“We are currently growing celery, corn and radishes at our Michigan operations,” said Brent Klamer, assistant manager of Michigan operations for Duda Farm Fresh Foods, headquartered in Oviedo, FL.

“All crops are running slightly behind schedule by about one week due to rain and cool weather in May,” he continued. “But they all look like once they begin they will be very good quality. Celery is the least affected because it is transplanted and the plants get a head start in the nursery.”

He noted that Duda Farm Fresh Michigan corn will be light in volumes to start for the first week and then promotable volumes for the remainder of the season. Radishes and celery appear to be great quality and normal volumes.

Duda Farm Fresh Foods’ “Dandy” cooling facility in Byron Center, MI, has enclosed loading docks for complete temperature control and are used exclusively for the company, Klamer noted.

Jeff Goodale, business development manager for Duda Farm Fresh Foods, said that the Midwest can be a difficult truck market during the late summer months.

“Truck demand spikes due to produce being in full season and also a large number of industrial shippers in the eastern part of the country use a great deal of the truck capacity,” explained Goodale. “’Dandy’ delivers with our in-house freight experts, and so fortunately, our logistics team doesn’t depend on the open truck market to cover delivered business. In addition to Duda’s own small trucking fleet, we have developed direct relationships with various trucking companies which have dedicated specific trucks for our program. Our consistent truck supply means on-time deliveries which have fostered continued growth in the number of customer’s interested in our delivered sales program.”

Duda Farm Fresh Foods services customers in the Midwest and Northeast from its Michigan location.

This season, Duda Farm Fresh corn from Michigan will run from mid-July through October.

Celery is scheduled to begin the week of July 14 and radishes will run from June through October.

Social media continues be a valuable way for Duda Farm Fresh Foods to connect with consumers and tell its story. The company treats Facebook as its promotional anchor, meaning that it presents a consumer focused promotion surrounding “Dandy” products that are currently in season. It also offers consumers the chance to engage and win prizes.

The company’s success with Facebook has led to a huge percent growth in fans this year, with now more than 15,600 total fans.

Twitter is a vehicle where it connects with primarily consumers and bloggers who are seeking inspiration or information about one of the company’s products.