🌱 Sun World’s big AI move

🌱 Good afternoon, and welcome to today's fresh newsletter! 

In today's email:

• Sun World & Clarifresh Unite to Elevate Global Grape Quality with AI

• IFPA Pushes for Practical Standards in Organic Farming

• Which Popular “Nut” is a Legume That Grows Underground?

• Fresh Picks: Our Handpicked Produce Content from the Web

• CNH Industrial Acquires Advanced Farm’s Robotic Apple-Picking Technology

• Sun World: The Company Behind Your New Favorite Grape

• Tip of the Day: Design Interactive Produce Walls to Encourage Hands-On Shopping

AGROTECHNOLOGY

Sun World & Clarifresh Unite to Elevate Global Grape Quality with AI

Sun World International has partnered with Clarifresh, an AI-powered quality management software company, to enhance quality consistency and reduce product rejections in its global grape supply chain, beginning in Egypt and Italy.

Clarifresh’s technology provides real-time insights and standardizes quality control practices, helping growers meet Sun World’s rigorous standards.

This collaboration aims to streamline operations from cultivation to delivery, ensuring high-quality grapes for global markets.

It also promotes better communication and decision-making across the supply chain by establishing a unified quality assessment framework.

The alliance positions Clarifresh as a leading innovator in fresh produce quality management and supports Sun World’s commitment to delivering superior, reliable products worldwide.

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AGRO-FOOD SUSTAINABILITY

IFPA Pushes for Practical Standards in Organic Farming

The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) urged the National Organic Standards Board to adopt flexible, science-based standards in response to its Spring 2025 agenda.

IFPA’s recommendations include a risk-based certification approach, enhanced certifier training, and data-driven oversight to reduce burdens on organic growers.

It emphasized maintaining the current 5% EPA pesticide residue threshold, citing environmental contamination concerns.

The IFPA also supports achievable biodegradability standards in compost production and warned against restrictions that could reduce compost availability.

Additionally, the association offered feedback on specific agricultural materials and advocated for consistent compliance tools.

IFPA aims to ensure organic integrity while providing growers with practical, regionally adaptable tools that reflect real-world farming challenges.

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TRIVIA

Despite the name, ________ aren’t nuts at all, they’re legumes, related to beans and lentils.

The astronaut Alan Shepard took a ________ with him to the Moon during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971, wanting to have the "first astro-nut."

🥭 Global Market Overview: Mangoes | The global mango market is undergoing a dynamic and challenging season characterized by weather-related disruptions, overlapping harvests, shifting regional supplies, and evolving trade conditions, leading to fluctuating prices and prompting exporters across Latin America, Africa, and Asia to adopt strategies while demand in key markets remains seasonally strong. (FreshPlaza.com | May 2, 2025)

🌱 USAID Cuts a “Threat” to Small Farmers in Developing World | The end of USAID farm aid will have little global market impact but may severely hurt small farmers in developing countries by cutting off access to finance, technology, and market support. (Fruitnet.com | May 2, 2025)

🕷️ Expert Advice To Help Stop Spider Mites in Their Tracks | Crop protection experts from Valent, Kemin, Gowan, and BASF emphasize integrated pest management, timely application, resistance rotation, and tailored miticide strategies chemical and biological to effectively combat spider mites in specialty crops under increasing climate pressure. (GrowingProduce.com | May 1, 2025)

🐝 Breaking Down EPA’s New Action Plan for Insecticides | The EPA has released its final Insecticide Strategy under the Endangered Species Act, introducing a three-step, mitigation-based framework for registering and re-registering insecticides to reduce ecological risks while aiming to balance regulatory demands with agricultural flexibility. (ThePacker.com | Apr 30, 2025)

🥗 Increase Consumption Through Motivation Not Education | To boost fruit and vegetable consumption, industry leaders argue motivation not education is key, advocating for tactics like peer pressure, vanity appeals, and influencer modeling to drive healthier choices. (BlueBookServices.com | Apr 30, 2025)

INNOVATION

CNH Industrial Acquires Advanced Farm’s Robotic Apple-Picking Technology

CNH Industrial has acquired the assets and intellectual property of Advanced Farm, a California-based startup known for its robotic apple-picking technology.

This follows successful field trials during the 2024 harvest in Washington, where the system proved efficient and reliable in picking apples and strawberries.

The acquisition aims to address labor shortages, improve harvest efficiency, and integrate Advanced Farm’s innovations into CNH’s broader automation strategy.

CNH, an early investor in the startup, will retain key technical staff to boost its R&D efforts.

The move reflects a wider industry trend toward mechanization and supports CNH’s goal to offer automated, data-driven harvesting solutions.

CNH plans to extend the technology to other high-value crops while enhancing system integration with its existing equipment.

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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

Sun World: The Company Behind Your New Favorite Grape

Sun World International is a California-based fruit variety development and licensing company that has quietly reshaped the produce industry over the past four decades.

Born in the early 1980s out of a desire to move beyond commodity offerings, the company pioneered seedless grape breeding and in 1990 launched what would become one of the world’s longest-running fruit genetics programs.

The company’s founding ethos was disruption.

Rather than competing on price, Sun World sought to create proprietary varietals that delivered unique flavor, extended shelf life, and consistent field performance.

It was also among the first to license its varieties internationally, building partnerships with more than 2,700 growers across Asia, Europe, the Americas, and beyond.

In 2024, the acquisition of South Africa-based Biogold brought global preeminence in citrus and mango genetics into Sun World’s fold, while bolstering its emerging avocado program.

The deal not only expanded Sun World’s intellectual property portfolio but also deepened its expertise in managing plant breeders’ rights on a worldwide basis.

Leadership at Sun World blends institutional knowledge with fresh perspectives.

The flagship initiative has been its global Autumncrisp® grape campaign, which launched in August 2023 with a mix of digital advertising, influencer partnerships, and in-store promotions.

Retailers in key markets saw up to 60 percent growth in Autumncrisp® sales,a testament to the brand’s mid- to late-season availability and distinctive eating quality.

Ruby Rush®, an early-season red seedless grape introduced in 2023, has followed a similar playbook.

Sun World’s long-standing relationships with growers foster trust and expedite adoption.

Sun World’s presence extends beyond grapes.

The company’s mango program, accelerated by its Biogold acquisition, offers the Kankun® variety and access to the world’s largest pool of mango genetics.

Stone fruit remains a core strength, with patented plums such as Black Diamond® and Red Diamond®, peaches like Amber Crest™, and nectarines branded under Super Star™.

Breeding for climate-adapted traits has been integral since its earliest seedless grapes, and today the company leverages data analytics, AI, and gene-editing tools to improve water use efficiency and disease resistance.

Today, Sun World partners with over 3,000 growers and more than 210 marketing companies across 18 countries.

What makes Sun World distinctive is not just its catalog of patented varieties but the integrated ecosystem it has built around them.

From deep genetic resources and research capabilities to hands-on technical support and consumer marketing, the company spans the full value chain.

Its heritage as a grower-breeder lends practical insight into field challenges, while its willingness to experiment with branding and digital engagement sets it apart from more traditional licensors.

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TIP OF THE DAY

Design Interactive Produce Walls to Encourage Hands-On Shopping

Designing interactive produce walls in your store or market stall can elevate the shopping experience by turning it into something tactile, visual, and memorable.

Instead of traditional static displays, organize fruits and vegetables in color gradients, seasonal patterns, or by flavor profiles sweet, spicy, earthy, and tangy, and invite customers to explore by touch and curiosity.

Add small signs with prompts like “Feeling adventurous? Try something from the bold corner!” or “Build your smoothie rainbow from this wall.”

This setup makes the experience playful, especially for families and foodies, and encourages impulse buys driven by inspiration rather than routine.

You can rotate the layout weekly to reflect changing inventory, weather, or trending recipes, keeping the space dynamic and surprising.

By designing your produce space as a place of interaction rather than just selection, you deepen customer engagement and transform ordinary shopping into a sensory discovery.