Plant City, FL-based Wish Farms has been known as an innovator for decades, even when it was Wishnatzki Farms, which was before a major rebranding effort created the more user-friendly label. Third-generation owner Gary Wishnatzki led that charge via a focus on marketing, but he also keeps an eye on the products that have increasingly made the label a consumer favorite.

JEFFREY ARNOLD joined Edinburg Citrus Association, based in Edinburg, TX, as an intern from Texas A&M in August, and he was recently promoted to a sales position.

In his new role at Edinburg Citrus, Mr. Arnold handles grapefruit and orange sales.

Just like last year, C&D Fruit and Vegetable Co. of Bradenton, FL, has high-quality Florida strawberries in abundance. Unlike last year, the company also has solid markets for that fruit.

Last year’s crop created bargain basement prices for consumers but did little for grower-shippers.

In 2011-12, Mexico “crashed the party” and some Florida growers “just went stupid” and planted “more acreage than they can market,” said C&D’s Tom O’Brien.

With the holiday season in the rearview mirror, truck supplies are currently sufficient to handle demand for refrigerated commodities, and that should remain the case until produce supplies pick up over the next several months.

"The freight situation is a little quiet right now," Lance Dichter, president of LD Logistics in the Bronx, NY, said in mid-January. "The weather has been cold in California, which has cut down on production. Right now trucks are plentiful and cheap."

School kids across the United States are getting a chance to try unique fruits and vegetables and Frieda's Specialty Produce is playing a role, thanks to two produce wholesalers.

According to a recent snacking study, fresh fruit is not only the top snack food consumed in America, it is also one of the fastest growing.

The study results, conducted by The NPD Group, are not surprising to California's table grape farmers, who have been promoting Grapes from California as the "Original Super Snack" all season and are expected to announce record-breaking shipping numbers at the end of January.