La Unión del Pueblo Unido s headquarters in San Juan, Texas in January 2021.
Many parts of the South Texas border didn t see the heavy snowfall reported across the state, but the extended cold temperatures and icing are dealing a blow to communities and industries in the area.
Some South Texans lost power from Monday to Wednesday, but almost 6,500 AEP Energy customers in Laredo and Zapata still lacked power beyond the middle of the week, as did more than 16,500 customers in the Rio Grande Valley, according to the company’s outage map. Residents in Alamo and part of Laredo are also now facing boil water notices.
By
February 18, 2021
The damage from what south Texas produce professionals will know as the infamous freeze of St. Valentine’s week started with a hard freeze that began on the night of Feb. 14. The Texas produce industry has deemed the event the “Valentine’s Day massacre for the fruit and vegetable industry of south Texas.” Cold continued off and on through that week, with more freezing temperatures forecast for the night of Feb. 18-19.
Curly Mustard Greens
Those who could be reached Feb. 18 unanimously indicated that it would be several days until the Texas industry had a better understanding of the extent of damage.
Virtual program for 2021 connects students with ag industry
Things are a little different this year and Viva Fresh’s Aggies for Fresh is no exception. The popular partnership with DMA Solutions (DMA) is back for the sixth year to virtually connect industry professionals to Texas A&M students.
This year, TIPA and Viva Fresh will host a series of educational webinars introducing students to the fresh produce industry.
“Whether in-person or remote, our industry will continue fostering and recruiting talent for the next generation of our workforce,” says Dante Galeazzi, president & CEO of the Texas International Produce Association. “Despite the changes to this year’s expo and program, I’m pleased we could find creative solutions to engage students and offer networking connections in a fully remote experience.”
Greater volume of imported papaya on the way
Supplies of imported papaya are likely to soon start increasing.
“The supplies of papaya have been steady. It was a little low at the start of the year,” says Edgar Millan of Caraveo Papayas in the Bronx, NY. “But as the weather gets better and the days get longer, we start having a little bit more product to harvest and that helps. This started just a few weeks ago.” He adds that when the temperature drops, papaya doesn’t ripen making it difficult to harvest. “But now everybody is getting more volume and shipping more.”
âWe have taken every precaution to make this a safe and successful eventâ
It has been almost a year since the last in-person trade show was held in the US, and while organizers have been very innovative in moving their shows to virtual platforms, people are itching to meet in-person again. That is why Viva Fresh is committed to having a hybrid event with an in-person expo at the end of March. âWe are 100% committed to having an in-person show,â says Dante Galeazzi of TIPA. âThe only way the in-person show doesnât happen is if the local guidelines make it impossible, but that is currently not the case.â