John Shelford was President of Naturipe Farms LLC , a partnership organized in 2000 between Hortifrut SA and MBG Marketing, with Naturipe Berry Growers becoming a partner in 2002 for the sales and marketing of fresh packed berries. Hortifrut SA based in Santiago Chile is the world’s largest grower, exporter, and distributor of raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries for the North Hemisphere’s October to May market. Hortifrut has growing operations in Chile, Mexico, and Spain. MBG Marketing, aka Michigan Blueberry Growers Association, Grand Junction MI, is a cooperative representing growers from every significant North American producing area. MBG is the largest packer of fresh blueberries in North America with supplies from April through October. Customers served are located across the USA, Canada, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Shelford served four years as President of Hortifrut, Inc. based in Naples, FL and was responsible for the North American sales and marketing of Hortifrut SA. From 1994 to 1996 he was Director of Berry Marketing for Gargiulo, Inc., marketing California strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries as well as Chilean imports. In 1976 he joined Michigan Blueberry Growers Association, an agricultural marketing cooperative, serving six years as Assistant Manager and twelve years as General Manager. During this time the name was changed to MBG Marketing to better reflect the organizations purpose, successful marketing of its members’ berries.

He has extensive experience in cooperative and marketing strategic planning and management. As General Manager of MBG, he led the cooperative’s growth from representing growers in Michigan with $10 million sales to representing growers in Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and the Carolinas with $40 million sales. In 1990, Shelford led MBG into year-round marketing establishing a sales agency relationship with Hortifrut SA for fresh blueberries. Shelfords experience is extensive in fresh and frozen blueberry sales and distribution. He led MBG to become a member of Cherry Central Cooperative for the sales and marketing of frozen berries and served on Cherry Central’s Board of Directors.

He has served on the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit Committee and Produce Electronic Identification Board. Shelford is a member of the board of the United Fresh Produce Association’s and has served on the board of United’s Research and Education Foundation.He was appointed by the US Secretary of Agriculture US Highbush Blueberry Council and continues to serve on this Council and is a member of the Council’s Marketing and Promotion Committee.Shelford has served in various positions with the North American Blueberry Council, and is often a speaker at industry seminars, symposiums, and short courses. He was featured in March 2005 The Packer newspaper as one of the “25 Profiles in the Produce Leadership.” In June 2006, the US Secretary of Agriculture appointed Shelford to the USDA’s Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee. He has traveled extensively to Europe, South America and the Pacific Rim developing business relationships for sourcing and marketing berries.

Shelford earned a BS from Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in Agricultural Economics and an MBA from Cornell’s S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management with a marketing and business administration major. He was reared in the heart of New York State’s Finger Lakes region where his family had a commercial dairy and general crop farm business.