Kennedy Groves Keeps Competitive Edge Through Quality, Transparency

T.P Kennedy

Advertisement

When you consider the challenges facing Florida’s citrus industry, it is clear that much will be expected from the next generation of leaders taking the reins of responsibility. T.P. Kennedy is one of those young people, taking an active management role in his family’s grove and packinghouse business, as well as becoming an advocate at the industry level.

Kennedy is quick to point to his family’s heritage in the citrus business as a cornerstone of his ability to lead. As a fourth generation Floridian, his family history dates back to the 1840s when his great grandfather Rev. John Kennedy moved his family to Florida from South Carolina.
The family’s first grove was planted in the 1850s outside of Gainesville. In 1909, the family planted its first grove in the Indian River area, which the family still owns part of to this day. The family business thrived in the Indian River and today about 4,500 acres are planted — mostly grapefruit.
In 1966, Kennedy Groves joined with five other well-known citrus families to build the United Indian River Packers packinghouse. In 1988, Kennedy Groves purchased the remaining stock of the original owners, becoming the sole owner of the operation.

Best Quality Wins

Kennedy says they’ve built their customer base on consistent quality fruit. “The Indian River is known worldwide for its grapefruit, so that is what we are focusing on over here,” he says. “Since we grow most all of what we pack, we can provide quality fruit to our buyers year in and year out. Because of the Indian River’s reputation, we can sell more fruit than we can pack. We just need more volume.”

Top Articles
Indoor Farming Insider Talks About Evolution of the Sector

Volume is challenged by the threat of HLB. “Greening is prevalent here on the East Coast,” says Kennedy. “We are just learning to grow with it while we wait for some research or new varieties that help us deal with it.”
Their greening program includes aggressive psyllid control and a slightly modified version of the Maury Boyd nutritional program.

On the River, canker still reigns as a significant concern. “We put a lot into canker management,” says Kennedy. “We are spraying on 21-day intervals and reducing inoculm. In most of our groves, we can obtain European Union canker-free certification. But it is a lot of work to get them there.”
Disease pressure has not quelled Kennedy’s enthusiasm for citrus. Last summer, 450 acres of new grapefruit was planted with more plantings planned. “We have about 1,000 acres of trees planted that are less than seven years old,” he says. “We are thinking outside the box on how we plant and manage these new groves. We are planting at higher density and managing trees intensively to get a return on investment sooner.”
Kennedy is working with UF/IFAS researchers in one of their groves on a high-density planting with open hydroponics, utilizing drip irrigation to spoon feed citrus trees nutrients.

Transparency Drives Demand

Attend any agricultural meeting where emerging trends are covered and “transparency” quickly surfaces as the newest buzzword. There is growing demand from consumers across the globe to know more about the origins of the food they eat. Thus, buyers in the chain are demanding more information from growers and packers. 

Global G.A.P. certification is a comprehensive means of providing transparency in production and food safety. “We could not sell a box of grapefruit overseas without Global G.A.P.,” says Kennedy. “We have all our groves and packinghouse certified. Food safety is a top priority and the best way to prevent a problem is doing all the right steps on the front end. Global G.A.P. is a good system for this worldwide. When customers call, the first question they ask is ‘Are you Global G.A.P.?’”

As the Food Safety Modernization Act begins to deploy, Kennedy says its Global G.A.P. certification has their business ahead of the curve. For those feeling the impact of the new law, he says recordkeeping will be the name of the game.
“If you are starting from scratch, it will be a little overwhelming,” he says. “Recordkeeping is the biggest part of it and you must keep records of everything you do. There is the saying, if you didn’t write it down, you didn’t do it.”

All cartons leaving the packinghouse have a GTIN bar code, so they have traceability back to the grove sub-block and down to the row. Every year, audits are conducted (two days in the groves and one day in the packinghouse) to ensure Global G.A.P. certification.

The company’s website carries through with the transparency theme with a section dedicated to growing practices including fertility, spray programs, and irrigation. “We are finding more and more customers want access to this type of information,” Kennedy says.

Improved Citrus Production For Expanding Markets

Indian River grapefruit

Kennedy says improvements meant to modernize production and packing are a priority. “Two years ago, we put in a new sizer and a brix sensor on the packing line,” he says. “We have been getting a lot of requests from our buyers in Japan and Korea for brix sorting. They will buy a carton of fruit with the brix on the label over fruit with no brix and they are willing to pay a premium for guaranteed sweeter fruit.”

Their company was one of the first on the River to put a brix sensor on a packing line. Several other packinghouses have added the sensors. Kennedy says the sensor is still a bit of a learning curve for the market. “Japan and Korea get it, but the Europeans are not yet willing to pay more for the sweeter fruit. Of course, this year has been a little challenged because it is a low brix year and the yen-to-dollar exchange rate. The dollar has strengthened against the yen this year, which has reduced Japanese buying power.”

Evolving Export Markets

The export market is the lifeblood of Indian River’s fresh fruit industry. With 90% of its pack out going to export, Kennedy keeps close tabs on markets and travels overseas several times per year. United Indian River Packers export buyers are split almost in half between Europe and Asia.
“There is no shortage of customers out there for good quality grapefruit,” says Kennedy. “South Korea is a growth market right now because of the free trade agreement that went into effect last year. We have inquiries every week from buyers in Korea that are interested in our fruit. Their market is up by more than 50% since the agreement kicked in. They have never really had Florida grapefruit in their chain stores and now they will. It is a great opportunity.”

Doug Bournique, executive director of the Indian River Citrus League, agrees there is opportunity in Korea. “In the late 1980s, Korea was a major export market for Indian River fruit, where exports at one time approached 1 million cartons,” he says. “Exports plummeted due to a non-tariff trade barrier. With reduced tariffs of the new free trade agreement, we are rebuilding this viable market.”

Learning And Leadership

Kennedy says he can’t emphasize enough the importance of learning from the generations of growers that came before him in his own family and elsewhere. He received his degree in business administration from the University of Florida, so he is a proud Gator, along with many others in the family. “Education, whether it is in the classroom or in the grove, is a very important part of how we do business,” he says.

He has applied what he’s learned in his current role serving as president of the Indian River Citrus League. “It is very important that we have a new, young crop of very talented men and women become involved, for they are the future leaders of our industry,” says Bournique. “This new generation has great technological and PR skills that are critical for communications with our important export markets.
“T.P. is fitting into his role seamlessly as president of the League. He has demonstrated his leadership skills by meeting with Florida congressmen to promote our industry, to speaking on our behalf, and finally being engaged with key funding issues with our grower membership. He hasn’t missed a beat.”
Kennedy adds that serving the League has been an honor and yet another opportunity to learn. “I encourage all my younger friends to get involved and take an active role in our various associations and groups,” he says. “We must take the knowledge we gained from the generations before us and apply it to today’s modern communications and technologies. That will be critical to our future success.”

Kennedy Groves’ 4 E’s Of Growing

Grapefruit blossoms

Kennedy Groves and United Indian River Packers developed what it calls the “4 E’s of Growing” to communicate the family’s focus on consistent quality to their buyers and consumers.  

1. Experience: Kennedy Groves, United’s Parent Company, began growing grapefruit in the mid-1800s. The experience of growing citrus for more than a century has been passed along to each generation. 

2. Effort: Within the Kennedy family, effort translates into “work ethic,” and this too passes from generation to generation. Producing superior quality grapefruit is demanding and compels dedication to the task at hand. 

3. Experimentation: By using the most advanced proven chemicals and applications, Kennedy Groves remains at the forefront of the industry. 

4. Education: In the Kennedy family, education begins at an early age. All family members work in the business during their teenage years. However, before a Kennedy may assume a permanent position in the company, a college degree is required. 

0