Logistics
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.
With new management in place, Nyssa, Ore.-based Snake River Produce is in a good position for the start of the Idaho-eastern Oregon onion season, says Joshua Frederick, general manager for the company.
Nashville, N.C.-based Nash Produce expects to have a strong sweet potato supply this year, says Thomas Joyner, president.
The largest apple producer on the East Coast, New York had a Hot Growing Summer. With the help of irrigation systems, the growing season did well for a fall harvest of apples sizing well in many varieties.
The Washington fresh apple crop is projected at 108.7 million standard forty-pound boxes, an 11.1% decrease from 2021’s 122.3 million boxes, according to the Washington State Tree Fruit Association.
The Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee is reaching both domestic and foreign buyers to promote this year’s crop, says Candi Fitch, executive director.
Despite challenging growing conditions, Owyhee Produce expects onion harvested acreage and yields at similar levels to a year ago, says Bailey Myers, marketing director for the Parma, Idaho-based shippers.
When it comes to potatoes, Idaho may be top of mind with most U.S. consumers, but the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee is working to change that.
Truckload freight volumes tumbled from their June peak and pricing for dry van and refrigerated capacity on the spot market continued to shift downward, according to DAT Freight & Analytics.
Hardie’s Fresh Foods has a 95% employee retention rate, and with an on-site health clinic and recent backpack giveaway, it’s not hard to see why.
With crop volumes expected similar to a year ago, Wenatchee, Wash.-based Stemilt Growers LLC will offer both organic and conventional pears this season.
Pears are skewing toward younger consumers and the Pear Bureau Northwest is designing media campaigns to speak to them, says Kevin Moffitt, president and CEO of Pear Bureau Northwest.
Bartlett pear harvest began in mid-August for Yakima, Wash.-based Sage Fruit, and the company’s other pear varieties will follow closely behind in early September, says Chuck Sinks, president of sales and marketing.
The initial industry projection for the 2022 Northwest pear crop is close to last year’s in volume, according to Kevin Moffitt, president and CEO of Pear Bureau Northwest.
The 2022 pear crop supply should line up well with demand for Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers, says Dan Davis, director of business development.
U.S. exports of fresh pears for the 12-month period from July 2021 to June 2022 totaled $148.1 million, down 1% from the previous year.
Northwest pear volume could be up slightly for CMI Orchards, says Sarah Barkley, sales manager and pear lead for the Wenatchee, Wash.-based marketer.
Cold spring weather has hurt crop volume for Hood River, Ore.-based Duckwall Fruit, says Ed Weathers, sales manager.
Season after season, Peru has proven to be a reliable source of good-quality sweet onions for U.S. consumers, and this year should be no exception.
With the purchase of the Stadelman Fruit operations in Odell, Ore., earlier this summer, Yakima-based Washington Fruit Growers expects its total pear volume to be up 25%, says Steve Smith.
The company has updated its facility and packinghouse in Peru, with new grading lines and sorting equipment that will enhance product quality and allow for a more efficient final repack in Georgia.
The partnership is anticipated to support the expansion of NatureSweet’s greenhouse portfolio, which includes snacking tomatoes, medium and large tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.
Eden Prairie, Minn.-based global logistics company C.H. Robinson has announced an initiative to honor truck drivers who go above and beyond to deliver the goods the world depends on.
The 2022 Northwest fresh pear crop estimate is 16.2 million standard box equivalents, close to the five-year average, according to the Pear Bureau Northwest.
Evans Fruit has remodeled its Yakima plant with a new 40-lane advanced packing line, said Scott Hennessey, sales representative for Evans Fruit, Yakima, Wash.
While the state’s 2022 fresh apple crop may be shorter than some years, the Wenatchee, Wash.-based Washington Apple Commission is gearing up for another big year of promoting fresh apple exports.
Finding varieties that appeal to consumers is one way the leading state for U.S. apple production continues to innovate and evolve.
Yakima, Wash.-based FirstFruits Farms has started its 10th year of growing and selling the Sweetie branded apple.
Oppy expects a good quality season for its proprietary apples, says Roger Aguirre, director of apples and pears for the Oppenheimer Group (Oppy).
With orchards spanning Washington state from the Columbia River to the Canadian border, Domex Superfresh Growers offers a full range of apple varieties.