Fresh Cut Magazine

Data and Werewolves

A recent article in Wired Magazine described a new parlour game spreading through the tech community. Werewolf, a game similar to Mafia or Wink Murder, pits the informed minority against the uninformed majority as the larger group of villagers attempts to find and eliminate those in the group that are werewolves. This particular game at a technology conference that the article described was unique in that the moderator did away with one crucial element – there were no werewolves. The game, which lasted until the wee hours of the morning, consisted of villagers becoming so paranoid of each other that they slowly picked one another off until only three were left and the deception was revealed. Without information, individuals and businesses are more likely to turn on each other, until there’s no one left. When the days drag on and the economy looks gloomy, I think there’s…  » Read more

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I-9 Issues

In June 2009, the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency issued 650 I-9 audits, more than in all of 2008. In November, ICE issued another 1,000 audits. The increased number of audits is the result of the change in the administration, said Blair Babcock, ICE agent. The Bush administration had an emphasis on employees, but the current administration is looking at employers and fining them for I-9 violations, Babcock told a group of southwest Michigan agricultural employers in January. During the first round of auditing in June, ICE found 16 percent of the 85,000 workers were ineligible. Half of the companies audited will receive some type of enforcement action, and 61 had already received a Notice of Intent to Fine based on their I-9 reporting. In Washington, 33 companies were audited, including 5,000 acres of apple and cherry orchards growing for Gerber.…  » Read more

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PACA for Processors

Jerr Brandel is tired of what he calls “bait and switch” tactics in the fresh-market produce industry, and he wants to see them stop. At the very least, he wants growers to take more control of the prices they get for their crop. The president of Hart Produce Co. in Hart, Mich., gave an example of what he’s talking about: Let’s say a grower sells most of his produce through an agent. The agent, citing the “target” or “market” price for that day or week, tells the grower he can sell his apples for $10 per bushel, so the grower sends his apples to the agent’s warehouse. The agent sells one of the bushels for $10, but sells the others for less than that. The “target” price isn’t a guarantee, so the agent is not obligated to sell the apples for that much – and buyers…  » Read more

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Pero’s Salad Cut Ups

Pero’s Salad Cut Ups Pero Family Farms finds fresh-cuts favorable By Scott Christie Managing Editor There big changes happening at Pero Family Farms – not the least of which is the new company name. Formerly Pero Vegetables and before that Pero Packing and Sales, the Delray Beach, Fla.-based company announced in January that is was changing its name so it had broader appeal. “The fact that we are a farm and a grower – it better represented who we are and better relates to consumers about who we are. And in the future maybe we won’t have just vegetables,” said Ed Sullivan, chief marketing officer for Pero Family Farms. Pero Family Farms has traditionally been a commodity grower of vegetables, farming more than 11,000 acres in the South and Midwest United States. But the new name is being used to reposition the company as a value-added provider, with a greater…  » Read more

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