News Releases

For Immediate Release:  Aug. 15, 2017

Contact:   Marilyn Drake 303-594-3827 or admin@coloradoproduce.org          

Food waste is a topic receiving a lot of attention currently. Since perishable produce is especially vulnerable to spoilage and, therefore, waste, the Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (CFVGA) is working with its growers to offer options to reduce waste, which can occur for a number of reasons, including:

For Immediate Release:  July 13, 2017

Contact: Robert Sakata  303-947-3097 or rtsakata@aol.com
 
Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (CFVGA) President Robert Sakata July 11 was one of two growers on a panel at the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Annual Meeting in Tampa, Fla. The panel, titled It’s going to take a Village: Grower Perspectives on FSMA Implementation, was one of many sessions at the meeting which draws more than 3,400 of the top industry, academic and governmental food safety professionals from six continents.

For Immediate Release:  July 5, 2017
Contacts:  Marilyn Bay Drake  303-594-3827  admin@coloradoproduce.org
 
The Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (CFVGA) is encouraging the public to look for CFVGA’s colorful produce calendar when shopping at Sprouts Farmers Market, City Markets and King Soopers stores. Produced by CFVGA in cooperation with Colorado Proud, the calendar is designed to provide consumers with an approximate calendar of when Colorado produce is available fresh from local growers’ fields and orchards.

For Immediate Release:  June 27, 2017
Contacts:           Robert Sakata  303-947-3097 or rtsakata@aol.com
                          Marilyn Bay Drake  303-594-3827  admin@coloradoproduce.org
 
The Center for Produce Safety’s (CPS) June 20-21 symposium brought cutting edge food safety researchers to Denver to talk about current research and its application to the produce industry as well as to hear from growers and others the top priorities for new research.  Held at the Denver Hyatt Regency, symposium attendance hit an all-time record of 325, including at least 15 members of the Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (CFVGA).

For Immediate Release: June 6, 2017
Contact: Marilyn Drake 303-594-3827 or admin@coloradoproduce.org

As Colorado’s produce season arrives, the Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (CFVGA) is asking consumers to buy local.

“Colorado’s high day time temperatures countered by cool nights, give our fruit a sweeter, more intense flavor,” said Bruce Talbott, Talbott’s Gold, Palisade, Colo., a fifth-generation Colorado fruit farmer. He also notes that the very cold winters kill many of the pests with which other fruit-producing areas must contend

For Immediate Release: May 20, 2017

Contacts:
Robert Sakata 303-947-3097 or rtsakata@aol.com
Marilyn Bay Drake 303-594-3827 or admin@coloradoproduce.org

Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (CFVGA) President Robert Sakata, Sakata Farms, Brighton, Colo., returned yesterday from a three-day visit to the nation’s capital where he Joined Western Growers members in talking to members of Congress and the Trump administration about the challenges facing Colorado produce growers.

For Immediate Release: April 28, 2017
Contacts: Martha Sullins 970-491-3330 or martha.sullins@colostate.edu
Marilyn Drake 303-594-3827 or admin@coloradoproduce.org

The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA), Colorado State University (CSU) Extension and the Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (CFVGA) invite produce growers to a Produce Safety Rule Grower Training, May 11 at the Colorado Department of Agriculture, 305 Interlocken Parkway, Broomfield.

For Immediate Release: April 27, 2017
Contacts: Robert Sakata 303-947-3097 or rtsakata@aol.com
Marilyn Bay Drake 303-594-3827 or admin@coloradoproduce.org

Robert Sakata, Sakata Farms, Brighton, Colo., and president of the Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (CFVGA), yesterday urged members of the Colorado Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee not to impose Colorado agriculture the paperwork burden for another regulation.

CFVGA applauds the decision of the committee following Sakata’s and other testimonies to indefinitely table the bill, which had already passed the House.

For Immediate Release: April 17, 2017

Contacts: Robert Sakata 303-947-3097 or rtsakata@aol.com

The Center for Produce Safety (CPS) will be bringing its annual Research Symposium to Denver June 20-21 at the Denver Hyatt Regency. It is the first time ever CPS, whose goal is to fund research that will give produce growers practical solutions and technology to prevent or minimize produce safety vulnerabilities, will bring its symposium to Colorado.

“We feel so strongly about the value of this event to growers that we requested and were awarded money from the Specialty Crop Block Grant to help growers attend,” said Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (CFVGA) President Robert Sakata. “The grant money along with our organization’s commitment will allow us to offer grower members scholarships that can potentially reimburse over 70 percent of the symposium registration and lodging costs.”

For Immediate Release: April 7, 2017
Contacts: Robert Sakata 303-947-3097 or rtsakata@aol.com
Marilyn Bay Drake 303-594-3827 or admin@coloradoproduce.org

Robert Sakata, Sakata Farms, Brighton, Colo., was elected last month by the Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (CFVGA) board of directors to serve a fourth year as president of the association. He has been elected president each year, since 2014 when CFVGA was founded.

Other officers elected include Roger Mix, Mix Farms, Center, Colo., vice president; and Glenn Hirakata, Hirakata Farms, Rocky Ford, Colo., secretary. Reid Fishering, Mountain Quality Sweet Corn, Olathe, Colo., was re-elected treasurer.