The newest thing in the field for this grower is the explosion of technology, which Horkey says includes the integration of GPS on everything from fertilization to pest management. “Technology is taking over the ag business,” he notes.
Tech talk: freezing and pasteurizing
While it is true that fresh rules the day, two businesses in the Detroit area are going in another direction. The Eastern Market’s Michigan Farm to Freezer is a relative newcomer to the wholesale market scene, working with growers at the market and throughout the state to store and flash-freeze commodities, creating a variety of products such as custom blends and packs for retail and foodservice customers.
There are vegetable packs with rainbow carrots, sweet peppers, and a variety of root crops, as well as plenty of frozen fruit in solo or mixed packages including Saskatoon berries, apple slices, and Michigan’s own famous tart cherries. Organic packs are available too, from mushrooms, broccoli, and kohlrabi to blueberries, strawberries, and tart cherries.
Freezing not only locks in flavor but saves highly perishable specialty crops from the landfill. “It’s a great example of how we can tackle a niche market,” says Mike DiBernardo, director of food innovation for the Eastern Market Corporation, which runs the Eastern Market.
Another high-tech innovation is emerging in the southwestern Detroit suburb of Taylor, where the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development awarded a grant to Great Lakes HPP, for a cold pasteurization facility. The HPP stands for high-pressure processing, which applies high pressure to sealed food products, locking in flavor and locking out pathogens.
Using an all-natural process of purified cold water, food is preserved and protected without any chemical additives. Better yet, the pasteurization process retains flavor and nutrients, while increasing shelf life. The new Great Lakes HPP facility will also house an innovation center for local food companies to train employees, test new products, develop new flavor profiles, and create recipes.
A Few Woes
Despite all the good, good, good there are always a few challenges. For those in fresh produce, skilled labor is a resounding and very familiar woe.
Del Bene reiterates that the availability of a skilled, reliable labor force is not just a local or Midwestern problem, but the “single biggest challenge countrywide.”
