Produce

Dole Food Company, Inc. announced financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 29, 2012.  The consummation of the sale of Dole’s worldwide packaged foods and Asia fresh businesses on April 1, 2013 to ITOCHU Corporation, for $1.685 billion in cash, will result in a major portion of Dole’s operations being sold.  The new Dole will have a smaller footprint as a commodity produce company with two lines of fresh produce businesses, which are classified as continuing operations: fresh fruit and fresh vegetables; and will no longer include the worldwide packaged foods and Asia fresh businesses as part of the Dole operations, which are classified as discontinued operations.    …

Calavo Growers, Inc. announced that it has created FreshRealm, LLC. FreshRealm’s technology platform will allow participants such as traditional retailers, large and small enterprises, communities and food banks to plug in to an ecosystem resembling a national fresh food cooperative. FreshRealm will not sell direct to consumers but instead will serve as the engine that connects participants to a network of regional fresh food producers. …

Can farmers grow salad greens through the winter in Northern New York? Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP)-funded trials at the Cornell University Willsboro Research Farm in Willsboro, NY, are evaluating winter lettuce production methods. …

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is offering about $1 million in grants to government, collegiate and nonprofit agencies interested in improving the competitiveness of specialty crops across the state. …

During the second day of the Building a Healthier Future Summit, the Mushroom Council announced new commitments to the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA). PHA, which hosted the summit, works with the private sector and PHA Honorary Chair First Lady Michelle Obama to solve the nation's childhood obesity crisis. …