e-Grcw., and Ma*e.er, Uncas.* Fanning, March 9.2002 p ennsylvania COltSOlidatiOU,
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f
Master Grower Award winner was Kreider Farms.
From left, Randy Kreider; James Kohl, vice president
of Furman Foods; and Clyde Kreider.
Tomato
(Continued from Page 1)
who produce outstanding
yields of quality tomatoes for
processing. Penn State and
Furman Foods, Northumber
land, sponsor the award pro
gram.
Top growers honored were;
• Class 1, more than 100
acres, to Aaron Hawbaker,
with a harvest of 1,712 tons
on 106.3 acres for a 32.23
tons per acre average, 58 per
cent A Grade, with a ranking
(tons per acre of usable A
grade) at 17.95.
• Class 2, 60-100 acres,
Cliff Charles, with 3,459 tons
harvested at 79.5 acres, 43.52
tons per acre, 58 percent A
Grade with a 24.48 ranking.
• Class 3, 45-60 acres,
James Kohl honored John Everett, right, with a
special Industry Award at the tomato luncheon.
NEWARK. Del. Agri
cultural engineer lan
McCann has been hired by
the University of Delaware as
cooperative extension spe
cialist for irrigation and
water management.
His appointment is 60 per
cent extension and 40 percent
research through the depart
ment of bioresources engi
neering in the College of
Agriculture and Natural Re
sources.
Based at the Research and
Education Center in George-
Growers
Kreider Mulch Farms, with
2,012 tons harvested, at 57,4
acres, with 35.06 tons per
acre at 59 percent A Grade,
with a ranking of 19.65.
• Class 4, 30-45 acres,
Roger H. Rovenolt, with
1,267 harvested tons, 44.2
acres, at 28.67 tons per acre,
with 69 percent A Grade at a
ranking of 19.19.
• Class 5,15-30 acres, Eric
Charles, with a harvest of 876
tons, at 17.8 acres, with a
49.22 tons per acre harvest,
with 57 percent A Grade at
27.49 ranking.
• Class 6, less than 15
acres, Vincent Metzler, with
514 tons harvested at 13
acres, with 39.55 tons per
acre, 58 percent A Grade, at a
ranking 0f22.02.
UD Hires Extension Irrigation Specialist
town, McCann will oversee
irrigation for Delaware pro
duction agriculture, which
because of hot summers and
inconsistent rainfall relies
heavily on piped-in water.
“In general, 1 will conduct
applied research and develop
extension programs to benefit
farmers and the related in
dustries involved in irrigated
agriculture,” said McCann.
"I also will take on environ
mental challenges of water
and soil resources in the
state.
Michael R. Blume
VF Express, LLC
Harrisburg
The Proposal
With support from the
Commonwealth of Pennsyl
vania Department of Agri
culture and the Pennsylvania
Vegetable Growers Associa
tion, VF Express, LLC will
establish a Pennsylvania Pro
duce Consolidation and Dis
tribution Center (PPCDC).
Local growers will deliver
graded and packed produce
to Verdelli Farms in Harris
burg. where it will be cooled
and delivered to retailers,
wholesalers, and food service
companies throughout the
state of Pennsylvania and
neighboring States.
VF Express will be the
entity to operate the PPCDC
providing farmers, retailers,
wholesalers and food service
companies an easier and
more efficient way to pro
mote and sell more Pennsyl
vania produce. This program
will also provide farmers a
means to properly cool their
product through a vacuum
cooling system.
A pilot program has been
approved for the summer of
2002 VF Express will lease a
vacuum cooling system for
the duration of eight weeks
(June 30-August 24). A grant
from the Pennsylvania De
partment of Agriculture is
being sought to help un
derwrite a portion of the cost
of the vacuum-cooling
system. The unit will be
placed at Verdelli Farms in
Harrisburg.
The Verdelli Team
Verdelli Farms, Inc., the
largest produce processor on
the East Coast, formed two
new companies during the
past year. VF Transporta
tion, LLC and VF Express,
LLC were formed to provide
more value to Verdelli’s cur
rent customers and to further
their strong presence on the
East Coast. VF Transporta
tion provides transportation
needs to Verdelli and non-
Verdelli customers alike,
from Maine to Florida. VF
Express is a “forward distri
bution” company assisting
shippers and growers in pro
viding retailers, wholesalers,
and food service companies
“I plan to gauge on-farm
irrigation efficiency, measur
ing irrigation uniformity,
actual irrigation amount ap
plied during the season, crop
production, and crop water
requirements from meteoro
logical data. In addition, I
will investigate soil water
content and its movement
within and below the root
zone.”
Born in England. McCann
grew up in Kenya and Jama
ica. He has a bachelor’s
degree in environmental sci
Distribution Center
an efficient and more effec
tive way of obtaining fresh
produce daily.
Commonwealth Of
Pennsylvania
The state of Pennsylvania
is the number one state in the
nation for farmland preser
vation. By supporting the
next generation of farmers,
Pennsylvania should main
tain its strong hold on farm
land preservation.
Now in its fourth season,
the “Simply Delicious”
Pennsylvania Produce pro
motion is stronger than ever.
More than 600 Pennsylva
nia farmers are supporting
this promotion. With 800
retail supermarkets and
many more food service com
panies operating in Pennsyl
vania, the need to continue
promoting Pennsylvania pro
duce exists.
PPCDC Goals
The PPCDC will continue
to build the awareness of
Pennsylvania produce. By as
sisting farmers in cooling,
selling and delivering their
crops, and by providing re
tailers, wholesalers, and food
service companies an effi
cient and effective way to
purchase and receive prop
erly cooled. Pennsylvania pro
duce, support will increase.
With increased support,
awareness will grow.
Through the PPCDC, VF
Express will work diligently
in returning the farmers fair
and equitable returns for
their crops. The PPCDC will
also work in creating a
demand for Pennsylvania
produce in neighboring
states. These goals will help
assist the State in retaining
their status on farmland pres
ervation.
Marketing Options For 2002
The pilot program will
begin on June 30 and con
clude on Aug. 24. VF Express
encourages all farmers to
partake in this year’s pilot
program. A successful pro
gram will be a determining
factor in the growth for the
following season. VF Express
will provide all farmers three
marketing options to benefit
from this year’s pilot pro
gram.
• Option 1; Selected inter
ested farmers will release
ences from the University ot
East Anglia in Norfolk, Eng
land, and a master’s degree
in agricultural engineering
from the National College of
Agricultural Engineering in
Bedfordshire, England. He
earned a doctorate in agricul
tural engineering from Texas
A&M University.
McCann has worked at the
University of Idaho, been a
consultant in Oman, and was
the department head of biore
sources engineering at Sultan
their Corn to VF Express on
consignment. VF Express
will sell the corn returning
the farmers 80 percent of the
sale price. VF Express will
retain 20 percent of the sale
price to cover administrative
costs, warehousing costs,
transportation costs, cooling
costs, and selling fees.
• Option 2: VF Express
will facilitate the cooling of
the farmer’s product at a rate
of $2O per pallet. Fee includes
administrative costs, ware
housing costs and cooling
costs.
• Option 3: VF Express
will facilitate the cooling of
the farmer’s product, then
deliver the product to their
customers) in Pennsylvania.
A fee of $B5 per pallet will be
charged to cover administra
tive costs, warehousing costs,
transportation costs, and
cooling costs.
Receiving, Cooling Schedules
All products are to be de
livered to Verdelli Farms,
7505 Grayson Road, Harris
burg, by appointment only.
Delivery and Cooling ap
pointments must be made the
da> prior (or earlier) by call
ing VF Express. Farmers re
questing their products to be
cooled and delivered, will
have their products delivered
to their customer(s) on the
day after the product is re
ceived (unless otherwise
stated at time appointment is
scheduled). Cooling cvcle
runs 30 minutes for six pal
lets. Appointments will be
honored on first call basis or
on the retailers’ product de
mands.
Contacts
For more information, or
to schedule appointments,
please contact VF Express,
LLC:
• Jana Verdelli, Executive
Assistance Phone: (717)
558-4278; e-mail: janav@vf
express.com; fax: (717) 558-
4624.
• Mike Blume, Director of
Forward Distribution
Phone: (717) 558-4623; e
mail: mikeb@vf-express.com;
fax: (717)558-4624.
From Proceedings Of
The 2002 Mid-Atlantic Fruit
And Vegetable Convention
Qaboos University. He also
worked for the International
Center for Agricultural Re
search in Dry Areas, where
he was irrigation and water
management specialist for
the Arabian Peninsula Re
gional Program.