SEPC Southern Innovations Revs It Up In Charlotte On A Race To Discover

by | Sep 21, 2023

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Boogity boogity boogity! If you don’t know what that means, you don’t know racing and NASCAR. The good news is, you didn’t have to to have a ball at the Southeast Produce Council Southern Innovations show in Charlotte.

We were there as always, broadcasting from the show for our partner The RFD-TV Network. We’ve collected all those clips in one place so you can either relive Southern Innovations or see what you missed. Now on with the show!

SEPC ON RFD-TV

What better place than the NASCAR Hall of Fame to kick off Southern Innovations? We caught up with President and CEO David Sherrod for a look at things to come.

It was go-kart racing in the morning and bowling in the afternoon as this year’s class of the SEPC leadership program STEP-UPP graduated from the annual program. Program co-chairman Mike Roberts gives us the inside scoop.

Rambutan? Dragonfruit? How about mangosteen, a tasty snack so perfect it even comes in its own serving container. Chip Carter visited the Freshway Produce booth at SEPC Southern Innovations in Charlotte to find out more.

Global Avocado Leader Westfalia Represents At Southern Innovations

Hass avocados don’t grow in the Southeast, but the world’s largest producer was on-hand in Charlotte for the Southeast Produce Council Southern Innovations show this weekend. The global avocado market is valued at about $10 billion annually and projected to grow to $20 billion by just 2026. Chip Carter caught up with the company’s North American President Raina Nelson — who’s also a former SEPC Chairperson.

We all hear the same question all the time: Who’s going to be farming in the future? Where are the young people? The good news is we see ’em everywhere we go. But we’ve never been prouder to introduce you to than now. Luke Shuman, oldest son of our great friend John Shuman of Shuman Farms and RealSweet Produce, has come home to join the business! Here’s Luke and Dad in their first tag-team TV interview.

Highline Mushrooms’ Approach To Packaging Is Clearly Better

Mushrooms might grow in the dark, but why do we keep them there at the supermarket? We shop first with our eyes, but mushrooms come in containers that don’t really let you get a look at what’s inside. Until now. Canada’s Highline Mushrooms presented a solution at Southern Innovations that’s clearly better…

Vegetables are seasonable of course — so how can one farm keep the country supplied year-round? Easy — have farms all over! Myrick Produce grows a wide variety of produce most of the year at its Florida and Georgia farms. But when the summer sun is at its hottest, they’re cooling their heels in Michigan.

Georgia has a peach on its license plate, but it should probably have a pecan since The Peach State is typically the U.S. production leader in that crop. We caught up with Duke and Beth Ann Lane at SEPC Southern Innovations for the story.

Mike Roberts Takes The Wheel As SEPC Chairman

It’s a hallmark of Southern Innovations — the changing of the SEPC leadership guard. Outgoing Chairman Tim Graas turned over the keys to Mike Roberts, who we caught up with trackside for this conversation.

North Bay Produce Brings Its Best From The Americas

Chicken and blueberry pizza? That might not be the first combo you’d think of when ordering — but, as Chip Carter found out at the SEPC Southern Innovations show in Charlotte, it works pretty well! North Bay Produce is a grower-owned co-op with more than 2,000 farms in North, Central and South America. We caught up with Sarah Quackenbush for the story.

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