by Christina DiMartino
01/19/2006
As the ever-rising cost of fuel stands to affect the fresh produce industry now and in the future, some industry members aren't waiting for the future to find ways to deal with or compensate for the problem. They're doing it today.
Baldor Specialty Foods, a Bronx, NY-based distributor of specialty foods including fresh produce, is known for cutting edge business innovations. The company's customer base includes a wide range of high-end retailers and foodservice operators in the Northeast.
Company President Michael Muzyk doesn't take news like high fuel costs lying down. But he tries to find ways to challenge the inevitable and make it work to his advantage. That mindset has lead him to a current collaboration with the Watershed Agricultural Council, a nonprofit organization in Walton, NY, whose mission is to promote agriculture in land-based businesses, and Catskill Mountain Foundation in Hunter, NY, a group that promotes art, education and sustainable living in the mountain region, and which publishes the Pure Catskills Guide to Fresh Products.
The three entities are currently working on a program whereby Watershed and Catskill Mountain will coordinate supplies of fresh produce grown by small, mainly independent farmers in order to supply Baldor with the high- quality produce it needs to satisfy its customers during the growing seasons in the region.
Mr. Muzyk said, "Take any conventional produce item as an example of the type of pressure distributors are under today because of fuel increases. A case of that product might cost $6, but the freight costs from California, because of increased fuel prices, is about $7.50. By buying that particular item from local growers, the cost of fuel automatically drops dramatically."
Keeping fuel prices in check isn't the only upside to buying local, said Mr. Muzyk. Other benefits are helping to sustain local agriculture and the level of freshness that results when produce doesn't have to travel by truck for several days. The highest possible levels of nutrients and vitamins are also maintained on fresher produce, an element that everyone is concerned with today.
"High-end restaurants commonly like to feature locally grown produce that is not available in other areas of the country," Mr. Muzyk said. "Buying from a consortium of sorts that can give us the supply quantities and quality we need will be an important factor in working with a unified and coordinated group like Watershed."
Like most new initiatives, it took a seed to sprout into what promises to be a successful program for growers, Baldor and its clientele. This one began when a former Baldor sales representative, Allison Bennett, moved to the Catskills and became involved with the Watershed committee.
"I started writing the newsletter and soon saw the possibilities of getting these farmers hooked up with Baldor," said Ms. Bennett. "I realized how scattered they were and how most sold their crops only at local farmer's markets. I felt that if they could consolidated their crops at a common pickup point, they could be shipped, managed and stored at Baldor's Hunts Point facility, and then distributed."
Knowing how naturally skeptical most farmers are about handing their prized produce over to a major distributor, Ms. Bennett arranged a farmers' tour and luncheon at Baldor on Dec. 15. About 40 farmers attended -- many more than were expected to participate -- and enjoyed an extensive tour through the facility. Following lunch, a question-and-answer period ensued where Mr. Muzyk and some of Baldor's buyers and salespeople explained the company's needs and answered questions.
Ms. Bennett and Mr. Muzyk agreed that everyone in attendance was thrilled. Early plans are now in the works, and it is anticipated that the first shipments to Baldor will begin being consolidated and shipped as early as the next growing season.
"What did not exist in the past - a solid infrastructure to let growers know what products are needed and how and when to consolidate shipments with their neighboring growers - can now be developed," said Mr. Muzyk. "We also need uniform packaging and product must adhere to our quality standard specifications. If we go to a high-end restaurant in New York City with a box of zucchini that ranges from one inch to several inches in diameter, [the restaurant staff] would refuse the product and probably never order from us again. These are the sorts of crucial details that local growers can learn in this collaboration effort."
Baldor has always made itself available to and been involved with agriculture programs through educational systems such as Cornell University in Syracuse, NY, and Mr. Muzyk said that the unification with these groups is in perfect alignment with what cooperative extension programs are attempting to achieve.
"Local growers have suffered years of being mistreated at terminal markets, and that treatment and their inability to compete successfully has turned them away," he said. "But this program promises to help turn the tide for these growers, and at the same time benefit us and our customers. We will receive their goods at our docks, handle invoicing and any issues right there on the spot, and the companies will be paid promptly."
Mr. Muzyk said that the first shipments under this new arrangement should bring items like spring ramps, baby lettuces and other products to Baldor's doors by spring.
