The Mexican-grown Persian limes are rolling down the conveyor belts at ColiMex in Weslaco. Workers are sorting and inspecting the fruit. Boxes of “Fresh Quality Limes” are stacked high on pallets near an open warehouse door, waiting for delivery. The limes at the Weslaco plant will be shipped across the country to some of the nation’s best known national and regional grocers. Food service companies are also major buyers in…
The private recreational angler red snapper season in federal waters will close at 12:01 a.m. Aug. 5. State waters out to nine nautical miles will remain open with a four-fish daily bag limit and a 15-inch minimum. Under an agreement between the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the National Marine Fisheries Service, TPWD can establish the opening and closing of the red snapper fishery in federal waters off Texas.…
Weslaco often touts itself as a strategic mid-point in the Rio Grande Valley. Here, goods and services can move quickly and efficiently to all points in the region. The marketing pitch rang true to Robinson Fresh, one of the largest produce companies nationally. It is making a move to utilize a 46,000-square-foot facility at the Mid-Valley Industrial Park which will serve as a storage and distribution point for fresh produce…
Miguel Lozano holds a tiny wooden box with a mesh top and points to what’s crawling underneath it. There’s a queen bee in there of European origin. It’s an important distinction, he said, because when she’s put in a hive, this queen will center a cluster of bees with Africanized roots, the ones dubbed “killer bees.” “She will calm the box,” Lozano said, looking out toward several hives in boxes…
City of Pharr officials and Pharr International Bridge leaders recently celebrated the start of the 2020-2021 Produce Season. Also attending the bi-annual celebration at the bridge were produce growers, importers, distributors, and consumers from the United States and Mexico “The Pharr International Bridge is the heart and soul of Pharr for economic development,” said Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez. “We are especially proud of the hard work of our bridge staff…
Jason Hess took a tour of a nursery by a resaca in Bayview in 2017 and discovered a paradise. It was River’s End Nursery back when Hess first saw it. He works in the healthcare field, with a hobby and passion for growing fruit trees, so the tour was of special interest to him. Hess was in awe of the splendor at River’s End. Ed and Kathy Pechacek took a…
Before there was a University Drive and UTRGV, there was Harriman Drive and Pan American College in Edinburg. Harriman was where Al Martin started Martin Farm & Ranch Supply in 1955. There’s an old photo of Al in a hat looking at his products through a store window with a long sign above him touting “Feed, Seed, Fertilizer, Insecticides.” “Daddy has us working all the time,” said Doug Martin of…
For the first time in 13 years, the Port of Brownsville resumed the export of grains overseas via vessel. WestPlains LLC, the operator of the port’s grain elevator, loaded 34,000 metric tons of sorghum onto the M/V Tian Fu in late-August. The grain was harvested from throughout the Rio Grande Valley. This is the first of four vessels with sorghum that WestPlains will ship to China this year. The port…
People all over the world enjoy having a glass of wine. Some make special trips in search of this spirit that has been produced for decades in countries like France, Spain, New Zealand and Australia. Some go to the Texas Hill Country, now home to dozens of wineries. Others go to California’s Napa Valley, the top producer of wine in the United States. But do you know that sometime this…
England Farms of Mercedes is the first cotton grower in the state, country and world to bring in the first two bales of cotton for the 2020 harvest season. The new crop arrived at Ross Gin Co in Mercedes on June 18 at 10:37 a.m. The first two bales weighed 484 pounds and 543 pounds, respectively. Once ginned, the cotton will be transported to the Harlingen Area Chamber of Commerce.…