The Southeast Produce Council's 2019 STEP-UPP class visited fields and farms in South Carolina June 18-21 as it continued to learn more about the fresh produce industry.
On this most recent trip, the group visited McEntire Produce, Watsonia, Coosaw Farms, Titan Farms, W.P. Rawl & Sons Inc., Vertical Roots and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.
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The group's first trip took place the second week in April, visiting a variety of companies in Georgia.
The 11 members of the 2019 class are Steve Bartkowiak of U.S. Foods, Carissa Feld of Associated Wholesale Grocers, Earl Fobb Jr. of Rouses Markets, Bradley Hansman of Southeastern Grocers, Jordan Kowalski of Performance Foodservice, Haley Kuettel of Walmart, Brittany Rosen of Harps Food Stores, Jacqueline Soria of HelloFresh, James Williams of Sam's Club, Marianna Willis of Food Lion and Matt Zapczynski of Merchants Distributors LLC.
The Southeast Training Education Program for Upcoming Produce Professionals is coordinated by Mike Roberts, a member of the SEPC board of directors and who is director of produce operations at Harps Food Stores; and Faye Westfall, a former chairperson of the SEPC board of directors and who is director of sales at DiMare Fresh Tampa.
Regarding the most recent trip to South Carolina, Zapczynski said, "Vertical Roots is truly changing the game, as they say. I love the idea of repurposing shipping containers with their ability to then grow in any locations throughout the year."
Williams said, "The South Carolina Department of Ag set up some great tours for us this trip, showcasing the diversity that South Carolina ag has to offer. I really enjoyed seeing the value-added portion of Titan Farms. Food waste is not good for any stakeholders in the produce supply chain; it was great to see a supplier finding ways to turn their waste into sellable goods, capturing additional value for their operation. Vertical Roots was definitely another highlight of the trip. This containerizes farming operation definitely gave us some insight into what the future of this industry may look like and the different ways we can solve the industry's issues: freshness, proximity to market, surety of supply, food safety and sustainability, to name a few."
Kuettel said, "One highlight of the trip for me was seeing both ends of the farming spectrum. You have Coosaw, a traditional watermelon and blueberry farm, vs. Vertical Roots, who has taken farming to a different level growing leafy greens in a controlled environment within shipping containers. Regardless at which end of the spectrum each farm or company fell, the amount of passion that goes into what everyone is producing was equally shared by all. It has truly inspired me as a merchant, and I'm grateful once again for the opportunity I've been given to share in these experiences with peers from across the industry."
Bartkowiak said, "The SEPC June trip was yet again a fantastic opportunity to get into the fields and see what our farms go through daily. This trip provided excellent insight into food safety techniques, harvesting techniques and innovation. McEntire provided great insight into their Simply Clean process, which is helping with water conservation. Titan Farms showcased their massive peach orchards and allowed us to witness their current peach harvests. W.P. Rawl, Coosaw Farms and Watsonia gave us some additional field tours of several commodities. Then for the innovation side, we spent time with Vertical Roots, who is using state-of-the-art technology for their indoor agriculture program. It's always interesting seeing traditional farming techniques vs. the newer technology-driven farming. Last on the list was a stop with Commissioner Weathers at the [South Carolina] Department of Agriculture. He shared with us the new information the department is providing to the residents of South Carolina and how our business can interact with this application."
Kowalski said, "This trip to South Carolina showed me just how fast the produce industry is changing. How companies are growing, harvesting, processing and selling produce is rapidly changing. I saw how McEntire Produce has cut down their water usage by designing their own computer programs and processing machines. I also saw how Titan Farms is changing the game when it comes to peaches by taking infrared and normal pictures of every single peach that comes through their processing line to ensure quality and ripeness. At Vertical Roots I saw the future of hydroponic farming and what my generation is doing to change the future of agriculture. Repurposing old shipping containers into a hydroponic smart farm grid, and doing it all in an urban environment while being able to control every aspect of the growing process, is impressive to say the least. All of the companies are farms are taking the definition of innovation to a whole new level."
Willis said, "I was impressed with the technology at McEntire Produce; their Simply Clean system gives produce a shower instead of a bath (with the flume washing system). At Coosaw Farms we experienced workers in the field harvesting watermelons. Their system using modified school buses and conveyor belts seemed very efficient and friendly to the field workers, enabling them to harvest the melons without having to carry the melons as far. Titan Farms was a very clean operation. I enjoyed seeing the way they sized the peaches and packed them to be distributed. They also process some of the peaches to produce frozen peach cups. It was nice to see them use the product that would normally be discarded. We had a brief tour at Watsonia and saw them packing zucchini as well as other items. At W.P. Rawl we visited several greens fields and saw their irrigation systems. They are passionate about greens. At Vertical Roots it was good to see their usage of shipping containers to grow hydroponic lettuces. It was a super clean facility. Commissioner Hugh Weathers helped us to understand the Certified SC Grown program."
Feld said, "It was interesting seeing such huge operations (Rawl and Titan) and how much goes into producing the produce. Truly massive operations. My favorite part was the Vertical Roots because I had never seen anything like that before. It was not like I envisioned in my mind — very, very cool. I love the idea of reusing the shipping containers and being able to be so close to the people they supply. I also really enjoyed the times we got to try the fruits straight from the fields/orchards, though I fear peaches are now ruined for me any other way."
