News

Orangeline Farms adds space, plans to market and sell own produce

Orangeline Farms, a specialty greenhouse grower located in Leamington, Ontario, Can., has expanded its operations, adding 12 acres of growing space and developing a plan to market and sell its own produce.

The core of the grower’s business is red, yellow and orange peppers.

“We are growing some of the hottest and sweetest in the world this year,” says Jordan Kniaziew, vice president of sales and marketing for Orangeline Farms.

Kniaziew says the company had previously grown its peppers and let other partners handle the selling. But healthy growth coupled with an excellent growing climate led Orangeline Farms to begin supplying its own high-quality produce to the marketplace.

Kniaziew says that Orangeline Farms is targeting the average foodie, retail partners and the food service industry.

“It’s a broad goal, but we want more control over where our produce goes,” he explains.

After the expansion, Orangeline Farms has 32 acres under glass, up from 10 acres when the company was founded in 2000.

For more: orangelinefarms.com
 

Cuesta Roble releases 2013 international vegetable production data

The 2013 edition of the “International Greenhouse Vegetable Production Statistics” by Cuesta Roble Consulting is now available for $245.

The 102-page report is a review of current worldwide data and research on the commercial production of greenhouse vegetables for 125 countries, including the United States, Canada and Mexico.

According to the 2013 report, total world greenhouse vegetable production surpassed 1.1 million acres, up from a little over 1 million in 2012.

Internationally renowned greenhouse vegetable growing consultant Gary W. Hickman compiles this data annually. A report outlining U.S.-only greenhouse vegetable statistics is also available for $75.

For more: cuestaroble.com
 

USDA addresses access to credit for farmers

According to a recent press release from the USDA, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack talked with veteran, young, beginning and socially disadvantaged producers on Feb. 14 at a community center in San Antonio, Tex., about the USDA’s work to expand credit for their farming operations. USDA is hearing from producers all across the country about USDA’s new microloan program, designed to help small and family operations secure loans under $35,000.

The program is aimed at bolstering the progress of producers through their start-up years by providing needed resources and helping to increase equity so that farmers may eventually graduate to commercial credit and expand their operations.The microloan program will also provide a less burdensome, more simplified application process in comparison to traditional farm loans, USDA says. The interest rate for microloans changes monthly and is currently 1.25 percent. While USDA continues to introduce new products that are more responsive to the credit needs of its diverse customer base, the department continues to expand its traditional farms loans.

Through USDA’s Strike Force Initiative, the department is also helping to relieve persistent poverty in high-poverty counties by improving access to programs and services. Since Strike Force began, farm loans have helped hundreds of minority producers in high-poverty counties in states with large populations of minority farmers and ranchers, including Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Mississippi, Nevada and New Mexico.

Administered through USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) Operating Loan Program, the microloan program offers credit options and solutions to a variety of producers. In assessing its programs, FSA evaluated the needs of smaller farm operations and any unintended barriers to obtaining financing. In addition, for those who want to grow niche crops to sell directly to ethnic markets and farmers markets, the microloan program offers a path to obtain financing. For past FSA Rural Youth Loan recipients, the microloan program provides a bridge to successfully transition to larger-scale operations, according to USDA press reports.

Producers can apply for a maximum of $35,000 to pay for initial start-up expenses. As financing needs increase, applicants can apply for an operating loan up to the maximum amount of $300,000 or obtain financing from a commercial lender under FSA’s Guaranteed Loan Program.

USDA farm loans can be used to purchase land, livestock, equipment, feed, seed and supplies, or they can be to construct buildings or make farm improvements.

For more: usda.gov
 

Funding directory for food and farm causes is updated

A directory aimed at funding food and farms causes has been expanded to include more than 150 new funding sources. The 2013 guide, which includes primarily private sources of funds, is titled “Healthy Food Nonprofit & New Farmer.” The directory, found on www.grant-write.com, was first published in 2012 by Pamela Burke, a Michigan grant writer.

The updated “Healthy Food Nonprofit & New Farmer Funding Guide” contains more than 150 U.S. and Canadian funding resources that include grants, loans, scholarships and financial assistance for agricultural education, gardening, farming, local food access, food security and sustainability. The guide has been created for food- and farm-related community and nonprofit groups, teachers, community gardens and markets and local food advocates, as well as new and entrepreneurial farmers. The cost of this updated guide is $30 each for a PDF version to be downloaded or sent via email, or $33 each if sent as a hard copy via postal mail. CD versions are also available. Payments may be made online via PayPal, or via credit card or check.

For more: grant-write.com
 

Fresh Produce Association of the Americas reacts to final tomato trade deal

The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas (FPAA) released a statement congratulating the negotiating team representing Mexican tomato growers for reaching a final agreement. “Because it provides continuity, the finalized agreement is a win for U.S. jobs, U.S. companies, and U.S. consumers,” the FPAA states.

“We stand fully behind the Mexican growers in implementing the new tomato suspension agreement,” says Lance Jungmeyer, president of the FPAA, in the press statement. “Their tireless efforts to maintain market access for Mexican tomatoes mean that consumers will still be able to find the quality and diversity of tomatoes that they have grown to prefer at the supermarket and in restaurants. The agreement will ensure continued stability in the tomato supply chain.”

The new tomato agreement continues an agreement that was originally negotiated in 1996 and renegotiated and renewed in both 2002 and 2008. “The U.S. distributors and the tens of thousands of U.S. individuals that rely on Mexican tomatoes for their livelihoods are now moving forward to implement the new agreement with minimal disruptions for customers,” Jungmeyer says. “We will continue to supply the superior, vine-ripe tomatoes that consumers prefer. We will continue creating new, cutting-edge technology and researching advanced growing practices. As our members and their growing partners have done for generations, we will continue to innovate, adapt and advances.”

For more: freshfrommexico.com
 

FDA extends comment period for Food Safety Act

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is extending the comment period for the information collection provisions associated with the proposed rules on “Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food” and “Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption” to May 16, 2013.

In the preamble of these proposed rules, FDA requested comments by February 15, 2013, on the information collection provisions that are subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. FDA reportedly extended the deadline for the comment period to allow interested people additional time to submit comments. May 16, 2013 is also the deadline for submitting comments to the proposed rules.

The public may submit either electronic or written comments by May 16, 2013, directly to OMB. OMB recommends that written comments be faxed to: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attn: FDA Desk Officer, FAX: 202-395-7285, or emailed to oira_submission@omb.eop.gov.

For moe: fda.gov
 

Sales of horticultural crops set to grow over next decade

Farm sales of horticultural crops are projected to grow by 1.4 percent annually over the next decade, reaching $71 billion in calendar year 2022, according to the recently released USDA Agricultural Projections to 2022 report.

Additionally, the volume of U.S. farm production of horticultural crops is projected to rise by 0.4 percent annually. Vegetables will lead this growth at an annual rate of 0.5 percent, reaching 131 billion pounds in 2022 as fresh-market production averages 1.6 percent growth, the report states. Fruit and nut production is projected to expand by 0.1 percent per year to 71 billion pounds in 2022 as non-citrus production growth more than offsets citrus production decline.

Producer prices for vegetables are projected to rise 0.7 percent per year due to strong fresh market vegetable production. The report also states that producer prices for fresh fruits rise by 1.8 percent per year due to slower production growth than for vegetables.

U.S. per capita use of fruits and tree nuts is expected to increase from 287 pounds in 2012 to 295 pounds by 2022, an annual average growth rate of 0.3 percent. Per capita use of vegetables initially drops in 2013 due to a smaller potato crop then levels off to an average 406 pounds, according to the report. The total supply of fruits, nuts and vegetables over the next decade, both domestic and imported, is projected to grow at an average rate of 1.1 percent per year. The full report is available online.

Source: USDA Agricultural Projections to 2022 report, released February 2013

For more: usda.gov/oce/commodity/projections
 

Hydroponic greenhouse opens in Cleveland

Green City Growers, a 3.25-acre hydroponic greenhouse located in Cleveland’s economically depressed Central neighborhood, officially opened for business at the end of February.

The greenhouse is expected to produce three million heads of lettuce and 300,000 pounds of herbs annually for regional grocery stores, food service institutions and wholesalers. CEO Mary Donnell says the operation began harvesting its first crop this past January.

All of Green City Growers’ employees are also owners, and they are employed all year. Donnell says she expects the greenhouse will eventually employ 40 local residents.

Green City Growers is part of The Evergreen Cooperatives, an integrated network of for-profit, employee-owned green businesses in Cleveland. The Evergreen Cooperative Corporation is the holding company leading the greenhouse initiative, the corporation’s latest — and largest — project to date.

“This is to the best of anyone’s knowledge, the largest food-production greenhouse in a core urban area in the U.S., and one of the very largest local food initiatives in the U.S.,” Donnell says.

For more: bit.ly/10RDlJe
 

Produce Traceability Initiative to offer comments on product tracing pilot report

The Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI), designed to help the produce industry maximize the effectiveness of current track-back procedures, is currently developing a response to the Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) 10 recommendations released by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the document titled “Pilot Projects for Improving Product Tracing along the Food Supply System Final Report.”

Along with the coordination of its four administering organizations (Canadian Produce Marketing Association, GS1 US, Produce Marketing Association, and United Fresh Produce Association), the PTI community will work to collect industry feedback and commentary on each of the 10 recommendations outlined in the report.

The FDA is now seeking comments on the pilot project final report as a next step in the process of submitting the findings to Congress and developing proposed traceability rules in support of the Food Safety Modernization Act. The volunteer members of PTI have been working toward whole chain case-level electronic traceability in this industry-led initiative for more than five years.

“The produce industry has been looking forward to these traceability recommendations to make sure that we can move confidently with the traceability best practices that we have collectively developed in the PTI,” says Mike Agostini, senior director, Produce, Wal-Mart Stores, and co-chair of the PTI Leadership Council. “Our industry community is excited to have the opportunity to delve into the details of the report and provide feedback to FDA.”

The pilot projects were designed to explore and demonstrate methods for rapid and effective tracking and tracing of food, including types of data that are useful for tracing and ways to connect the various points in the supply chain.

“Many of us in the grower/packer/shipper community are pleased to see that the IFT recommends a uniform set of recordkeeping requirements, encourages current industry-led initiatives, and suggests the development of standardized electronic mechanisms for the reporting of traceability data,” says Sabrina Pokomandy, marketing and public relations manager at JemD Farms, who also co-chairs the PTI Communications Working Group. “These recommendations are in alignment with the goals and vision of PTI and help us move forward with industry-wide traceability implementations.”

For more: producetraceability.org
 

EPA’s PRIA annual report now available

As required under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA has published its Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) Annual Report for fiscal year 2012.

The report provides information on pesticide registration service fees, maintenance fees and process improvements in the pesticide program from October, 1, 2011, through September 30, 2012, the fifth and final fiscal year under PRIA 2.

Source: RISE

For more info and to view the report: 1.usa.gov/XLfGqQ
 

OSU releases four new publications for growers

Ohio State University Extension has released four new publications for both producers and consumers.

The publications, which are on commercial vegetable production, Midwest tree fruit spraying, commercial small fruit and grape spraying, and controlling weeds in Ohio and Indiana, offer insight into practical issues as spring nears and growers are getting ready for the upcoming planting season, says Celeste Welty, an OSU Extension entomologist and an associate professor of entomology.

OSU Extension and Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) fruit and vegetable specialists are contributors to the new guides, ensuring that information reflects current recommendations applicable to Ohio farming operations, she says.

“Having all current options for pest management decision-making in one bulletin is valued by our growers,” Welty explains. “Every year, there are some new pesticide products and uses added, and some pesticide use cancelled, and these changes are incorporated into the annual edition of each production guide.”

For more: estore.osu-extension.org