Search - The Packer

Michigan produce shipments increased during the pandemic year of 2020.

Crops are right on schedule for Willard, Ohio-based Buurma Farms, said Loren Buurma, partner.

Is bigger better? Can big berries still taste as sweet as those tiny powerhouses? And does local matter more in the case of berry flavor?

The 2021 Michigan apple crop could resemble the 2020 version, said Don Armock, president of Riveridge Produce Marketing Inc., Sparta, Mich.

Hammonton, N.J.-based International Fruit Co. will see bigger imported citrus volume this summer, says Norman Barao, vice president of sales and marketing.

Seald Sweet will have about 3 million cartons of citrus volume from Peru, Chile, Uruguay and South Africa this summer.

With citrus harvest ending from Florida in May, citrus distributor PJ Citrus, Doral, Fla., will source citrus from California, said Julyann Borges, president of the company.

Radish volume in Western Michigan is expected stable for the Van Solkema Family Farm, said Adam Harnish, sales representative for the Byron Center, Mich.-based company.

Record temperatures in late June brought triple-digit heat to much of Washington and Oregon, but industry observers said the potato crop enjoyed near-perfect growing conditions until then.

2021 is a new year for potato growers, and that’s a good thing.