Table grapes are immensely important to the state of California as they are among the most valued crops in the state, recording $2.13 billion in 2022.

Consalo Family Farms is delighted to be known for blueberries.

Oscar Guzman, director of marketing and sales at Progressive Produce in Los Angeles, has long been on an educational mission. Now that he has achieved his doctorate, his new goal is to provide others in the produce industry access to the implicit knowledge embedded in the industry — knowledge gained through experiences and on-the-job learning that goes beyond what can be found in textbooks.

With the northwest cherry season inbound, Stemilt Growers of Wenatchee, WA, is emphasizing peak freshness. “We take a lot of little steps to maintain peak crispness and flavor,” said Brianna Shales, Marketing Director. “We pick early in the morning when the temperature is cool and work to pack and ship within 48 hours of harvest,” said Shales, all in a concerted effort to get the freshest fruit into consumers’ carts.

Cold weather in Mexico’s Sonoran Desert has resulted in a very slow start for its fresh table grape deal, but supplies are expected to pick up significantly over the next several weeks.

“It’s been incredibly cold all year,” said Carlos Bon, vice president of sales for Divine Flavor, headquartered in Nogales, AZ. “We knew it was going to be a late season, but we are continually guessing wrong every day.”

The fresh produce industry is made of a patchwork of family narratives, stories stitched together by a generation of people making a life for themselves in America. These founding farmers took what they knew from their homeland and created a legacy that continues to this day. Rice Fruit Co. is one of those stories.