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Click
here to learn about Kejay Farms |
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Nature’s
Finest Produce is a 65,000 sq ft packing
facility and warehouse owned and
operated by Jason & Kevin Stallaert.
Located in the Chatham-Kent farming
community, the pack-house serves the
local vegetable crop and is supported by
more than 7,000 acres grown at local
farms.
The
pack-house is conveniently located in
proximity to the Toronto area markets
and the north eastern U.S. markets. We
are two hours from the Cambridge
warehouse. The
facility includes 11,250 sq ft of cooler
capacity and a 20,000 sq ft shipping and
receiving area. |
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Special Projects |
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For the
2007 packing season Nature’s Finest
Produce has purchased onion dryers and
erected an outdoor drying station with
the capacity to dry 8 loads of onions
every 24 hours. This will greatly
improve the quality of packed onions and
ability to deliver onions to the market
no matter what Mother Nature has in
store. |
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Capacity and Certifications |
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The
pack-house runs two shifts and can
easily produce 6 loads of carrots and
six loads of onions for market every 24
hours. Nature’s Finest Produce employs a
full time maintenance staff, including a
millwright, to eliminate line down-time
due to breakdown of machinery.
Nature’s
Finest Produce has been working closely
with consultants to achieve GMP (HACCP)
certification for the 2008 packing
season. The SOP’s are all in place and
employee training has been ongoing.
Nature’s Finest Produce insists on
strict adherence to all food safety
policies.
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Investments |
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Capital investment in the plant,
grading lines & other equipment
is always a high priority. The
goal is to increase volume &
improve efficiency while
maintaining the highest packed
grade and food safety standards.
To date over $1.5 million has
been invested in equipment and
an additional $ .8
million will be invested in the
onion grading line in 2008. |
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Opportunities and Developments |
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Jason &
Kevin Stallaert are kept very busy
managing the day to day operations of Kejay
Farms and the packing facility. In the
past, they marketed the balance of their
crop to the food process industry,
primarily under tomato and carrot
contracts with Campbell’s and others. In
more recent years they have they have
concentrated on growing the highest
quality fresh table vegetables for
market to the retail channel. In
anticipation of this, they have created
the Nature’s Finest Produce label.
Additionally, they have installed
computer technology and software that
will provide enhanced grower/packer
reporting, facilitate production
scheduling & inventory management, and
organize all other functions including
the order desk and shipping & receiving.
The software also tracks produce from
the field to the market for recall &
traceability. |
