Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Grower's Association

News & Issues

 

Vidalia Onion Shipping season starts April 18, 2011

March 23, 2011 – 11:14 am |  Filed Under: 
VIDALIA, Ga. — Growers have set April 18 as the official shipping start date for this year’s Vidalia onion season. The industry has also released its official season acreage. An advisory panel consisting of 14 grower-shippers and county agents determined the season’s starting date at a March 16 meeting, said Bob Stafford, manager of the Vidalia Onion Business Council. Some shippers may start shipping the official date, but those shipments require inspection stickers of U.S. No. 1 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Federal-State Shipping Point Inspection Service, he said. Stafford said the committee, which includes the deal’s large and
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ACTION REQUESTED!!

March 11, 2011 – 1:47 pm |  Filed Under: 
       CALL TO ACTION To all Georgia Growers and Agribusinesses, As you know the Georgia House of Representatives has passed House Bill 87 (Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011).  The fight is now in the Senate!! The Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate Bill 40 out of committee last week and we expect it to be on the floor of the Senate for debate as early as Monday of next week.  This weekend is the time to contact your legislators.  We have been told we have made progress with the Senate leadership and some are asking us to reach
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IMMIGRATION LEGISLATIVE UPDATE – 3/8/11

March 10, 2011 – 12:47 pm |  Filed Under: 
To all Georgia Growers, As you may be aware, two bills have been introduced in the Georgia legislature dealing with immigration and undocumented workers. Both bills would require all Georgia companies with more than 5 employees to use the Federal E-verify program when hiring new W-2 employees, including seasonal workers. There are also other provisions in the bills imposing potential fines and criminal charges on the employer, even when the employee may have I-9 documents. House Bill 87 (Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011), http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20112012/108553.pdf  passed in the Georgia State House of Representatives, Thursday, March 3, 2011 by
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SEARCH NOW UNDERWAY FOR 2011 AMERICA’S FARMERS MOM OF THE YEAR

March 10, 2011 – 12:40 pm |  Filed Under: 
  Nominations now being accepted at AmericasFarmers.com;Winner to receive $7,500 cash prize from Monsanto   St. Louis (March 4, 2011) Behind every American farm family is the backbone of the operation: the farm mom. Monsanto is honoring her contributions to her family, farm, community and industry with the 2011 America’s Farmers Mom of the Year program. Applications will be accepted through Mother’s Day at AmericasFarmers.com. Five regional winners will be announced on May 16, when winners’ profiles and nominations will be posted on the website. Each regional winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize from Monsanto, and the farm mom
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GEORGIA PEACH COUNCIL OPENS FLORIDA MARKETING CAMPAIGN

March 10, 2011 – 8:12 am |  Filed Under: 
The Georgia Peach Council (GPC) this summer will conduct an aggressive marketing campaign in Florida markets, with key events in Tampa and Orlando timed to coincide with the July 4 holiday, which falls in the peak of peach harvest season. The campaign, titled “Always Ask for Sweet Georgia Peaches,” will be conducted by Sahlman Williams Public Relations and Marketing, which in 2006 studied consumer preference for peaches. The study revealed that 80 percent of consumers prefer Georgia peaches. The Georgia Peach Council introduced its products into Florida in 2010. “After a 2006 study revealed consumers overwhelmingly preferred Georgia peaches, reaching
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BLAND, DOWDY HONORED AT VIDALIA ONION INDUSTRY BANQUET

March 10, 2011 – 8:10 am |  Filed Under: 
BLAND, DOWDY HONORED AT VIDALIA ONION INDUSTRY BANQUET Tattnall County farmer Delbert Bland was named Grower of the Year and the late Delwin Dowdy was inducted into the Vidalia Onion Hall of Fame at the 2011 Vidalia Onion industry banquet, held in February. Bland, of Bland Farms LLC in Glennville, began growing onions with his father Raymond D. Bland in 1982 on five acres. They co-founded Bland Farms, which has grown to over 1,700 acres. With 92 employees, Bland Farms is the largest grower, packer, and shipper of Vidalia onions and has the largest controlled-environment storage capacity in the sweet
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