Latest News From Georgia

With sweet onion sales accounting for 35% of the onion category, retail promotional efforts involving endcap displays, bins and cross-merchandising can increase market share, says the marketer's vice president of sales.

With Vidalia onions soon heading to supermarket shelves, retailers have options to enhance their marketing, and the Vidalia Onion Committee and Certified Angus Beef will feature a summer grilling series on social media.

Following Shuman Farms’ acquisition, the company now has 2,800 acres of Vidalia onions in the ground and has solidified itself as one of the largest grower-shippers in the industry, says John Shuman, president and CEO.

Peaches are in shorter supply in the U.S. Southeast this year, and consumers are paying the price.

The Southeast Produce Council has delivered over 12,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables to race participants and attendees as title sponsor at annual benefit race.

This summer, Georgia Grown will launch a program with Chicago-based IGA Inc. that will place Georgia Grown signage in 160 supermarkets in the Southeast region.

Weather challenges had an effect on some of the early spring/summer produce coming out of Georgia, but growers remain optimistic for a good season.

Shuman Farms is wrapping up an extensive renovation of its packing facility in Cobbtown, Ga., says John Shuman, president and CEO of Shuman Farms.

Vidalia onion plants endured a cold snap around Christmas but the crop has looked good the past couple of months, said Vidalia Onion Committee Chairman Cliff Riner, the crop production manager for G&R Farms.

The grading equipment is more precise, maximizing packing efficiency and product quality with a speed almost 80% faster than existing equipment, according to a news release.

The company will aim to serve a market that is within a one-day truck ride from Savannah, reaching about 25% of the U.S. population.

Sand Candy Produce LLC will feature good volume of sweet potatoes during the 2022-2023 marketing season, says Delbert Bland, Sand Candy partner and owner of Glennville, Ga.-based Bland Farms owner.

North America’s largest greenhouse lettuce grower, Revol Greens, has acquired BJ’s Produce Inc, operating under the Living Fresh brand, in Athens, Georgia, to establish its first East Coast greenhouse operation.

Reidsville, Ga.-based Shuman Farms staff members are spending June volunteering in the communities where their RealSweet Vidalia onions are sold.

From mushrooms and peaches to pecans and peanuts, Georgia growers are sharing their stories on the new Georgia Grown TV series, “A Fork in the Road.”

Besides labor, the biggest challenges these days are in freight — not just rates, but having the trucks available to carry freight.

A chilly winter isn’t the worst thing in the world if you’re a Georgia farmer. A cooler December, January and February slowed the growth of broccoli, cauliflower, onions, greens and cabbage, and also brought rain.

Glennville, Ga.-based G&R Farms has redesigned its Vidalia onion bag, box and bin packaging as part of the company’s new brand image.

When Sesame Street knocked, Casey Cox threw open the door on her Georgia farm and grabbed an opportunity to take U.S. agriculture to a new audience.

Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., has been approved by the Democratic Caucus to serve as the first African American chairman of the House Agriculture Committee in the 117th Congress that will convene in January.

Georgia produce growers, the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and other groups recently testified to federal agencies that domestic growers face a “staggering increase" of produce from Mexico.

When you ask what’s happening at his company, Andrew Scott, director of business development and marketing at Nickey Gregory, says it’s been all about his state’s produce.

A few of the large wholesalers and distributors at the Atlanta State Farmers Market, Forest Park, Ga., have expanded by adding or moving into new spaces on the property.

The Atlanta State Farmers Market is so much more than the name might imply. Yes, in the shed area, the general public wanders booths laden with fresh fruits and vegetables from area farmers.

Georgia watermelon season is peaking as July 4th nears.

Atlanta's fresh produce market leaders share how the Atlanta State Farmers Market has been transforming since, not only the COVID-19 pandemic, but also beforehand.

Atlanta-based Royal Food Service Co. has been awarded a maximum $465 million contract to supply for fresh fruits and vegetables to Georgia military and school customers.

Baker Farms planned to begin construction in February on a new cooler to provide 30% more capactiy overall, but the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed those plans.

A warm winter and rainy spring with a few hail storms and tornadoes have put a damper on some of Georgia’s crops, which peak in marketable volume mid-May to mid-June.

Georgia's spring season is reaching its prime time, and we pull Heath Wetherington of Baker Farms, Norman Park, Ga., away from his work at the farm to tell us how it's going.

Heavy rains and hail storms during Vidalia growing season, plus typical spring harvest rains, have cut a chunk out of the season’s yield, but harvesting hasn’t been delayed more than usual.

The Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Vidalia Onion Committee have decided on this year’s official pack date for the sweet onion.

The Office of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has scheduled hearings for growers to talk about concerns of unfair competition with Mexican products.

Vidalia onion grower G&R Farms, Glennville, Ga., is celebrating the fifth anniversary of Growing America’s Farmers, the non-profit started by G&R’s co-owner, Walt Dasher.

Grimmway Farms, Bakersfield, Calif., is offering a limited supply of numerous vegetables under its Cal-Organic label from its Southeast production areas.

Growers of Vidalia onions in Georgia have voted in favor of continuing the marketing order for the sweet onions.

In the wake of trade deals that have left some U.S. produce growers unhappy about an influx of imported fruits and vegetables, the new American Grown campaign is taking its message to consumers instead of lawmakers.

Crystal Valley Foods, Miami will be shipping blueberries grown in Georgia through a partnership with Superior Berries, Fargo, Ga.

Optimum Agriculture has purchased Vidalia onion grower-shipper Generations Farms LLC, along with almost 5,600 acres of land and packing/processing facilities.

The Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference is returning to Savannah, Ga., Jan. 9-12, 2020.

Shuman Farms, Reidsville, Ga., is revamping its organic onion packaging with a netted bag that uses less plastic.

Georgia peach grower Robert Dickey III and Florida vegetable grower Charles Obern have been named 2019 Farmers of the Year by Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo.

After two years of extreme weather during their season, Georgia watermelon growers are reporting smooth sailing.

Organic herb and microgreens company Shenandoah Growers Inc., Rockingham, Va., has opened an expanded production facility in Jefferson, Ga.

Grimmway Farms, Bakersfield, Calif., has acquired processing facilities and other assets from Generation Farms, Lake Park, Ga., a grower of carrots and other vegetables.

Crawford Packaging, London, Ontario, is expanding in the U.S., with a new warehouse in Valdosta, Ga.

Hardships born from a big freeze in 2016 have inspired Georgia’s blueberry industry to invest in some protective technology so growers don’t get frozen out of the market again. 

The 2018-19 growing season has been a time of regrouping and recovery for some, but the same or better than usual for others in Georgia’s fresh produce industry.

Late April signals the start of a new Vidalia onion season each year, and with it comes Shuman Farms’ commitment to supporting Produce for Kids and Feeding America.

The Southeast Produce Council is asking people to join its team in the Strong4Life Superhero Sprint, which raises funds to fight childhood obesity and its associated diseases in Georgia.