Do They Have to Take a Two-Hour Lunch?
By Brian Barham, LSU AgLeadership Class XV member
The towels are too big, the showers are too small, the food’s edible and the experience may never be matched!
It’s Friday morning and as my wife Laura and I await the sunrise in our hotel room, all that can be heard is the sound of the Mediterranean Sea as it rolls onto shore.
Yesterday’s tours included two operations. The first was TROPS Fruit Company (Fruto De La Calidad). This was a Coop of 2,300 producers of avocado and mango where they take the avocado from the tree to the local market in 6 days. TROPS is sixty percent organic. They supply 22 countries with their produce, with Germany and France being their largest customers. Avocado trees take three years from planting to first harvest.
Laura Barham, Brian's wife, couldn't help but take a bite out this fresh green tomato.
After a walk on the beach and lunch with a view, our afternoon stop was at PROCAM, a greenhouse and packaging company that grows and ships cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant and avocado. PROCAM is made up of a packing facility and 10 Hectares of land and greenhouses. Twenty percent of their produce is grown in a greenhouse and the other 80% is field grown. PROCAM is 85% organic. Their irrigation water is provided by snowfall from the nearby mountain range.
Today we had an avocado milkshake and were able to taste a greenhouse organic tomato that was completely green yet had a very high brix rating. Also, as my friend Lance found out, when in Spain, yes you do have to take a two-hour lunch!