Although Olathe-area sweet corn handled by Ringer & Son brokerage in Commerce City, CO, will be reaching consumers somewhat later than normal this year as the result of a cool growing season, the summer treat remains one of Colorado’s more anticipated crops.

According to the sales staff at Ringer, a fruit and vegetable operation that handles a full variety of product from Colorado and other growing regions, shipments of yellow, white and bi-colored sweet corn from Delta, CO, grower Mike Ahlberg & Sons will likely begin the third week of July.

LASALLE, CO — In answer to increased demand for organic potatoes and onions, Strohauer Farms in LaSalle, CO, has increased acreage for those commodities at the same time it expands its specialty line and conventional production.

BRIGHTON, CO — Though he’s stopped short of retiring after more than six decades at the helm of Sakata Farms in Brighton, CO, Bob Sakata has passed the mantle of his operations to son Robert T. Sakata.

The elder Mr. Sakata, an icon in American farming, was born and raised in northern California, and because his parents came from Japan, he and his family were relocated — along with some 120,000 other Japanese Americans — to internment camps following the attack on Pearl Harbor. His internment was spent in Utah.

Farm Fresh Direct LLC, headquartered in Monte Vista, CO, is one of Colorado’s premiere suppliers of premium potatoes. Dave Yeager, vice president of sales based in Atlanta, said that the company’s innovative approach to business continues to foster its growth and success.

“Farm Fresh Direct is a vertically integrated, grower-owned, sales and marketing corporation comprised of 24 growers only,” he told The Produce News June 29. “We grow over 99 percent of the volume we sell, so customers are dealing directly with the source. We are not a broker, marketer, repacker or cooperative.”

JemD International in Kingsville, ON, has appointed ADRIAN ABBOTT as director of operations.

David Arena, president of Frank Donio Inc. in Hammonton, NJ, told The Produce News June 30 that the company started receiving its first shipment of early-variety New Jersey peaches during the prior week.

“They look excellent,” said Mr. Arena. “The color and size [are] extremely good. We’ll have New Jersey peaches from now all the way through mid-September.”