Fresh produce group spotlights some of the independent vegetable growers it works with in the US and globally

Dole Food Company has launched a new video series recognising some of the hundreds of family farmers it works with in the US and around the world.

Zach Barnes Dole Fresh Vegetables

Zach Barnes of Dole Fresh Vegetables

According to Dole, these farmers are ”instrumental” to its mission of making the world a healthier place and encouraging a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables.

The first two videos will spotlight domestic vegetable farmers Jesus Tovar of T&P Farms in Somerton, Arizona, and Zach Barnes of Dole Fresh Vegetables in Soledad, California.

They will be posted on Dole’s LinkedIn page on National Farmer’s Day (12 October) as part of the company’s celebration of the annual holiday honouring US farmers and growers.

Additional videos celebrating Dole’s US and global farmer partners are also planned, the company noted.

According to Bil Goldfield, Dole’s director of corporate communications, Dole has been working with family farmers in the US for more than 50 years as part of a larger farming legacy that dates back to the early 1900s when James Drummond Dole cultivated the first Dole pineapples in Hawaii.

“Family farmers are at the heart of Dole,” said Goldfield. “Despite the perception of Dole as a corporate farming organisation, in addition to our owned agriculture production, we are made up of a network of many independent growers.

”Working with Dole enables these small farmers to gain access and opportunity to a competitive market that they may not have on their own,” he continued. ”Working together allows us to feed a hungry world and support a healthy lifestyle around the world.

“In the US, alone, we grow and source fresh vegetables on 42,815 acres of US farmland, making us one of largest single-brand growers in the country,” Goldfield added. “Of this amount, 27,717 acres, almost two-thirds, are owned by family farmers.”

Dole currently works with family farmers in nine states across the UA (California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, New York, and Texas) to grow more than 15 vegetable varieties, including cabbage, Romaine lettuce, leaf lettuce, spinach, carrots, kale, radishes, green onions, broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, celery, brussels sprouts and several Spring Mix varieties.

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