Fresh Farms triples cuke program
Fresh Farms triples cuke program
“What is new for our company is we have really expanded our cucumber program this year by probably threefold,” said Jerry Havel, director of sales and marketing for Fresh Farms in Nogales, AZ. With a significant increase in acreage, the company now has “a very large cucumber program that includes outside pole-grown cucumbers” from the state of Sonora, Mexico, “and also shadehouse cucumbers from Sonora.”
The cucumber harvest started in early October and will continue nonstop into June, he said. The cucumbers are being grown by the Molina family of Hermosillo, Sonora, who own Fresh Farms. The Molinas have substantial farming operations in Mexico and grow many of the products marketed by Fresh Farms, including grapes, squash and melons.
A new item for Fresh Farms this year is green bell peppers grown in shadehouses in Guaymas, Sonora, also by the Molina family, Mr. Havel told The Produce News. “We just started the harvest, and the quality looks really nice.”
Jerry HavelFresh Farms will also have eggplant this year. “That will start in December,” and it is “a brand new crop for us” this year, he said. Another new item will be Roma tomatoes, “from December until late May.”
The company will have an expanded green bean program this season.
“Everything we pack is under the ‘Fresh Farms’ label,” or the “BullsEye” label, he said.
Fresh Farms’ watermelon program “has been good this fall,” Mr. Havel said. “We are off to a great start. The markets have been really good on watermelons and on squash and cucumbers up to this point. Since we started back up in October, we have had very nice markets and excellent quality and anticipate the same from now until May.”
Growing conditions have been “really good” so far, he said. “We haven’t had any issues with quality” or with weather.
