Braga to Receive Grower of the Year Award at OGS
The Organic Grower Summit presented by Western Growers and OPN will honor longtime organic grower Rod Braga as the recipient of the sixth annual Grower of the Year award. Braga, president and CEO of Braga Fresh, was selected based on his ongoing commitment and dedication to excellence in organic production, organic industry leadership, and innovation.
The Grower of the Year award, sponsored by AGCO, will be presented to Braga as part of the keynote presentation at the Organic Grower Summit on Nov. 29-30 in Monterey, Calif. The Grower of the Year presentation is part of an extensive educational program designed to inform and engage organic producers and their service providers and supply chain partners.
“We are honored to present the annual Grower of the Year award to Rod Braga — truly a grower’s grower,” said Matt Seeley, CEO of Organic Produce Network. “His decades-long work exemplifies what hardworking, passionate organic farming means to the success of Sledge, regional sales director for AGCO. Previous winners of the award have been Jeff Huckaby, CEO of Grimmway Farms (2022); Vic Smith, CEO of JV Smith Company (2021); the Lundberg Family (2019); Thaddeus Barsotti of Capay Organic (2018); and Vernon Peterson of Peterson Family Farms (2017).
The sixth annual OGS is designed to provide information vital to organic growers and producers, including an overview of the opportunities and challenges in the production of organic fresh food.
In addition to the annual Grower of the Year award, the other keynote presentation at OGS 2023 will be Grower Roundtable: The State of Organic Growing. Panelists for the keynote roundtable include leadership from three prominent organic companies, who will be announced later this month.
Other educational sessions slated for OGS 2023 include:
- SOE Deadline Looms — Are You Ready?
- Understanding Evolving Production Challenges for Organic Growers
- Regenerative — What Does it Mean for Organic?
- Unlocking the Value of AI on the Digital Farming Journey
- Meet the Ag Sharks
- Roadmap to a Sustainable Pest Management Future for Organics
- How Organic Growers Are Using Ag Tech: Obstacles & Opportunities
OGS 2023 will be held Nov. 29-30 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa in Monterey, Calif., and general registration is open. The sold-out OGS trade show floor will feature soil amendment, ag tech, food safety, packaging, and equipment exhibitors who will have the opportunity to connect with organic field production staff, supply chain managers, pest management advisors, and food safety experts.
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Truffle Avenue Extols Romanian Delicacy in US eCommerce
In a strategic shift in the culinary landscape, Truffle Avenue has launched its U.S.-based website—a platform for customers to select from various top-quality truffles and have them delivered directly to their home or business. The company challenges the conventional focus on Italian truffles, introducing food enthusiasts and chefs to the diverse and untapped world of Romanian truffles.
The Truffle Avenue website aims to facilitate a direct connection between truffle hunters and consumer guaranteeing premium quality and authentic flavor profiles distinct to the Romanian terrain.
Truffle Avenue’s website delivers transparency and quality to customers. It enables users to explore and order varying types, weights, and sizes of hand-picked, fresh black and white truffles, all from unique climatic and soil conditions.
The launch of Truffle Avenue’s website is a stride towards reshaping perceptions and nurturing appreciation for the rich, varied, and undiscovered truffle-producing regions of Eastern Europe. It debunks the entrenched belief in the exclusivity of Italian truffles, highlighting the distinctive flavors of Romanian truffles.
Horatiu’s mission also serves to recognize the diligent and highly skilled Romanian truffle hunters, spotlighting the untold stories and immense efforts invested in sourcing this delicacy.
Truffle Avenue brings a fresh perspective to the food industry and offers a chance for gourmands to explore new culinary territories.
“In gastronomy, an ingredient’s journey is as crucial as its flavor,” said Horatiu Terpe, founder.
In recent years, the demand to buy fresh truffles has amplified. As this continues, exploration of diverse produce markets is paramount. Truffle Avenue is strategically positioned to meet this growing demand, pioneering a model that ensures truffles are harvested post-order, and truffle delivery occurs overnight to retain maximum flavor for customers.
Truffle Avenue promises the freshest and most premium truffles at competitive prices, linking discerning palates to authentic Romanian truffles and establishing Romania as a crucial contender in the global truffle market. The website’s launch paves the way for households and businesses across America to have easy access to quality Romanian truffles.
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New Crops of Organic Potatoes Hitting Retailers
Courtesy of Organic Produce Network
Several states are digging and shipping new crops of organic potatoes, and there is potential for promotions, especially with organic russets, according to a report from the Organic Produce Network.
“We have just started to harvest field-run organic russet potatoes, and we will continue to run out of the field until the first or second week of October,” said Lonnie Gillespie, chief organic officer for Farm Fresh Direct of America in Monte Vista, Colorado. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed that by then we will be able to start shipping organic potatoes from storage. You never know what mother nature is going to do.”
Gillespie noted that while harvest is underway, potatoes can withstand normal weather patterns, but it is out-of-the-ordinary conditions that cause issues. “Extreme anything is a problem,” she said, speaking of either heat or cold. “At this time of the year, we don’t want it to be extremely cold or wet.”
But for the time being, Gillespie said the crop looks good, and Farm Fresh Direct could support some retail promotions featuring field-run organic russets. The company has a full line of organic yellows, reds, and russets available, but the yellows and reds are currently coming from the Pacific Northwest and are in lighter supply. She also noted that Farm Fresh will be offering some organic russets from Minnesota shortly.
“In the spring and early summer, we had some shortages and higher prices on all potatoes, but there is no shortage right now, and this new crop does look like it’s going to be more of an average crop,” Gillespie said.
Courtesy of Organic Produce Network
Most of the current chatter about the new crop of conventional Idaho and Eastern Oregon potatoes currently being harvested points to a larger crop and a return to more normal FOB prices, Gilliespie said, rather than the higher prices that have been part of the landscape for the past couple of years.
Nate Jones of King’s Crown Organic Farm in King Hill, Idaho, said Idaho had excellent growing weather throughout the spring, which has led to an organic potato crop that is larger than the last two years.
“We grow four different varieties,” he said, adding that their organic acreage includes russets, yellows, reds, and purples. “The Norkotah (a russet variety) produced an awesome crop of good-sized potatoes, and the yellow crop is also very good. We are getting good yields on both of those potato varieties. The reds and purples didn’t size as well, and the yields are a little bit below average.”
While the conventional acreage of potatoes across the country is up a few percentage points, Jones does not believe that there has been an uptick in organic acreage. “Organic potatoes are not a crop that you go in and out of,” he said. “There are only a handful of us that grow organics (in Idaho), and our acreage is pretty steady.”
Because of this, he said the good market for organic potatoes that has been prevalent the last two years is not going to see much of a dip. “It might come down a little bit, but organic potatoes have maintained the market pretty well into the new season.”
Eric Beck, director of marketing for Wada Farms in Pingree, Idaho, agreed that this season should offer more normal pricing, especially on conventionally grown potatoes.
“We will also have more organics, but demand for organics remains fairly strong,” he said, adding that organic potatoes don’t tend to be promoted very often. “But there could be some opportunities for promotable pricing during the year.”
While there will be more organic supplies total, Beck said there might not be enough to carry throughout the entire storage season. That good demand, he said, will create some supply challenges toward the end of the season.
Beck said the organic potato consumer is a bit different than the shoppers who mostly buy conventional potatoes and will increase their purchase when the price is lower and the value is greater. The organic buyer is typically buying the category for philosophical reasons and is not driven as much by the value proposition that potatoes typically offer.
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