SEPTEMBER 2015
IN THIS ISSUE: APG Ambassadors Central Valley Media Tour Oktoberfest Facebook Contest APG Ambassador Featured in Men’s Fitness Magazine American Pistachio Growers Newsroom Media Event with Mark Cavendish in Germany Bakery Training and Competition in China Meet Our Growers - The Salehi Family USDA Expands Farm Safety Net American Pistachio Industry 2016 Annual Conference
Cheryl Forberg and Sonya Jones Central Valley Media Tour
While visiting California’s Central Valley, both Cheryl Forberg, RD, an APG ambassador and chef/nutritionist for The Biggest Loser, and Sonya Jones, a Biggest Loser contestant were interviewed by multiple media outlets. The Valley’s leading television programs and news publications featured Sonya and Cheryl who spoke about how pistachios are the ideal snack for weight loss and healthy weight maintenance. Read more … Oktoberfest Facebook Contest Oktoberfest without beer is like a party without pistachios. In celebration of Oktoberfest, American Pistachio Growers is offering beer and pistachio lovers the chance to win pistachios. To enter, Facebook fans are simply asked to name their favorite Oktoberfest beverage they enjoy with pistachios. The contest runs through October 4, with a winner announced each day. Read more …
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APG Ambassador Mark Cavendish Featured in Men’s Fitness Magazine The September issue of Men’s Fitness magazine featured APG ambassador, pro cyclist Mark Cavendish. In the article, “Pro Cyclist Mark Cavendish’s Diet Rules,” Cavendish talks about his approach to nutrition as more of an everyday athlete than a superhuman speed demon. Read more …
American Pistachio Growers Newsroom For the latest news, articles and social conversations about APG, visit American Pistachio Growers Newsroom. Here you’ll find realtime top worldwide headlines from APG, posts via APG’s social wire (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest), and the latest pistachio nutrition news, as well as published articles in leading health and fitness publications. Read more … 3
The 2015 Pistachio Harvest is Underw Throughout California, Arizona and New Mexico, pistachio farmers are literally shaking the nuts off their trees. To engage consumers around the world with our growers and their pistachios, APG invited our growers to post photos of their pre-harvest activities and their actual harvest on Twitter. As a result, the photos have been popping up in social media channels here in the U.S.A. and across Europe, South Korea and even China. It’s not too late to join in the pistachio harvest photo party. When posting your photos, be sure to add #PistachioPower to ensure it is added to APG’s international Twitter feed. To see the APG Twitter feed, “follow” us @PistachioPower or click here.
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Media Event with Mark Cavendish in Germany In August, APG hosted a journalist event with Mark Cavendish that started at the VattenfallCyclassics in Hamburg, Germany—a race that attracts journalists from around the world. Before the race, the host of the Cyclassics introduced Mark Cavendish and APG’s cheerleading squad, and then he and Mark spoke to the crowd of cyclists and spectators about the recovery benefits of American pistachios for cyclists. After the race, editors representing publications such as from Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Runner’s World, Triathlon, Active Woman, and Shape Up magazines attended the post-workout breakfast with Mark Cavendish. While the editors were served a post-recovery breakfast that included pistachios, nutrition expert Dr. Ursula Hildebrandt spoke about sports nutrition and the importance of pistachios as postworkout snack for cyclists. Read more …
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Bakery Training and Competition i
APG and the China Cuisine Association’s mission: Encourage the integration of pistachios into more bakery recipes. To accomplish this mission, the two organizations held a bakery training and competition event in which more than 30 bakery chefs from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei participated. China’s veteran pastry chef, Mr. Jitong Cao, led the training workshop. He created four pistachio-based recipes to demonstrate the culinary possibilities of baking with American pistachios: American Pistachio
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in China
Sponge Cake Bar; American Pistachio MultiFlavor Stuffing Cake Ball; American Pistachio White Chocolate Mousse Cake; and American Pistachio Rose Apricot Mousse Cake. Read more ‌.
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Meet Our Growers –
THE SALEHI FAMILY Vahid Salehi credits his family with the work ethic and dedication he follows to ensure the success of Pistacia Global, a company he founded in 2006. His uncles, Ali, Mehdi and Ahmad Orandi, who immigrated to California’s San Joaquin Valley in the late 1960s, quickly recognized and appreciated the geographic and climate similarities of California’s fertile valley to that of their native Kerman Province of Iran, where family members grew pistachios. Because of their familiarity with pistachios, they decided to invest in growing them in the United States. “My family has been involved in pistachio farming in the Valley since 1975, in the Terra Bella area,” Salehi said. “When I was eight years old, pistachios became a part of my heart and soul. But it wasn’t until I earned a degree in business and spent a few years in the banking industry that I realized I was not cut out to be a banker. It just didn’t satisfy me intellectually or spiritually.” Read more …
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American Pistachio Industry, 2016 Annual Conference
PALM DESERT HERE WE COME! Make plans now to attend the pistachio industry’s biggest event of the year. Once again, APG will have a program filled with guest speakers and educational opportunities. It all takes place in Palm Desert at the beautiful JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa.
Don’t Wait, Sign up Today Registration is now open, and a discounted room block has been contracted with JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa for attendees of this year’s APG Conference. As always, APG members receive first priority with room reservations, sponsorships, exhibit opportunities and conference notifications. Sign up today by visiting our conference website APGPOWER.ORG APGPOWER.ORG APG’s conference website is a one-stop shop for everything “annual conference,” from registration to sponsorship opportunities, advertising and exhibitor reservations. Be sure to check back regularly as we will be updating information throughout the coming months.
COMING SOON 2016 Annual Conference Tees Available soon at APGPOWER.ORG.
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APG Member News
Primex Farms Excels in Food and Facility Safety DFA of California recently honored APG members Primex Farms as the 2014 - 2015 Pinnacle Club Plant of the Year. They received this recognition for maintaining the highest standard of excellence in meeting the requirements of DFA’s food safety and Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) Standards. The news was announced in the August issue of APG eNews. The September issue of Pacific Nut Producer includes an in-depth article about Primex and the programs and procedures in place that helped them achieve this impressive award. Click here to download the complete article.
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USDA Expands Farm Safety Net, Offers Greater Flexibility for Beginning, Organic and Fruit and Vegetable Growers
“Whole-Farm Revenue Protection insurance allows producers, who have previously had limited access to a risk-management safety net, to insure all of the commodities on their farm at once instead of one commodity at a time. That gives them the option of embracing more crop diversity on their farm and helps support the production of a wider variety of foods.” - Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden announced that Whole-Farm Revenue Protection insurance will be available in every county in the nation in 2016. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is also making changes to the policy to help farmers and ranchers with diversified crops—including beginning, organic, and fruit and vegetable growers—to have better access to Whole-Farm Revenue Protection. Read more …
2015 Latino Farmer Conference Save the date for the first Latino Farmer Conference in California. To be held November 3, at the Radisson Conference Center in Fresno, this conference will bring together Spanish-speaking farmers from around California to share their experiences, network with other farmers, and attend workshops about marketing, production practices, farm finances and programs, and other topics relevant to Spanish-speaking farmers. REGISTRATION IS FREE! The first 125 to register receive a complementary lunch! If you are traveling more than 4 hours (250 miles) one-way to attend the event, you are eligible for a complementary hotel accommodation for one night. For more information visit www.latinofarmerconference.ncat.org./ 13
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