JSW Steel Ltd, India’s most valuable steelmaker, announced its plans to overhaul its US operations. The decision comes at a time when a vision of profits is far from clear.

Two years ago, the company had planned to invest $1 billion in the US to strengthen its global reach. An economic slowing and tariffs inflicted by President Trump, and then the outbreak of the pandemic put an end to the expansion plan.

The company says it will spend the coming year “structurally fixing” its facilities since the coronavirus has caused “the lowest spread of US steel prices seen in the last decade,” said Parth Jindal, the director of US operations.

“Our plan is to reduce the losses and be extremely frugal and focus on completing these projects,” Jindal added. “From next year onward, we truly believe the U.S. operations will be well-positioned to be earnings accretive to JSW Steel.”

JSW has also hired a new CEO for its US division. Mark Bush replaced the previous CEO, John Hritz. Hritz will take over leading strategy and legal affairs.

The JSW Group is still fighting with the Trump administration over import tariff waivers. Nevertheless, when asked if the company would eventually pull its business out of the US Jindal answered that JSW is “very committed” to staying in the US.

“Once the modernization projects are completed and we bring down our cost curve, then we see no reason why the U.S. business can’t generate positive earnings,” he said. “It still remains an important part of our organization and all efforts are on to turn around the operations at the moment.”

There is a new fruit on the market which makes other anti-oxidant fruit look like wimps: it’s called the aronia berry and, according to research, it has more antioxidant muscle than just about any other kind of fruit.

Also known as the chokeberry due to the way European settlers in North America reacted when they ate it; the new name bears no preconceived negative connotations, and comes from its Latin name Aronia melanocarpa.

Native to North America, aronia was introduced to eastern Europe and Russia in the beginning of the 20th century and is grown there for wines and juices. In the US the berry is grown in the upper Midwest, with thousands of bushes planted there each year for cultivation.

The main push for the rising popularity of aronia came from the Pittz family. In 1997 Andrew Pittz’s parents were looking for a crop they could grow on the hilly and silt-heavy soil close to the Missouri River. They discovered aronia, and planted 200 bushes that year. It was a good choice because the bush grows easily in that area and has few pests. The bushes do not need to be planted anew each year.

Almost 20 years later Andrew, who is 28, sells his berries to about half of all the 237 Hy-Vee stores, and to every Whole Foods market in their Midwest region of the US.  Not only have the Pittz family been successfully growing and selling aronia, but they have been spreading the gospel to just about anyone who will listen.

His farm sponsors a yearly field day in September that attracts thousands of participants. Last year Andrew planted aronia bushes in all of Iowa’s 99 counties. Iowa State is also helping to promote the berry. It offers grants to help people begin to grow aronia, and promotes the berry as a value-added crop and a great way to diversify farm income.

“We want the aronia berry to be to Iowa’s Heartland what the peach is to Georgia.” Pittz said.