Keystone Fruit Marketing gearing up for great crop of sweet Georgia peaches
Keystone Fruit Marketing gearing up for great crop of sweet Georgia peaches
“We represent Taylor Orchards in Reynolds, Georgia, which is in Taylor County,” said Michael Blume, sales representative for Keystone Fruit Marketing Inc., headquartered in Greencastle, PA. “Taylor is not only the largest peach grower in Georgia, but it is one of the largest peach growers in the United States.”
Mr. Blume said that Keystone Fruit Marketing packs its Georgia peaches under the “Georgia Fruit Co.” label.
Taylor Farms is owned and operated by the Wainwright family. It is a third-generation family farm that started growing peaches in the 1940s.
The Wainwright family, owners and operators of Taylor Orchards in Reynolds, GA: Walter, Patsy, Jeff and Tricia Wainwright.Bob Evans and Marvin Carbaugh founded Keystone Fruit Sales Inc. in 1977. The company began by marketing for apple and peach growers in the Mid-Atlantic region. Since then it has evolved by adding “Vidalia” sweet onions and ultimately marketing sweet onions from several other domestic and offshore areas. Today the company offers peaches, apples, sweet onions, asparagus and more.
Mr. Blume said that Georgia’s peach crop has had plenty of chill hours and adequate rain during the off-season, and that has hopefully lead to a very good crop this year for Keystone to market.
“We anticipate starting to pack by mid-May, which is a typical starting time,” he said. “Last year we started to pack the first week of May, which was the earliest start we’ve ever had in Georgia. We are looking forward to having very close to a full crop this year. Size should be very good and quality is expected to be excellent.”
Keystone Fruit Marketing markets its Georgia peaches as “Grown in Georgia.”
“And then we allow the individual retailers to market how they deem appropriate,” said Mr. Blume. “We also represent peach growers in South Carolina, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and we support the peaches grown in those regions in the same way.”
