M. D’Ottavio Produce Inc. in Vineland, NJ, and Oakes Farms of Immokalee, FL, announced last September that they had formed a partnership wherein Oakes Farms would produce on over 600 acres in Immokalee under the “D’Ottavio” brand name.

In mid-March, Steve Veneziano, vice president of operations for Oakes Farms, told The Produce News that the partnership was off to a great start and both companies were looking forward to continued success moving forward.

“We have increased our production to fulfill D’Ottavio’s demand,” said Veneziano. “This partnership provides a key connection for Oakes Farms in the Northeast. We’re looking forward to growing with D’Ottavio into the future.”

Alfie Oakes, owner of Oakes Farms, and Mike D'Ottavio, president of M. D'Ottavio Produce, proudly displaying Florida-grown eggplant.He pointed out that Alfie Oakes is the owner of Oakes Farms. Mike D’Ottavio is the president of M. D’Ottavio Produce. D’Ottavio and Johnny Salvati, also from D’Ottavio Produce, are handling sales under the partnership.

“Mike and Alfie have enjoyed a long-term relationship for many years,” said Veneziano. “We had a successful fall season, and we’re looking forward to a strong spring, growing and packing product under the partnership. D’Ottavio is a great company, and we’re looking forward to increasing our production more as the partnership moves north this year.”

The line includes Bell peppers, eggplant and squash. Oakes Farms’ label, “Oakes Farms Seed to Table,” is highly recognized in the produce industry. Overall, the partnership is expected to draw attention and strong sales.

Veneziano said that the Florida crops are doing well this season.

“We have green Bell peppers, round Roma and grape tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, a variety of chili hot peppers, watermelons, strawberries, zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes,” he explained. “As of mid-March we were moving all products with the exception of watermelons, which will start in late April. Our Florida movement will run through the end of May.”

Oakes Farms has a repack center in Immokalee that enables it to better service customers. The company has its own trucking fleet of 38 units that services south and central Florida. It also recently added a cooling facility with two pre-cooler lines and six additional shipping doors.

Veneziano explained that Florida had a cold snap earlier in the spring, but that by mid-March the weather had warmed up nicely and movement was wide open, stressing that, “We’re looking for a really big push for spring.”

In September, D’Ottavio announced that the two well-known companies had also formed a new trucking company. “We’re purchasing four new tractor-trailers that will be utilized for delivery from the farm to customers up and down the East Coast, including chain stores, independent retailers, wholesalers and some terminal markets,” D’Ottavio said at the time. “Our new fleet of trucks will be equipped with satellite tracking along with a 24-hour customer service number. Timely arrivals along with quality produce will be our main focus.”

Veneziano added that grape tomatoes were new for the company this season, and that it was looking forward to adding new value-added products this spring.