Over the past years, the TommyO blog has been a trusted resource in the fresh produce industry – providing educational information about understanding the nuances and technical aspects of the sales contract process. The articles have opined about the intricacies within sales contracts and provided practical recommendations to provide knowledge about your responsibilities, rights and remedies. The goal is to help you to maximize sales opportunities and provide Western Growers Regular Members guidance on specific sales contract matters. As we embark on the post TommyO legacy, we introduce you to Produce Insights. While the name is new, the goal will remain the same – to provide educational content and be a resource to answer questions and provide guidance.
While sales contracts are negotiated and are handled in many different ways with your customer base, it is still important for shippers to fully understand the obligations of their individual sales agreements with customers. Expect to see future Produce Insights articles explore and provide information about responsibilities, rights and remedies. Articles and guest columns will explore the issues that affect your day to day operations, including but not limited to:
- PACA Code of Conduct /Rules of Fair Trade for the produce industry
- Dispute resolution with the PACA and DRC
- Guidance on how and why to pursue a slow or short pay contract
- Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation (DRC)
- Understanding common trade terms
- Sales documents and proper documentation
- USDA and CFIA inspections and understanding how to decipher the results
- Does my produce meet contract at contract destination: Why, or Why not?
- Importance of pulp temperatures
- In-transit temperature downloads
- How to properly document a claim
- Shipping instructions
- Time of shipment versus time of arrival
- Proper communication on claims
- PACA Trust rights and enforcement
Western Growers remains committed to providing relevant educational information on sales contracts. We would respectfully request that you share any ideas for columns that you think would be relevant for a Produce Insights article. Thank you for your readership and if you have any questions or comments, please contact Ken Gilliland at [email protected] or Matt McInerney at [email protected]