New staff, developments at Wholesum
New staff, developments at Wholesum
NOGALES, AZ — New staff members are among a variety of developments emerging at Wholesum Family Farms Inc.
Steve LeFevre, the firm’s sales manager, said Wholesum has hired Jessie Gunn to be its marketing specialist. Francisco Parra, who spent about 15 years at Safeway, has become a new salesperson and Denisse Sanchez has been named the firm’s sales coordinator.
LeFevre also said Wholesum will begin construction in January to add six new acres of greenhouse tomato production to an existing 12 acres that opened about a year ago.
Jessi Gunn, marketing specialist at Wholesum Family Farms Inc., with Steve LeFevre, the firm’s sale manager LeFevre said planting in the new greenhouse is slated for September 2015, with harvest expected to commence in October.
In early December, Mexican zucchini and yellow squash were being shipped by Wholesum. By Dec. 9, Wholesum had just started shipping Mexican cucumbers and eggplant. “In the next two weeks we’ll be starting green and red Bell peppers,” LeFevre said.
“We ship beef tomatoes, tomatoes-on-vine and cherries-on-vine year round,” he added.
Overall, he said, “We’re doing the normal Mexican deal, starting in November and December and shipping through May.”
This winter Wholesum will try producing beef tomatoes and tomatoes-on-vine under shade. LeFevre explained this is an alternative to building more expensive Mexican greenhouses. The extra tomato volume would be useful in the winter months, but not in the summer “when everyone and their mother has tomatoes in their backyard.”
LeFevre indicated he had just dropped his beef tomato price from $30 per box to $28 in the face of increasing production. The market for TOVs has been at $18 to $20 per flat. “It’s dropping a little now, but generally the markets have been good.”
