L&M Cos. steadfast in continued growth and development
L&M Cos. steadfast in continued growth and development
"L&M continues to enjoy steady growth," said Bobby Creel, director of business development for the Raleigh, NC-based company. "We are always adding to our line of high-quality products and staying on the cutting edge of produce trends and demands."
Mr. Creel said that the cherry crop in Washington state had a full bloom in early April, so a good program is anticipated through the month of June. "We are now finishing our organic apple crops in Washington," he said. "Then we'll start with organic and conventional apricots, peaches and nectarines for the summer."
L&M Cos. also produces organic potatoes from Washington. Mr. Creel said that russets will start in August, while organic Yukon and red potatoes will begin in September. Conventional red, Yukon and russet potatoes from Washington start about July 15 and run until Sept. 1.
The firm is also anticipating a good bloom on all varieties of its next apple crop from Washington. L&M handles all of the more popular varieties, but its strength is in varietals, including Fujis and Granny Smiths.
The company is looking forward to its second year of production with its "Little Deuce Coupe" personal-size watermelon. "We grew it on the East Coast last year as a conventional crop," said Mr. Creel. "We think the variety has merit for the future, so we're working on growing it organically in Washington. This year's harvest is scheduled for around July 20. It is a special and unique item with outstanding eating quality and a very high Brix level."
L&M entered the organic category several years ago in Washington, primarily in apples and stone fruit. Since then, its organic line has grown rapidly.
"We ship over 30 percent of all organic fruits and vegetables produced in Washington," said Mr. Creel. "L&M is absolutely focused on organics, primarily on products from the Northwest region. Our long-term plan is to grow organics in other regions of the country, and in years to come we will be involved in organics in our conventional product line from other areas."
The company is also strongly involved in locally grown programs throughout the East Coast. It participates in promoting locally grown by distributing point-of-sale materials, incorporating information on PLU stickers and using boxes with locally grown program graphics.
It is also involved in another way. "L&M has coordinated some local farmers in eastern North Carolina who previously produced tobacco to convert their land to watermelon," said Mr. Creel. "One particular variety, the Bouge Sound, a well-known watermelon with tourists, is grown in a small microclimate in the region similar to how Vidalia onions are unique to an area of Georgia. The farmers formed a cooperative, and L&M markets the retail side of the crop. Last year's movement was highly successful, and we will continue it this year."
The company's lime, mango and pineapple programs are primarily from Mexico. It handles Tommy Atkins mangos, which run through August.
"The quality of our mango crop is good this year," said Mr. Creel. "We had higher-than-expected volumes from mid- to late March, but the market has now stabilized. Movement has begun on mangos from Nayarit, Mexico, on Haden and Tommy Atkins varieties, and we will have yellow mangos through mid-May. The more northern Mexico crops of Tommy Atkins, Keitts and Kents start around late June. We'll finish mangos in August."
"Something new for us out of east Mexico is the MD2 golden ripe pineapple," said Mr. Creel. "Movement started a few months ago and has been consistently good. By next year, we hope to have it year round. This year, we will gap from July to about October 15, but we're optimistic about next year's crop."
L&M's Mexican products enter the United States through Hidalgo, TX, near McAllen.
Its dry vegetable crops along the U.S. East Coast are moving along smoothly. The company recently finished its bell pepper program in Immokalee, FL, that Mr. Creel said had good quality despite some close calls with cold weather in January.
"Currently, we are shipping bell peppers and eggplant from Lake Wales [FL]," said Mr. Creel. "Quality looks great. We'll be there through late May, then move farther north to Live Oak, Florida, starting with peppers, cucumbers, watermelon and red potatoes, which run until June. We are planting red potatoes in Live Oak for the first time this year, and extending our Palatka [FL] crop due to demand. We will start digging there around April 30, and will then start white and Yukon movements. Our acreage is up about 10 percent on our Palatka farms because of our solid potato business. Broccoli and cabbage recently finished in Palatka. Customers were very pleased with not only the great quality but also the freight savings over product shipped from California."
At the conclusion of L&M's Florida potato crops in mid- to late June, it transitions to North Carolina with red, white and Yukon Gold potatoes, which run through mid-July.
"We will ship storage Idahos until the end of July," said Mr. Creel. "We begin new crops by the middle of August.
L&M launched its new sweet potato commodity a couple of months ago. It is shipping year round under the "Natures Delight" label from Mississippi and Louisiana. Its North Carolina sweet potato program will start in mid-May. The complete manifest program includes jumbo No. 1s and process grade.
"We're finishing our storage crop of Idaho onions now, and will start fresh- crop movement there by the end of August," said Mr. Creel. "We transitioned into Texas and New Mexico the last week of April to fill the gap."
Mr. Creel said that the cherry crop in Washington state had a full bloom in early April, so a good program is anticipated through the month of June. "We are now finishing our organic apple crops in Washington," he said. "Then we'll start with organic and conventional apricots, peaches and nectarines for the summer."
L&M Cos. also produces organic potatoes from Washington. Mr. Creel said that russets will start in August, while organic Yukon and red potatoes will begin in September. Conventional red, Yukon and russet potatoes from Washington start about July 15 and run until Sept. 1.
The firm is also anticipating a good bloom on all varieties of its next apple crop from Washington. L&M handles all of the more popular varieties, but its strength is in varietals, including Fujis and Granny Smiths.
The company is looking forward to its second year of production with its "Little Deuce Coupe" personal-size watermelon. "We grew it on the East Coast last year as a conventional crop," said Mr. Creel. "We think the variety has merit for the future, so we're working on growing it organically in Washington. This year's harvest is scheduled for around July 20. It is a special and unique item with outstanding eating quality and a very high Brix level."
L&M entered the organic category several years ago in Washington, primarily in apples and stone fruit. Since then, its organic line has grown rapidly.
"We ship over 30 percent of all organic fruits and vegetables produced in Washington," said Mr. Creel. "L&M is absolutely focused on organics, primarily on products from the Northwest region. Our long-term plan is to grow organics in other regions of the country, and in years to come we will be involved in organics in our conventional product line from other areas."
The company is also strongly involved in locally grown programs throughout the East Coast. It participates in promoting locally grown by distributing point-of-sale materials, incorporating information on PLU stickers and using boxes with locally grown program graphics.
It is also involved in another way. "L&M has coordinated some local farmers in eastern North Carolina who previously produced tobacco to convert their land to watermelon," said Mr. Creel. "One particular variety, the Bouge Sound, a well-known watermelon with tourists, is grown in a small microclimate in the region similar to how Vidalia onions are unique to an area of Georgia. The farmers formed a cooperative, and L&M markets the retail side of the crop. Last year's movement was highly successful, and we will continue it this year."
The company's lime, mango and pineapple programs are primarily from Mexico. It handles Tommy Atkins mangos, which run through August.
"The quality of our mango crop is good this year," said Mr. Creel. "We had higher-than-expected volumes from mid- to late March, but the market has now stabilized. Movement has begun on mangos from Nayarit, Mexico, on Haden and Tommy Atkins varieties, and we will have yellow mangos through mid-May. The more northern Mexico crops of Tommy Atkins, Keitts and Kents start around late June. We'll finish mangos in August."
"Something new for us out of east Mexico is the MD2 golden ripe pineapple," said Mr. Creel. "Movement started a few months ago and has been consistently good. By next year, we hope to have it year round. This year, we will gap from July to about October 15, but we're optimistic about next year's crop."
L&M's Mexican products enter the United States through Hidalgo, TX, near McAllen.
Its dry vegetable crops along the U.S. East Coast are moving along smoothly. The company recently finished its bell pepper program in Immokalee, FL, that Mr. Creel said had good quality despite some close calls with cold weather in January.
"Currently, we are shipping bell peppers and eggplant from Lake Wales [FL]," said Mr. Creel. "Quality looks great. We'll be there through late May, then move farther north to Live Oak, Florida, starting with peppers, cucumbers, watermelon and red potatoes, which run until June. We are planting red potatoes in Live Oak for the first time this year, and extending our Palatka [FL] crop due to demand. We will start digging there around April 30, and will then start white and Yukon movements. Our acreage is up about 10 percent on our Palatka farms because of our solid potato business. Broccoli and cabbage recently finished in Palatka. Customers were very pleased with not only the great quality but also the freight savings over product shipped from California."
At the conclusion of L&M's Florida potato crops in mid- to late June, it transitions to North Carolina with red, white and Yukon Gold potatoes, which run through mid-July.
"We will ship storage Idahos until the end of July," said Mr. Creel. "We begin new crops by the middle of August.
L&M launched its new sweet potato commodity a couple of months ago. It is shipping year round under the "Natures Delight" label from Mississippi and Louisiana. Its North Carolina sweet potato program will start in mid-May. The complete manifest program includes jumbo No. 1s and process grade.
"We're finishing our storage crop of Idaho onions now, and will start fresh- crop movement there by the end of August," said Mr. Creel. "We transitioned into Texas and New Mexico the last week of April to fill the gap."
