Top Brass has more Sugraone acreage for the early San Joaquin Valley season
Top Brass Marketing Inc. in Bakersfield, CA, is the exclusive sales agent for table grapes, wine grapes and potatoes grown and packed by Vignolo Farms in Shafter, CA.
“We do table grapes from the end of June or beginning of July to December,” said Brett Dixon, president and sales manager.
The wine grapes are “a pretty quick deal, fast-paced,” running from the end of August to the beginning of October, he said.
Three generations of Papen family managing 70-plus-year-old business
Richard Papen, sales manager of Papen Farms Inc. in Dover, DE, told The Produce News that prices are up across the board this year, and it’s not due to a shortage in volume or delayed movement.
“The price to produce a crop is simply too high to not raise prices somewhat,” said Papen. “We cannot grow product like we did years ago and come out profitable.”
Laurel Farms Auction Market heading into new technology era in 2013
Laurel Farms Auction Market in Laurel, DE, is getting an early start on its operation this year. Calvin Musser, market manager, told The Produce News that this is not because product is coming on early in the region. In fact, product is running a little late along the entire East Coast due to the cool and wet spring.
Benny Hall: Nothing beats the taste of a freshly harvested potato
“We plan to start movement on June 25, about a week to 10 days later than normal,” Benny Hall Sr., owner of Benny Hall & Sons Inc. in Temperanceville, VA, told The Produce News on June 4. “We had a late planting because of the wet and cool spring. It was May before it finally started to warm up, and we’re getting plenty of heat now.”
Hall added that it’s been dry for the past month, but the storm that moved in from the middle of the country dumped a nice rain the previous weekend.
Thomas E. Moore expecting good-quality potato crop to run slightly late this year
Tom Cullen, vice president of Thomas E. Moore in Dover, DE, told The Produce News that the company’s Eastern Shore potato crop is running between a week and 10 days late this year.
Cambridge farms sees a winning season for potato producers
Kenneth Gad, vice president of Cambridge Farms Inc. in Boston, summarized his insights about the 2013 Eastern Shore potato deal this way. “I have every indication this season will be a win-win-win for everyone,” he told The Produce News. “I am thrilled to see [the growers] get a good return on their investment.”
Safeway to sell Canadian operations to Sobeys
Safeway Inc. has entered into an agreement to sell its Canadian operations through a sale of the net assets of Canada Safeway Limited to Sobeys Inc., a Canadian food retailer and wholly-owned subsidiary of Empire Company Limited, for C$5.8 billion in cash, plus the assumption of certain liabilities.
Jersey Fresh draws big crowd to EPC meeting
HILLSDALE, NJ — With the New Jersey Department of Agriculture hosting its Eastern Produce Council meeting for the 26th consecutive year, a big crowd was on hand, as usual, at Demarest Farm, here.
The Fresh Wave looking at mid-June for New Jersey blueberries
VINELAND, NJ — The market was seeing good movement of blueberries from Georgia and North Carolina at the end of May with the harvest of New Jersey blues looking to begin around the middle of June, according to Skip Consalo, president of The Fresh Wave.
That puts the timing of blueberries from all areas in the South and East more or less back to normal after last year, which saw the earliest harvest dates for blueberries (and many other items) earlier than in several decades.
Terra Bella Farms hires Lisa Marie Moore
LISA MARIE MOORE joined Bakersfield, CA-based Terra Bella Farms as a salesperson.
In her new position, Moore is responsible for calling customers to book orders and following up during the process, pick-ups and deliveries.
Moore has been working in the produce industry for four years. Before joining Terra Bella Farms, she worked for Jennings Transfer & Storage.