Owyhee sees earliest onion year ever
By Sept. 1 Owyhee Produce in Nyssa, OR, had shipped 350 loads of onions, and Sales Agent Robin Froerer said the early July start was the earliest in the company’s history.
Ms. Froerer said the early onions were smaller than average, but she noted that size mix remains good.
As for the ratio of yellows to reds and whites, the grower-shipper maintains its heavy-to-yellow percentage.
“No big changes,” she said.
New crop sees Fiesta Farms running ahead of YTD 2011
Describing the 2012 Treasure Valley Spanish Sweet onion crop as “in general looking good,” Garry Bybee, chief executive officer of Fiesta Farms in Nyssa, OR, said, “We are running 900 loads ahead of last year at this time.”
The new-crop onions going out early were in part green-tipped, and the veteran onion grower-shipper said, “We as a region may have done ourselves a little harm running this much this early. Prices have dropped. But the good part is we could be short on the tail end.”
Central Produce joins COI
This summer, Central Produce Distributors, headquartered in Payette, ID, joined Certified Onions Inc. “This season, we’ll be fully ramped up and going,” General Manager Ray Burzota told The Produce News on Sept. 6.
East Coast Fresh Cuts continues expansion of fresh cut line for retail
East Coast Fresh Cuts, the fresh cut division of Coastal Sunbelt Produce, is located in Savage, MD, a few miles from the Maryland Wholesale Produce Market.
Dave Zeleznik, vice president of East Coast Fresh Cuts, told The Produce News that the company, which in the past catered predominantly to the foodservice sector, is now focusing just as strongly on the retail side.
Quality, traceability important to Eagle Eye customers
Eagle Eye Produce, headquartered in Idaho Falls, ID, works hard to ensure its customers and consumers receive the highest-quality onions available. “We are already currently a dedicated year-round supplier of onions,” Vice President of Sales Lance Poole told The Produce News Sept. 11. “Our onions are grown in western Idaho, eastern Oregon, Texas, California and New Mexico. We work with our growers each season to make sure that we grow the varieties and quantities that our customers need from us each year.”
Rahll’s locally grown focus a stronghold throughout the company’s history
Now in its third generation of management, Edward G. Rahll & Sons Inc., located on the Maryland Wholesale Produce Market in Jessup, MD, handles a full line of fresh produce, including a wide variety of herbs, ethnic, specialty and exotic items. It still maintains its traditional line of commodity produce, such as tomatoes, potatoes and onions, which it has handled for decades. Citrus from Florida and California, melons and stone fruits are also important items in the company’s line of fresh produce.
East Coast Fresh Cuts continues expansion of fresh cut line for retail
East Coast Fresh Cuts, the fresh cut division of Coastal Sunbelt Produce, is located in Savage, MD, a few miles from the Maryland Wholesale Produce Market.
Dave Zeleznik, vice president of East Coast Fresh Cuts, told The Produce News that the company, which in the past catered predominantly to the foodservice sector, is now focusing just as strongly on the retail side.
Pleasant Valley’s grower-owners have been growing potatoes for generations
“It’s exciting to talk about new things” when there are new things to talk about, “but we usually don’t have much new going on in our company, and that is one of our calling cards, really,” said Ryan Wahlen, sales manager at Pleasant Valley Potato Inc. in Aberdeen, ID, in an interview with The Produce News Aug 22.
Weston Crapo, Jill Cox now handling sales at Sun-Glo of Idaho
“We’ve had a few changes here,” said Weston Crapo, new sales manager at Sun-Glo of Idaho in Sugar City, ID, in an interview with The Produce News Aug. 28. Among those changes is a new sales team.
Idaho Potato Commission continues to expand into new export markets
The Idaho Potato Commission has “a significant international initiative” focused on expanding export markets for Idaho-grown potatoes, according to Seth Pemsler, the commission’s vice president of foodservice and international marketing.