The U.S. Department of Agriculture filed an administrative complaint against Valvilla Produce LLC for alleged violations of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. The company, operating from Texas, allegedly failed to make payment promptly to three produce sellers in the amount of $1.49 million from February 2020 through May 2020.

Valvilla will have an opportunity to request a hearing. Should USDA find that the company committed repeated and flagrant violations, it would be barred from the produce industry as a licensee for three years, or two years with the posting of a USDA-approved

Longtime produce industry great Ron Carkoski died at the age of 69 surrounded by his family on Jan. 5.  Mr. Carkoski was known as a strong leader with a big heart, for his sense of humor and musical talent, and as someone who made an impact on lives and careers of so many.

Mr. Carkoski served as the CEO of Four Seasons Family of Cos. from 2002 through 2018 when he retired. His career at Four Seasons Produce in Pennsylvania started in 1994 as the director of procurement after previous leadership roles at Gateway Foods in Wisconsin.  Mr. Carkoski grew up around the produce business with his

SpartanNash has acquired Great Lakes Foods, an independent grocery wholesaler, including its 300,000-square-foot distribution center in Menominee, MI. The warehouse serves approximately 100 independent grocery customers across the Midwest and employs 125 associates. SpartanNash will continue to employ the Great Lakes Foods team while investing in capital and IT updates to the facility and expanding service offerings to customers.

“This acquisition represents SpartanNash’s ongoing commitment to optimize our supply chain network, drive growth through geographic expansion, and serve our

Weather — who would have guessed — is impacting produce prices again.  

Winter storm Hudson continues to bring much-needed water to California, albeit while causing some temporary havoc for growers and shippers across Central and North America. The storm is expected to continue east this week, bringing more wintery weather to North America.

For example, asparagus prices are up 20 percent over the previous week. “Crop transition, cooler weather in Mexico and civil unrest in Peru are tightening available supply and forcing the east to cover western demand,” said Mark Campbell, founder and CEO

The International Fresh Produce Association took to Capitol Hill on Jan. 3 to welcome new members of Congress and current congressional friends of IFPA. Members of the government relations team visited both freshmen and returning members to begin and build the relationships essential to advancing the wide portfolio of issues critical to the fresh produce and floral supply chains.

“Building relationships with our elected officials is one of the most important things that we can do as an industry to advocate for the issues and policies that can help our industry serve our consumers and our

Most Americans love garden-fresh salads. The winter lettuce supplies generally comes from the California and Arizona desert farming areas. Heavy rain storms have recently hit the coastal regions — including the desert locations — causing some flooding. Since those areas are commonly arid, farmers depend on the water supply via the All-American Canal from the Colorado River.

Unfortunately, Arizona has had its river water cut due to the shortage in Lake Meade — and 74 percent of the river water is supplied toward Arizona farming.

Although the farms welcome as much precipitation as possible