CHICAGO — It was almost 80 years ago that Greg Mandolini’s great-grandfather, Primo Mandolini, entered Chicago’s produce industry. He started as an industry salesman and then became a partner in starting-up Gianukos & Mandolini. Eventually, Primo Mandolini bought out his partners. Greg Mandolini has run Mandolini Co. since the mid-1980s.

CHICAGO — When Robert (Rob) Strube III was drafted by the Minnesota Twins baseball farm system in 1985, his namesake and grandfather, Robert Strube Sr., told him he had five years to make the Major League as a pitcher.

The grandson said that his strong-willed grandfather believed that if he didn’t make it as a big-time left-handed pitcher in five years, he would be more effective in the family business, Strube Celery & Vegetable Co., which is now located on the Chicago International Produce Market.

CHICAGO — Strube Celery & Vegetable Co., a longtime bastion of Chicago’s produce distribution business, is working toward the future, according to Lisa Strube, the firm’s director of finance and administration.

Ms. Strube said Strube Celery management is now “focusing on fine-tuning Strube. We are focused on service and quality,” while preparing for “a generation transition in a few years. That has been our focus — to move forward strong.”

The watermelon production season for Coastal Growers LLC has been ideal and the marketing aspect is also bright, according to Will Hales, a partner in the firm, who said July 8, “We are looking to kick off the season on July 18.”

Gurdeep Billan, director of sales for Double D Farms in Fresno, CA, told The Produce News that the company is one of the larger growers of organic asparagus in the country, with near year-round supplies from Mexico from September through April.

“We also farm conventional asparagus from the same area,” said Mr. Billan. “Our organic line also includes domestically grown cantaloupe, honeydew and mixed melons. These are produced in California’s Imperial and central San Joaquin valleys for a May through September program.”

Christmas could come a little early for U.S. Christmas tree growers. Early this month, a penalty tariff imposed by the Mexican government on shipments of many U. S. goods into that country, including Christmas trees, is expected to be lifted.