Edward L. Myrick Produce expands by teaming with Voyager Farms

Given that the area’s market shares the same name as Myrick’s company and founder, Edward L. Myrick Produce obviously has a deep devotion and appreciation for all the Pompano market offers and provides.

“One thing unique about the market is its location,” said Jimmy Myrick, vice president of the family-run company. “It allows us to consolidate a lot of products from a lot of different areas. We can bring products from all over the state, as this region is centralized for most of the growing regions in South Florida. That makes it easy for us to get product and consolidate for our customers.”

That also makes it easier for trucking, and the market offers tons of truck parking spaces, and it’s very convenient to get in and out.

“The market is a unique hub in the South Florida area where we can do quite a bit of stuff,” Myrick said. “The way to be a success here is lots of hard work. We work all the time around here and never slow down.”

Labor has been the company’s biggest challenge, with the labor pool shrinking a bit, but Myrick considers the company fortunate that it was able to have a full team for most of the season.

“Trucking, because we have such good access to trucks and there’s so much parking, that really hasn’t been a problem for us,” Myrick said. “Freight rates have been high, but we’ve had access to trucks, so it’s been fine.”

Still, having been a part of the business for a long time, he knows that things can change at the flip of a coin, and Edward L. Myrick Produce does what it can to stay on top of all the latest news and trends as it works to continue to be a trusted source for its customers.

So far in 2022, Myrick noted the company has experienced a pretty “normal season,” with the ups, downs and weather issues not dissimilar from what the company usually experiences. Key spring crops for the company include cucumbers, eggplants, hot peppers and green peppers. These have all remained in-demand during the pandemic as customers loaded up on produce items.

“We fared pretty well during the pandemic — there were some good things that happened for produce suppliers, such as the Food Box program and things like that, which helped everyone, and then last year, things returned pretty much back to normal,” he said. “This year things seem even better, so as a company, we have emerged even stronger than we were before.”

In October, Edward L. Myrick Produce took on Parrish, FL-based Voyager Farms, increasing the number of growers the company represents in Florida, but also gave Myrick a stronger Michigan presence, making it a year-round supplier.

“Their whole sales team came on board — Joe Pascarella, Gary Johnson and Matt Curcio — and that’s been a good thing for us,” Myrick said, explaining the company is selling peppers, cucumbers and strawberries for Gibson Farms now, which was part of the Voyager Farms deal. “In Michigan, we now have a 50,000-square-foot building that we will work out of, so it’s very exciting. “We want to grow smart, and this was a good opportunity to grow our company. We talk to people all the time about opportunities, and if one works for us, we go after it.”