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HERE’S A GLIMPSE OF WHAT’S HAPPENING IN YOUR AG COMMUNITY. To view more events like the ones you see here, visit our website at www.FloridaAgNews.com and click on our AgriCalendar.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER
August 20 & 27
HAINES CITY FARMERS’ MARKET
Stop by Railroad Park in down- town Haines City and check out all the great local produce and products available, held every Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call (863) 421-3700.
August 21 & 28
WINTER HAVEN FARMERS’ MARKET
Enjoy the sunshine and get fresh produce! Head down to the farmers’ market, held weekly
on Thursdays, from 8-5 p.m.
For more information, contact Audrey McIntosh at (863) 291- 5870.
August 22
POMEGRANATES AFTER 4 YEARS
The Florida Pomegranate As- sociation invites you to attend “Pomegranates After 4 Years”
at the McTeer Farms. McTeers' pomegranate field will be
open to the public 10:30 a.m.
– 12:00 p.m. Pomegranate grower Emory McTeer will be onsite to talk to you about his 40 Pomegranate Girkanetes fruit varieties of pomegranates, and how he cares for them. Dr. Bill Castle, as well as staff members from GCREC, will be available to answer questions. If you
are interested in pomegranate growing, this is a must-attend event. For more information, or to register, visit http://www. fpa2014fieldday.eventbrite. com/
September 13
HUNGER SHOOTOUT
PCFB YF&R and Women's Committee is hosting a sporting clay shoot fundraiser at fish Hawk Sporting Clays. Proceeds from the event will be used to sup- port additional YF&R scholarships for high school seniors and will go towards the Wild Game Food Bank, a local organization that is dedicated to feed- ings those in need. For more information, contact Carole McKenzie at (863) 533-0561, ext. 111 or register online at www.pcfb.org/hunger-shootout
August 26
ANNUAL YOUTH SPEECH CONTEST
This year's Youth Speech Contest will be at the PCFB office in Bartow at 4 p.m. You can hear students' thoughts on the 2014 topic: Food security is an important issue to the people of the United States. How can Florida Agricul- ture continue to provide quality solutions forthefuture? Formoreinformation, call (863) 533-0561, ext. 111.
September 6 & 13
LAKELAND DOWNTOWN
FARMERS CURB MARKET
The Lakeland farmers market is open every Saturday (except August), from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the street at the intersection of E. Pine Street and N. Kentucky Avenue. Enjoy produce from farmers plus resale produce, artisans and street food, music and more. For more informa- tion, contact Becky Abel, LDDA Coordinator at (863) 687-8910 or visit www.downtownfarmerscurbmarket.org.
OCTOBER PREVIEW:
September 25
FARM CREDIT/AG INSTITUTES CANDIDATE’S FORUM
This is an event that has at- tracted over 300 of the state's agricultural leaders in the past; come hear the gubernato-
rial candidate’s agricultural platforms. For more informa- tion, contact Ron O’Connor at marketing@farmcreditcfl.com.
OCTOBER 2
ANNUAL MEETING AND POLITICAL FORUM
If you're an active member of PCFB, join us for
our Annual Membership Meeting. The corn boil and political forum will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the W.H. Stuart Center in Bartow, followed by dinner and our Annual Meeting. Formal invitations will be mailed to PCFB active members. Call the Bartow office (863) 533-0561 ext. 112 or email lorik@ pcfb.org to rsvp or get more information.
OCTOBER 10-11 - CRACKER STORYTELLING FESTIVAL
The 26th annual Cracker Storytelling Festival will be held at the Homeland Heritage Park in Home- land. Gates open at 9 AM and close at 3 PM. Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for children. Parking is free. Enjoy a day of diverse storytelling, music and dancing, crafts and good food in a his- toric setting. A whip cracking contest will be held Oct. 11th at 12:30 PM for trophy and cash prizes. The registration fee is $10. For more information, go to www.crackerstorytellingfestival.com.
A LOOK AT THE INTERNATIONAL SEAFOOD TRADE AND THE COLD SUPPLY CHAIN
There’s no denying that ours is a global economy, and that, by and large is a good thing. In addition to the competition it fosters— keeping prices low and quality high— the world needs products the United States produces (principally food) and U.S. consumers “want” many of the products produced outside our borders.
Take seafood, for example. According to FishWatch.gov, a website of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. imports an astonishing 91 percent of its seafood! Imported seafood, farmed or wild-caught, has to remain “on ice” or frozen from the time it’s packaged halfway around the world
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until the time it’s cooked here to prevent illnesses. Seafood is an excellent example of the global reach and technological advancements within the food supply cold chain.
To illustrate the international seafood trade, Adams Cold Storage warehouses (for various lengths of time), frozen products in 25- and 50-pound cases from dominant seafood-producing regions such as South America, Newfoundland, China, Malaysia, and Vietnam. These products include grouper, swai (a white-flesh fish similar in character to catfish), basa, crab, shrimp, flounder, and lobster tail to name a few. Typically, these products go from our
facility to food distributors— including Sysco, Gordon Food Service, Cheney Brothers, Restaurant Depot— which distribute the seafood to regional restaurants and
other large-scale food- service operations.
by BEN ADAMS, JR.
In next month’s column,
we’ll discuss how Asian-produced seafood gets from there to here and the important— and interesting— steps that are taken to make sure it’s fresh and good for us to eat at our favorite restaurant or even our own dinner table.
BIO: Ben Adams Jr. is an owner and president of Adams Cold Storage LLC in Auburndale. He has been directly involved in citrus production, warehousing and distribution, as well as state and community support, since 1980. His facility incorporates 200,000 square feet of multi-tem- perature warehousing, with an extensive expan- sion project currently under way.
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