With its promotional campaigns in place and movement brisk for both apples and pears from the Northwest, Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers, a Wenatchee, WA, grower-shipper, is targeting a broad consumer base this season.

Dan Wohlford, national sales representative, said that Oneonta’s popular Pear the Taste and kid-friendly snaQ promotions are seeing good response from retail, and 2011’s smaller fruit-size profile is lending itself to both programs.

Good volume and excellent quality are traditional hallmarks of the Red Wing single-center onion from Sweet Clover Produce in Walla Walla, WA, and Bill (Sweet Willie) Brownfield said that this year’s crop lives up to the reputation.

Austin, TX-based Whole Foods Market Inc. is recording rising sales and booming profits as it continues to expand its global reach. The company opened five new stores last quarter, grew its footprint in the United Kingdom by opening its first store in Scotland Nov. 16, and has plans for future expansion in the United States and abroad.

The Texas Rangers might not have repeated as World Series champs this year, losing the defense of their 2010 title to the St. Louis Cardinals, but the team again proved itself to be one of the best in baseball — and that is where Curtis Gilmore, owner of Gilmore Produce Ltd. in Dallas, draws inspiration.

J&D Produce, an Edinburg, TX-based grower-packer-shipper, kicked off its Texas deal and is looking forward to a promising 2012 with its “Little Bear” branded items.

From Texas, J&D is currently shipping wet vegetables, such as cabbage and leaf items, as well as specialty peppers, such as Cubanelles, Hungarian hots, Long hots, Habañeros, Jalapeños and Serranos. Texas pepper production will last until mid- to late December before shifting south of the border into Mexico. Texas veg will run through mid-April.