Hello, all you blueberry enthusiasts! We will be back next month in July, just in time for National Blueberry Month. We have a jam-packed schedule full of guests from all different backgrounds. In the meantime, here is the latest crop report for you to listen to. We will be back again very soon! Go, Blueberries!…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Todd Eagan, a former lead berry buyer with Costco’s fresh produce department and current consultant with Good Farms. You may remember him as a distinguished sp…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined again by Steve Mantle of Innov8 Ag and the BerrySmartProject. We previously heard from Mantle in episodes 44, 100 and 133. He joins us in this episode to share th…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Bruce Popko, chief executive officer of Major League Pickleball. Popko discusses the growth of pickleball, the professional league that he leads, and why blueb…

In this episode, Download on Tech host and ITI President and CEO Jason Oxman is joined by ITI member Microsoft’s Senior Accessibility Technology Evangelist Laurie Allen. Ahead of Global Accessibility Awareness Day on May 16, Jason and Laurie hone in on tech’s critical role in promoting accessibility and inclusion. Laurie shares insights on Microsof…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Amanda Griffin, vice president of engagement and education at USHBC and NABC. Cronquist and Griffin reflect on The Blueberry Convention, share the feedback the…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Bruce Popko, chief executive officer of Major League Pickleball. Popko discusses the growth of pickleball, the professional league that he leads, and why blueb…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Steve Magami, co-founder and executive chair of AgroVision, a vertically integrated grower, packer, shipper and marketer of blueberries, raspberries, blackberr…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by David Jackson, founder of Family Tree Farms, alongside his sons and son-in-law. Today, they’re a family-owned fruit grower, packer and shipper based in Reedley…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Jorge Andres Varela, president of Agroberries. Agroberries is a vertically integrated berry producer and marketer with a large worldwide presence and a portfol…

In this episode, Download on Tech host and ITI President and CEO Jason Oxman sits down with Michael Alicea, Chief Human Resources Officer at Trellix for a dynamic discussion on DEI in tech and the importance of diversifying cybersecurity. Michael also shares more about Trellix's innovative HBCU Career Program developed in partnership with the Natio…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Ryan Ellison, produce category manager at Food City, and Joshua Essenburg, category manager at SpartanNash. Both of these retailers participated in a panel at …

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by USHBC Chair Shelly Hartmann. As lifelong residents of Southwest Michigan, Shelly and Dennis Hartmann are the owners of True Blue Farms in Grand Junction. Estab…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Rachel Petraglia, culinary specialist for the fifth largest school nutrition program in the nation at the Georgia Department of Education. Petraglia spent almo…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by David Krause, CEO of Frutura. Recently, this California-based fruit sales and marketing company announced it was acquiring two berry businesses: Sun Belle and …

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Chelsea Consalo, vice president of operations for Consalo Family Farms in New Jersey, and Ellie Norris, owner/manager of Norris Blueberry Farms in Oregon. Cons…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Chef Nate Weir, vice president of culinary at Modern Market Eatery and a champion of including blueberries on menus. After culinary school Weir worked in full-…

In this episode, Jayne Stancavage, Intel’s Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs and Download on Tech host and President and CEO of ITI Jason Oxman discuss Intel's global AI initiatives, cybersecurity, 5G, and sustainability. Explore Intel's stake in the global AI dialogue, its contributions to the development and deployment of AI technol…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by NABC Director of Government Affairs Alyssa Houtby. Houtby leads the NABC’s advocacy efforts and works closely with Monument Advocacy, the council’s Washington,…

In September 2023, Dr. Arati Prabhakar, Chief Science and Technology Advisor to the President of the United States, joined Download on Tech host and ITI’s President and CEO Jason Oxman for an insightful dialogue on safe and responsible AI. As a key voice on AI in the Biden Administration, Dr. Prabhakar shares with Jason strategic initiatives and pa…

President Biden took a critical step to usher in a new era for U.S. manufacturing and the innovation economy and ensure U.S. leadership with the enactment of the CHIPS and Science Act. This landmark law’s bold and critical investments were designed to construct needed fabs to stabilize the domestic supply of semiconductors – the key building block …

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by David Magaña of Rabobank, who is responsible for covering and analyzing the U.S. and North American fresh fruit and vegetable industries. Tune in to learn abou…

As AI continues to provide transformative benefits to society, Download on Tech host and ITI President and CEO Jason Oxman is joined by Tris Warkentin, Director of Product Management at Google Deepmind, for an insightful conversation on the boundless potential of artificial intelligence. Join Jason and Tris as they delve into recent AI policy devel…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Andres Armstrong, executive director of the Chilean Blueberry Committee, to discuss the current season in Chile, the impact of the drop in Peruvian production …

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Lisa Wasko DeVetter, Ph.D., associate professor for small fruits at Washington State University’s (WSU) Mount Vernon Research Center. Since joining WSU in 2014…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), recaps the recent Blueberry Summit held in Savannah, Georgia, and highlights a couple of award-winning industry leaders. In this episode, we share the acceptance speeches o…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Kevin Hamilton, vice president of global marketing for USHBC. Hamilton has over 20 years of marketing experience with a number of brands and commodities, and i…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Lisa Coleman, director of healthy living for Giant Food, which includes 166 supermarkets in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Washington, D.C. As the leader of …

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Ross Peterson, the newly appointed director of finance at USHBC. Peterson explains how the USHBC is funded, the assessment process and some changes that are un…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Luis Vegas, general manager of Proarandanos, the Peruvian Blueberry Growers & Exporters Association. What started as a promising year for production in Peru ha…

As Brussels analyzes the European Commission's exploratory consultation on the future of connectivity and the future of EU network usage fees, guest host and ITI Director General for Europe Guido Lobrano is joined by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) Chair Konstantinos (Kostas) Masselos. Guido and Kostas discusse…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Rod Borden and Ben Bowditch of Lunds & Byerlys. Borden is the director of produce and Bowditch is the produce category manager for the grocery retailer that ha…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Amanda Griffin, our VP of Industry Engagement and Education and Dr. Jennifer McEntire, founder of Food Safety Strategies. Amanda is leading our BerrySmart plat…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Peter McPherson, general manager, Berry Category International, for Costa Group. For the first time in four years, the International Blueberry Organization was…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Brandon Casteel, SPINS vice president of channel and retail partnerships, and Joe Vargas, USHBC/NABC director of business intelligence. Last year's attitudes a…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by two blueberry growers who are also members of our USHBC BerrySmart Technology Task Force: Paul Macrie of Macrie Bros. Blueberry Farms and Noel Sakuma of Sakuma…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Brian Bocock, a Michigan blueberry grower and the vice president of product management at Naturipe Farms. Bocock also serves as vice chair of the USHBC Promoti…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Stephanie Stuckey, CEO of Stuckey’s Corporation and a Georgia pecan grower. Stuckey became CEO of Stuckey’s in November 2019 and is the third generation CEO of…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Bruce Summers, administrator for the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). In this role, Summers works on policy issues and oversight of a variety of pr…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Josh Scheel of Scenic Fruit Company, Bryan Sakuma of Sakuma Brothers, Amy Nguyen of Dragonberry Produce, Todd Sanders of the California Blueberry Commission an…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Joe Vargas, director of business intelligence at the USHBC and NABC, Joe Powell of Wish Farms and Michael Hill of H&A Farms. These industry leaders discuss the…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined once again by Soren Bjorn president of Driscoll’s of the Americas. Bjorn has been a frequent guest on the show, with featured discussions on episodes 003, 004, 08…

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from Brittany Lee in Florida, Derrin Wheeler in Georgia, Jody McPherson in North Carolina, Pat Goin in Indiana, Elise Oliver in California, TJ Hafner in Oregon, Alan Schreiber in Washington, Luis Vegas in Peru and Ma…

Ahead of Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) Washington, DC Summit on June 7-8, 2023, Dave Levy, Vice President of U.S. Government, Nonprofit, and Healthcare at AWS, discussed pressing public sector tech policy issues such as federal government modernization, artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, cloud innovation, and more with ITI President and CEO …

During AAPI Month, ITI’s President and CEO Jason Oxman discussed how the tech industry can work to reduce barriers of entry for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with Victoria Tung, Director of Government and Public Affairs at Texas Instruments.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Kristy Babb, USHBC and NABC’s first-ever communications director. This role was created to develop a focus on a communications platform for both organizations …

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Mississippi State Rep. Jill Ford, fourth grade teacher Lisa Parenteau and students Logan and Nicole. Thanks to the creative collaboration of this team, the fou…

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by North Carolina University Associate Professor Massimo Iorizzo, Ph.D. He was also featured in episode 31 where he helped introduce the Vaccinium Coordinated Ag …

ITI's President and CEO Jason Oxman speaks with Michele Cahn, Vice President of Global Government Affairs, Sustainability, Citizenship and Compliance at Xerox Corporation on sustainability initiatives and the role the technology industry can play in mitigating climate change.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Andres Armstrong, executive director of the Chilean Blueberry Committee. Armstrong returns to update listeners on the progress of the Chilean blueberry industr…