Top stories from Produce Grower’s website

Photos courtesy of Living Greens Farm

Living Greens Farm expands retail presence

Living Greens Farm (LGF), a vertical aeroponic farm in the U.S. that provides year-round fresh salads, salad kits, microgreens and herbs, announced the addition of new retail distribution of its products in the upper Midwest to independent, specialty and co-op food retailers. 

Starting February 2021, LGF’s full line of products featuring ready-to-eat bagged salad products will be carried by UNFI Produce Prescott (formerly Alberts Fresh Produce). UNFI Produce Prescott is a division of UNFI, which distributes food products to thousands of stores nationwide.

Their focus is on independent, specialty and co-op retailers.

>> Read the full story here.

Photos courtesy of GoodLeaf Farms

McCain Foods Limited makes $65-million investment in GoodLeaf Farms

Per a press release, McCain Foods Limited made “substantial investment” in TruLeaf Sustainable Agriculture and GoodLeaf Farms, TruLeaf’s wholly owned subsidiary.

McCain, per the announcement, has invested more than $65 million into Good Leaf, making it the largest shareholder in the company. The money will be used to build out a “national network” of sustainable vertical farms.

>> Read the full story here.

Photos courtesy of Texas AgriLife Extension

Texas winter storm losses will cost green industry millions

Winter Storm Uri, which blasted through the entire state of Texas, caused at least $600 million in agricultural losses, according to preliminary data from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agricultural economists.

In addition to massive losses in citrus and vegetable crops, extended freezing temperatures killed or badly damaged landscape plants, shrubs and trees in nurseries, garden centers and greenhouses throughout the state. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, in collaboration with the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association, developed a survey to capture feedback from more than 4,000 nursery, greenhouse and other green industry-related businesses on the type and extent of losses encountered. It will be several weeks before there is sufficient data to provide an assessment of those losses.

>> Read the full story (which includes a link for Texas growers to take the survey) here.