Kennett Square, PA, bills itself as the Mushroom Capitol of the World, and producers there grow about 65 percent of the nation’s mushrooms. In the early 1980s, annual dinners were held there, and in 1985 the gatherings became more formalized with the Mushroom Festival, a celebration held the second weekend of September each year in downtown Kennett Square.

Starting in 1992, official proclamations of September as Mushroom Month from the U.S. secretary of agriculture and the governor of Pennsylvania added more formal recognition and notoriety.

Fruit Royale Inc. in Delano, CA, offers a wide array of grape varieties for the fall season, including several new proprietary varieties. In fact, the period from September on is “basically my whole program” except for Flames, said Louie Galvan, a partner in the company.

But the “mainstay” varieties for the company are Red Globe, Crimson and, “later in the deal,” Autumn King, Mr. Galvan said Aug. 7. “We will have promotable volume ... all the way into December,” with an emphasis on those three varieties.

Tavilla Sales Co. of Los Angeles has changed its name to Vision Produce Co. to mark the fact that it is a different company than it was when President Bill Vogel founded it in 1980.

FRESNO, CA — Wyatt Torosian, 21-year-old son of Atomic Torosian, a partner in Crown Jewels Produce Co. here, joined the company on the sales desk on Sept. 21, about nine months after graduating from the University of California-Los Angeles.

He is the second member of the second generation in the company. Robbie Mathias Jr., son of Rob Mathias, also a partner in Crown Jewels, is also in sales and has been for several years.

Mr. Torosian told The Produce News that in addition to doing sales, “I am also assisting with business development.

Lufa Farms began with an idea to provide local produce to the community. Five years of developing the project and today, Lufa Farms is feeding over two thousand customers weekly from it’s Montreal 31, 000-square-foot rooftop greenhouse. Founded by Mohamed Hage, the city farm provides fresh produce baskets direct to consumers. Customers can order a variety of baskets some supplemented with organic product from local farms.

Fred Recchiuti, general manager of Basciani Mushroom Farms in Avondale, PA, told The Produce News that mushrooms are definitely on the super-food list today, and interest is stronger than ever.

“But the mushroom industry is facing some serious challenges,” said Mr. Recchiuti. “Our input costs are higher than ever, and we’re facing a critical shortage of growing medium due to the drought. Corn crops are dying all across the Midwest, and we’re worried about getting enough corn hay to maintain production.”