The new leader of Florida's tomato industry brings citrus and tomato experience to his position. Michael Schadler recently became deputy manager of the Maitland, FL-based Florida Tomato Committee and senior vice president of the Florida Tomato Exchange and the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange.
Schadler, 38, succeeds Reggie Brown, the longtime committee manager and exchanges' executive vice president. In September, Brown announced his retirement but doesn't plan to officially leave his position until early 2018 after his successor's transition is complete. Schadler says the overlap should prevent the industry from losing valuable institutional knowledge.
Schadler was director of international marketing for the Florida Department of Citrus in Bartow, FL, from 2013-2016. Previously, he worked for six years at the Seattle, WA-based Bryant Christie, Inc., consulting firm where he managed U.S. Department of Agriculture Market Access Program-funded citrus, tomatoes and hops programs. Schadler worked closely with the Florida and California tomato industries. “I am glad to stay involved in Florida agriculture and part of this industry, though it's going through some challenging times, like citrus,” Schadler says. “I have always enjoyed working with growers trying to find industry-wide solutions.”
One of the biggest challenges is the U.S.-Mexican tomato suspension agreement, which is scheduled for renewal in early 2018. Florida growers want stronger enforcement from the U.S. Commerce Department on the agreement, which sets floor prices for Mexican fresh tomatoes entering the U.S., Schadler says. On labor, Florida growers plan to work with lawmakers to reform the H-2A program or develop a more effective guest worker program to assure an adequate supply of workers.
Schadler, who began on Feb. 1, says his work will primarily involve government policy and industry relations. He remains optimistic for growers of the state's leading vegetable. “Florida tomato growers are a resilient group that has been through a lot,” Schadler says. “Five to 10 years from now, the industry will look and be structured differently from today, but I have no doubt that Florida will always be an important supplier of fall, winter and spring tomatoes for the U.S. and hopefully expanding to other markets.”
A Redmond, WA, native, Schadler graduated in 2002 from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts degree in international studies and worked in Chile, where he was a foreign service intern at the U.S. Embassy. Brown started at the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association in 1988 before joining the tomato committee and exchanges in 1999.
Source: PerishableNews.com
