More than 30 kinds of fruits and vegetables are produced in Georgia each year, and growers are sharing positive reports on the latest harvests.
“We are expecting a very good crop across all of our spring and summer fruits and vegetables,” said Matthew Kulinski, director of marketing for the Georgia Department of Agriculture. “Blueberries and peaches all look good in early spring, and we’re hoping for a great season with watermelons and sweet corn as well.”
Corbett Brothers Farms
Lake Park, Ga.-based Corbett Brothers Farms LLC offered watermelon and sweet corn for the first time last year and will bring them back this summer, said Justin Corbett, a partner in the company with his brother, Jared. Both products performed well, he said, and will start up for summer on May 20. They’ll be available until July 4.
The company has already started harvesting squash, cucumbers, bell pepper and specialty peppers and will launch an eggplant program on May 20. The summer season will end around the Fourth of July, and the fall season will kick off in early September with the same commodities.
This growing season in Georgia has been unusually dry, Corbett said.
“We haven’t had much measurable rain for the last month or so,” he said. But with drip irrigation, the company is able to manage its water successfully.
Temperatures have been moderate for the area, too.
“It’s about 85 degrees — perfect growing conditions right now,” Corbett said May 7.
“I’m expecting exceptional quality on everything,” he said, adding that volume should be normal this season.
Bland Farms
Glennville, Ga.-based Bland Farms finished its Vidalia onion harvest in early May and was planting Sand Candy sweetpotatoes in Georgia and North Carolina, said CEO Troy Bland.
“We are pleased to be able to offer sweetpotatoes year round, especially as there has been a shortage,” he said.
Although there were a few chilly days and even a light snowfall this winter, the Vidalia sweet onion crop bounced back, and the company ended up with a great harvest, he said. The firm had a bumper crop last year, but this season will be more typical.
When the Vidalia sweet onion season ends in August, Bland Farms will transition to its Peru premium sweet onion program, which will last through February. Then, the sweet onion deal will move to Mexico.
The company also sources sweet onions from Nevada and California.
“We continue to offer promotable volumes of sweet onions year round,” Bland said.
Bland Farms offers organic as well as conventionally grown sweet onions and added a laser weeder to its organic Vidalia sweet onion fields, he said.
“We are testing out two units that help eliminate weeds faster, cut down on labor and promote faster growth,” Bland said. “It’s just another way we’re investing in sustainability, which is a core value for the company.”
As part of its Vidalia promotion, Bland Farms launched its Savor Summer’s Sweetest Moments campaign to build brand awareness and celebrate the season.
The company gave away VIP tickets to see country music singer Clint Black at the Vidalia Onion Festival and has even more in mind, including fresh summer recipes, a curated sweet summer playlist and engaging social media content, he said.
And to support its retail partners and their marketing efforts, Bland Farms developed a retail toolkit, complete with images and ready-to-use social media content.
“We’re continuing to expand and enhance this resource so they can easily incorporate it into their advertising and social channels,” Bland said.
Shuman Farms
Reidsville, Ga.-based Shuman Farms, will ship Vidalia onions in its RealSweet and Mr. Buck’s Farm Fresh bags through Labor Day, said John Shuman, president and CEO.
“Despite weather challenges during the growing period, our crop looks good with good quality and size profiles,” Shuman said. “We are encouraging our retailer partners to support the season both bag and bulk promotions.”
Shuman Farms plans to continue to build on the momentum the company has created over the past four years through its Shuman Farms University initiative, Shuman said.
“Educating our retailer partners’ produce teams about Vidalia onions has been a priority for us, and this year we’re refreshing our digital content and resources to take that to the next level,” he said.
Educational-focused initiatives have included its lunch-and-learns, Vidalia 101 content and an interactive Vidalia quiz. All are designed to enhance produce team knowledge of the sweet onion category and Vidalia onions, Shuman said.
“Our refreshed program for 2025 takes edutainment to the next level by making the content more accessible, engaging and fun,” he added.
Shuman Farms also works closely
with its retail partners to develop customized marketing programs, in-store promotions and digital content that are intended to help drive category sales, according to Shuman.
“We’re also looking forward to leveraging our expanded infrastructure following our Generation Farms acquisition (in 2023), which has given us the ability to increase our storage, packing capacity and overall efficiency,” he said.
