United Fresh to Launch Remagine Connections with Regional In-Person Gathering and Online Content

With California’s continued limitation on conventions and expos of our size, United Fresh is launching Reimagine Connections, a new program bringing members together in-person at smaller regional events, and online for education, networking and innovation events.  Reimagine Connections will deliver:

• A series of smaller in-person regional events where members can gather and build those relationships we all so value;
• An online education and networking portfolio that truly serves the business needs of our industry; and,
• A new opportunity for companies to host their own Innovation Spotlight Broadcasts to connect with clients and colleagues about new products, business solutions and services.

“We’re very disappointed California requirements will not allow us to host our trade show in Los Angeles this June. We had looked forward to partnering this year with the Fresh Produce and Floral Council, and appreciate their collaboration and hard work in building what might have been our largest show ever,” said United Fresh Chairman Michael Muzyk, President of Baldor Specialty Foods, Inc.

“But once again United Fresh is re-inventing the member experience to connect in new ways. Combining a new portfolio of top education, networking, and innovation sessions with a series of in-person regional events allows us to Reimagine Connections across our industry,” he said.

In-Person Regional Events

As local conditions permit, United Fresh will host safe education and networking events in several cities this summer. “We know that members are anxious to see each other, so we’re bringing that opportunity to them,” said United Fresh President & CEO Tom Stenzel. A schedule of dates and locations for United Fresh regional events will be forthcoming, together with information about how to register and/or sponsor these events.

Online Education/Networking

Registration will open May 1 for a series of online education and networking sessions that complement the in-person events. Online education and networking will take a deep dive into five unique tracks throughout the spring and summer, including:

• Produce 101 – Orientation to the Fresh Produce Supply Chain
• Key Issues in Produce Safety
• BrandStorm™ Continued – Marketing as Key to Increasing Sales
• Overcoming Supply Chain Challenges to Profitability
• Top-to-Top Retail-Foodservice Dialogues for Success

Each track will have a minimum of five individual one-hour sessions, for a total of 25 sessions.  Registration will be available for each track for $400. Access to all five tracks is $1,500, a $500 savings.  Companies can receive three full packages for members of their team for $4,000, an additional $500 savings. And for those companies who want to make this a total team event, a $10,000 package enables a company to have unlimited staff access to these programs.

Looking at the content, associates just starting out in the industry will find great value in our “Orientation” track, learning about each stage of the supply chain and getting to know their peers. Staff working in food safety, marketing or supply chain will gain advanced knowledge and skills in those disciplines. And, C-Suite executives will enjoy exclusive access in top-to-top retail and foodservice strategy sessions on what lies ahead for our industry.

Innovation Spotlight Broadcasts

“We know that everyone is tired of virtual expos, where “exhibitors” have to wait patiently for someone to visit their “booth,” said John Toner, United Fresh’s Vice President of Convention & Industry Collaboration. “But we also know that new product development and innovation are the lifeline to the future – and buyers want to see what’s new! So, we’re offering companies the opportunity to host their own live, interactive presentations online.”

The Innovation Spotlight Broadcasts are a more creative way for companies to connect personally with buyers who want to see new produce items, what’s new in packaging, or even future technologies to streamline operations. A limited number of Innovation Spotlight Broadcasts will be available at a cost of $4,000 for a 45-minute session.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been a nightmare to individuals and families around the world. And, it has disrupted businesses and challenged employees throughout the produce industry,” Stenzel said. “While we’re disappointed that we can’t have thousands of people at our trade show this June, we can still connect our industry to learn together, to build relationships with our colleagues, and to grow our businesses through new products and innovations. That’s an essential job of a trade association, and we’re excited to bring these new opportunities to our members.”

Cover Crops in Vegetables

(2nd of Two Parts)

By Tim Hammerich, with The Ag Information Network

There can be benefits of incorporating cover crops into vegetable cropping systems. However, it can’t be overlooked that executing a cover crop strategy is not always easy. USDA ARS research horticulturist Eric Brennan says it’s a lot like juggling.

“Growers in this area know that cover crops are helpful. We’ve known this for decades. The challenge is that growing cover crops makes your management more challenging because you’ve got to time things better. And so for example, probably the most common analogy that I use with this is juggling,” said Brennan “So I like to juggle. And if you can think of juggling three balls, that’s kind of like having two crops in a system, you know, those would be two balls and then you add the third ball and that’s the cover crop. It’s far more challenging to manage three different crops.”

And Brennan would know. He has been studying the impacts of cover crops on vegetables for 18 years.

“For the first eight years, we had some systems where we cover cropped every single winter. You’ve really gotta have the timing down correctly for it to work. Over time I got better at it. So a lot of this is practice, learning from others, trying new methods. So I’m optimistic, but I’m also aware that it’s challenging,” said Brennan.

Brennan’s research focuses on lettuce and broccoli specifically.

Cover Crops in Vegetables Can Pickup Nitrogen

(First of Two Parts)

By Tim Hammerich, with the Ag Information Network

More and more row crop farmers are looking to cover crops every year, but will they work on vegetable crops. According to Eric Brennan, a research horticulturist with the USDA ARS in Salinas, the answer is a resounding “yes”. In fact, he says it’s one of the most important things a grower can do to comply with the new ag order 4.0.

“For example, if you grow, say a lettuce crop and then broccoli during the warmer periods of the year in Salinas. If you follow that with a cover crop like rye, which is a grass – a cereal. That can basically scavenge nitrogen that would otherwise leach down into the aquifer that we use for drinking and irrigation, and then recycle that that can be used in the following year’s production,” said Brennan.

Brennan’s study on the impact of cover crops is now in its 18th year, and he says the data is pretty clear.

“What we found was that if you frequently cover crop, then you tend to get much higher yields than if you don’t cover crop as often. And that’s assuming that you apply the same amount of fertilizer. So a farmer could get a higher yield if they don’t grow a cover crop, but they would have to apply more fertilizer. But when we’re growing cover crops, we’re able to get relatively high yields with fewer fertilizer inputs,” noted Brennan.

Brennan says the nitrogen in the cover crop biomass is released back into the soil when it decomposes.

Revoking/Postponing of 5 Percent Allocation is Worrying Growers

By Patrick Cavanaugh, with Ag Information Network

The US Bureau of Reclamation’s, recent revoking of the earlier announced 5% allocation for federal water users is a great concern for many tree nut growers farming in those districts, Ryan Jacobsen is CEO and executive director of the Fresno County Farm Bureau. He said even that new biological opinion is not working out well.

“Yeah, but you know, the inflexibility of those, during this time in which those are being challenged,” said Jacobsen. “And so, we are currently living with what we have in existence and the unfortunate nature of this whole thing right now is that there are people that will suffer from this. There are people that will lose jobs that crops will not be planted because this is a very significant development. That’s going to continue to hammer our, Western side of the County .”

And it wasn’t a big, robust year of rain and snow, but it wasn’t like California got nothing. In fact, in Northern California, they got 51% of average precipitation and the snowpack levels are at 63% of average. And it was hoping that that earlier 5% allocation announcement would move to 10 or 15% somewhere around April 1st.

“Yeah, our hope was based on the fact that there was the potential for some additional storms to still come in,” Jacobsen said.

And some moderate storms actually did come in, but it just wasn’t enough.

“What’s used in the water world is the April 1st average. Typically, that’s the snowpack number up and down the state. And so obviously we’re, we’re quickly approaching that at this point,” noted Jacobsen.