Arvin, CA-based Kern Ridge Growers LLC’s busiest season starts in October with organic and conventional carrots.

“Carrots are our primary crop, and we offer both organic and conventional options,” said Andrew Bianchi, sales manager. “We also handle citrus. Green bell peppers and chili peppers are available seasonally, from the first week of June through the third week of July.”

On Aug. 24, Bob Lords, fresh and foodservice sales manager for The Garlic Company in Bakersfield, CA, said that the company continues to offer both fresh whole-bulb and peeled organic garlic.

“We are currently finishing up with our Mexico organic garlic and starting with our California crop,” he said. “These are the two areas where we grow organic garlic.”

Mr. Lords said that the organic demand seems to be growing a little every year at retail as well as at the ingredient level.

The vision and foresight of one man built a pathway into the future. Roger Pepperl, director of marketing for Stemilt Growers Inc. in Wenatchee, WA, attributes the company’s success in the organic arena to company founder Tom Mathison.

“Tom Mathison, who has since passed away, took Stemilt into a path of organic production and organic practices as a response to the Alar crisis, a growth regulator for apples, in which apples were attacked on a “60 Minutes” segment with Meryl Streep on a health-risk issue,” Mr. Pepperl told The Produce News on Aug. 24.

Giorgio Fresh Company in Temple, PA, a leading and fully integrated mushroom producer, became a certified-organic grower on March 11, 2004, certified by Pennsylvania Certified Organic (PCO).

Bill Litvin, regional sales and national account manager for the company, said that its organic line of fresh mushrooms includes whole white, sliced white, Baby Bella, Portabella caps, Portabella sliced and Shiitake mushrooms.

“Giorgio Fresh’s organic line has been fairly stable,” said Mr. Litvin. “We recently added sliced white mushrooms in response to customer demand for the item.”

Wholesale distributor, Albert’s Organics, headquartered in Santa Cruz, CA, is a full-service organic-produce wholesale distributor that carries a complete line of organic fresh produce.

Simcha Weinstein, director of marketing for the company, told The Produce News that it has had a good first half to two-thirds of the year.

Homegrown Organic Farms in Porterville, CA, will be offering organic clementines from Bakersville, CA, in the South San Joaquin Valley for the first time this year.

“This is a new block that we planted, and the fruit is coming into production this year,” said Scott Mabs, director of marketing. “There are only a few organic clementines on the market today, so we’re very excited to have this program.”

The organic clementines will run from the end of November through early January. They are offered in 2- and 3-pound bags, 4-pound display boxes and in bulk.