple's Allison Parker to lead NAM

VIENNA, VA -- The U.S. Apple Association announced Jan. 14 that the National Apple Month program is now being overseen by Allison Parker, USApple's director of consumer health and education. Currently the NAM Retail & Commissary Display contest is sponsored by J.M. Smuckers and Marzetti. The program appreciates its sponsors for their commitment to partnering with the U.S. apple industry on this promotion in an effort to encourage consumption of healthy and delicious apples and apple products along with products that combine well with them like peanut butter and caramel dips. Ms. Parker, a
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SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, CA " Pride of San Juan, a leader in the gourmet lettuce, herb and edible flower businesses, is well along the path of expanding its headquarters, here.

PSJ is expanding its headquarters from 55,000 square feet to 170,000 square feet. Expansion of its Yuma, AZ, facility from 45,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet was completed Nov. 20.

?We needed to go along with the growth we?ve had," said Joe Feldman, vice president of sales and marketing. "The bar keeps being raised for food safety and quality."

PSJ has added 12 greenhouses to the site to bring to 20 the total number of greenhouses in San Juan Bautista. Ten of the new greenhouses are already on-line and full.

Greenhouse space now stands at 100,000 square feet " up from 40,000 square feet. "The greenhouses are mostly for our own transplants," Mr. Feldman said. Expansion construction both here and in Yuma began in July. Pete Trentz, chief financial officer of PSJ, said that the company would meet its target of being fully functional with the expansion here by March 15.

The infrastructure at both sites is designed to allow for further expansion with relative ease, Mr. Trentz said. The transition to the expanded facility in Yuma went smoothly, and a similarly smooth transition with no disruption to business is expected here, he said.

?We anticipate this [San Juan Bautista] and Yuma will hold up for two years," Mr. Trentz said. When the time comes to expand again, the Yuma site can add 30,000 square feet in a few weeks, he said.

The thrust behind the expansion is owed in large part to the early success PSJ is enjoying in its partnership with renowned celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse to market prepackaged salads and other items, Mr. Feldman said.

?We?ve been in "Emeril?s? for six months," Mr. Feldman said. "?Emeril?s? has gone well. We just got started with hitting retailers."

Even before the partnership with Mr. Lagasse, 10-year-old PSJ has enjoyed strong and steady growth, Mr. Trentz said.

?We?ve been sustaining 20 percent growth for the past eight years," Mr. Trentz said.

PSJ is the largest private employer in San Benito County, and with the increased space, PSJ anticipates having 900 to 1,000 seasonal employees here in 2005, up from 500 to 600 last year. Many of those workers relocate to Yuma in November and return here at the beginning of April.

The site here will include a 20,000-square-foot pepper room. For the past three years, PSJ has been leasing a plant in nearby Hollister, CA, for its peppers.

PSJ has added five loading docks here to the six existing loading docks. All 11 docks are for outbound product. Also, the packingshed here will expand by 66 percent.

The regional water quality control board has approved PSJ?s recycling of its vegetable wash water here on site, making PSJ the only agricultural company in the state to receive such approval, Mr. Trentz said. That system should be activated by April, he said.

?We?ll use the same water twice," Mr. Trentz said. "The public and Pride of San Juan benefit. We don?t have to buy as much water from the district or operate our wells as much."

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