Wednesday…
I learned that Samia Garner, Director of Berry Sales, is the queen of multitasking! She is responsible for getting berries from North Carolina, Florida, British Columbia, Chile, and Argentina to market. Her day begins by reviewing the USDA Market Report and the Chase Processing packing cooler inventory. She must also check weather on the East Coast to determine price, quality, and availability of product. She continually shifts back and forth between ITradeNetwork.com and email assisting buyers in adding, deleting and amending orders. She is amazing!
I spent Wednesday afternoon with with Katie Alvarado, Cottle Farms’ accountant. She is responsible for three different companies within Cottle Farms and can pay anywhere from 20-30 to 200-300 people at a time!
Thursday…
Bell Pepper
I toured the farm with Ron Cottle, Owner of Cottle .Originally we were going to White Lake to visit Cottle berry growers; however, the Faison employees were harvesting grape tomatoes and peppers, so we visited various fields.
Anaheim Pepper
Number One Lesson for the Day: Farmers cannot live without cell phones!
Jalapeno Pepper
Muscadine Time -The new smoothie mixer came in!
Friday…ahhh
I spent time with John and Michael in the office. We met with a contractor concerning the construction of the boilers for the smoothie production area. We are still waiting for a resolution to the bottle/bottle cap issue – who sells the caps for which bottles??? It is a conspiracy!
I also had a chance to meet with Royce Strickland, who is responsible for maintaining food safety at Cottle Farms. He is also responsible for training employees, scheduling third-party food safety audits, checking cooler temperature logs, and maintaining the traceability [sic] of food.