Black King Gummy wins crown in All-Japan Nippon-Yell Gummy Election

TOKYO, Mar. 30 – On March 29, the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (ZEN-NOH) announced the winners of the nationwide poll to choose the country’s most popular Nippon Yell brand gummy candies made of local fruits. The crown winner of the first-ever gummy contest was “Black King Gummy from Yamanashi Prefecture.” In addition to standard people’s favorites such as Shine Muscat and Beni Madonna citrus, some fruits that are rarely available fresh in the market also ranked high in the list of the most popular local fruit gummy products. ZEN-NOH set up a special site to introduce 47 candidates made of signature fruits from all 47 prefectures of Japan. … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on Black King Gummy wins crown in All-Japan Nippon-Yell Gummy Election

Red and white Japanese apricot blossoms in full bloom

GUNMA, March 22 — Ume Japanese apricot blossoms are in full bloom at Misato Ume Groves in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, a major ume growing region, attracting visitors. Roughly 100,000 ume trees are cultivated on a 300-hectare land by some 200 farming households that belong to the ume group of JA Hagukumi Misato, a local agricultural cooperative. Visitors can enjoy the landscape of ume trees spreading their branches with the Kanto plain in the background. Sixty percent of the trees are the Shirokaga variety, used to produce ume liquor and pickles. Several other small-size ume varieties are planted, including Orihime and Koshu, as the trees require cross-pollination to bear fruit. The … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on Red and white Japanese apricot blossoms in full bloom

Yogurt-dedicated store opens at Haneda Airport

TOKYO, Mar. 25 – A store dedicated to the sale of local yogurts has opened at the Haneda Airport in Ota Ward, Tokyo, and is gathering attention. It sells around 20 kinds of hard-to-find-at-supermarkets yogurt, and consumers can enjoy different products made from different raw milk in different packages. By introducing yogurt unique to each region, the store can highlight the value of dairy farming, which has a root in each region, and the attraction of milk itself. Yognet, an association of small-to-mid-sized dairy product and yogurt manufacturers, sells the products wholesale to the store that opened in December last year in the area called Haneda Sanchoku-Kan (meaning a shop … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on Yogurt-dedicated store opens at Haneda Airport

18 Nippon-Yell food products featuring 6 ingredients from Japan’s Tohoku northeastern region roll out on March 18

TOKYO, Mar. 14 – The Nippon Yell Project Association of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (ZEN-NOH) and leading food and beverage makers has announced that it will simultaneously roll out the third set of Nippon Yell-brand products, this time featuring ingredients from six prefectures in the Tohoku region of Japan. Twelve manufacturers have developed 18 products, from beverages to confectioneries and bread, and will roll out the products on March 18 to support agricultural producers in the northeastern region of Japan.The association was established in 2023. It chooses specific agricultural products or regions and invites manufacturers in different categories to develop unique products simultaneously. It chose “hyuganatsu” citrus … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on 18 Nippon-Yell food products featuring 6 ingredients from Japan’s Tohoku northeastern region roll out on March 18

Automated orchard pesticide sprayer developed to reduce growers’ workload

TOKYO, March 12 — A research team led by Kyoto University has developed a self-driving speed sprayer to reduce the burden of applying pesticides on fruit trees. The vehicle runs on a pre-set route utilizing the GPS and sprays pesticides while circling around. It can spray agricultural chemicals in a way just like workers with professional skills, and it is estimated that it can help cut their working hours by more than 60%. Fruit growing regions are grappling with aging and shortage of operators, and reducing the burden of pesticide application has been a challenge. The team worked to make the machine driverless also because handling speed sprayers poses a … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on Automated orchard pesticide sprayer developed to reduce growers’ workload