Latest News From Squash

The Packer and Healthy Family Project have teamed up for The Fresh Factor series to share some of our favorite facts and tips about zucchini and why shoppers should give this produce underdog a moment in the limelight.

The USDA has issued a pest risk analysis for imports of Brazilian fresh pumpkin, squash and the hybrid tetsukabuto squash.

The Rio Rico, Ariz.-based company imports and distributes watermelons, mini watermelons, honeydew, and conventional and organic hard squash from its farms in Sonora.

St. Paul, Minn.-based Northwestern Fruit Co. Inc. will kick off the fall with an extensive assortment of products, including local and homegrown zucchini, yellow squash, corn, green beans and peppers.

While making no recommendations, the U.S. International Trade Commission has issued reports showing big effects of U.S. imports of squash and cucumbers on the domestic market.

Fall is all about the harvest bounty — bubbling hot jonathan apple pies adorned with sugary laced lattice tops, jack-o-lantern pumpkins, ornamental gourds, sweet fall grapes, hard squash and crunchy apples.

Prices for zucchini around the nation ranged from 88 cents to $1.99 per pound on July 21, according to U.S. Marketing Services.

Veg Pak Produce is recalling Harvest Fresh brand Zucchini Spirals from the marketplace due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled product described below.

There were more shake-ups on PMG the second week of July, with cucumbers moving up to No. 1 and beans climbing from No. 6 the previous week to No. 2.

Even though 2020 was a great year for selling crops to retailers, many of New York’s growers are playing it safe by not planting too much more for the 2021 season.

Hearing from domestic and import partisan interests, the U.S. ITC hosted a hearing April 8 on its investigation into unfair trade practices by foreign exporters on cucumber and squash imports into the U.S. market.

Pummelo, oranges and strawberries carried the top three spots on PMG for the third week in a row, while lettuce rose three places to No. 4, and apples gained four spots to complete the top 5.

The grower whose butternut squash has been involved in recalls of fresh-cut products because of listeria concerns is working with the Food and Drug Administration to find the source.

Lancaster Foods LLC, Jessup, Md., has recalled a dozen fresh-cut butternut products, citing potential Listeria Monocytogenes contamination.

Pero Family Farms Food Co. LLC, Delray Beach, Fla., has recalled multiple butternut squash products due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

The American Grown campaign, established in the wake of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, is encouraging U.S. growers to tell their stories.

In an unlikely turn of events, cucumbers and squash are smack dab in the limelight.

The U.S. International Trade Commission, acting on a request by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, has initiated investigations into the effects of imported cucumbers and squash on domestic growers.

The U.S. International Trade Commission, acting on a request by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, has initiated investigations into the effects of imported cucumbers and squash on domestic growers.

The U.S. International Trade Commission, acting on a request by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, has initiated investigations into the effects of imported cucumbers and squash on domestic growers.

Fresh Farms offers cucumbers, soft squash and cantaloupes. Fresh Farms is adding new items every week.

A couple of months ago I wrote about my adventures in growing two of Row 7 Seeds’ vegetables, 898 baby butternut-style squash and Robin’s Koginut mini pumpkins.

Amado, Ariz.-based Wholesum is increasing its volume of organic butternut, acorn and spaghetti hard squashes this season, said Joanna Jaramillo, marketing specialist.

Southern Specialties Inc., Pompano Beach, Fla., is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Generation Farms, Vidalia, Ga., has redesigned its website, generationfarms.com, focusing on the company’s vision for the future.

Bridges Produce, Portland, Ore., has begun its fall season of Mexican organic produce.

I love butternut squash — especially during the fall and winter when I want to eat cozy comfort foods but stay healthy at the same time.

Giant Food has removed its private label-branded squash noodle medley after a supplier reported a sample had tested positive for listeria.

Chris Koger Church Brothers Farms, Salinas, Calif., is adding five Green Giant Fresh value-added products.

See The Packer's 2020 Fresh Trends Data on squash!

Generation Farms, Vidalia, Ga., is adding white and purple garlic to its line of fruits and vegetables.

Generation Farms, Vidalia, Ga., has hired three in sales with histories in Georgia and Michigan vegetable deals, where the company is opening offices.

A lingering cold and rainy season had grower-shippers in Michigan waiting a little longer than normal this year to get their summer deals going.

With the way the crops in New Jersey are going, you would hardly know there’s a pandemic.

Lipman Family Farms, Immokalee, Fla., is celebrating 10 years of its Lipman Local program, but the company has worked with smaller local farms before that program began.

Wholesum, Amado, Ariz., has added organic and fair trade butternut and spaghetti squash to its line-up.

The greenhouse category is expanding every year as growers look for more items that can be produced indoors, and as they ramp up the volume of the ones they already have.

Pero Family Farms Food Co. LLC., Delray Beach, Fla., has recalled a zucchini noodle product because it did not list egg and milk, which are classified as allergens, on the label.

IPR Fresh, Rio Rico, Ariz., has sweet corn and chili peppers for the first time this season, said president Jose Luis Obregon.

Conventional and organic squash is becoming a more consistent program at Divine Flavor LLC, Nogales, Ariz., said Michael DuPuis, quality assurance and public relations coordinator.

Distributors of produce from West Mexico were hoping for a fruitful spring after a fall/winter season affected by rainstorms and cold weather.

Rico Farms has opened what it calls a biofactory at its Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, to manufacture products designed to boost farmland fertility.

Rico Farms has opened its third location Mexico and is shipping its first crop of organic hard squash.

Veggie Noodle Co. LLC is recalling a ramen kit because it contains a hard-boiled egg from a company involved in a recall for a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak.

One-quarter of consumers said they purchased this hearty vegetable in the past 12 months; the likelihood of a squash purchase slipped one percentage point from last year.

The Packer's 2019 Fresh Trends data for 2018 purchases of potatoes, squash and apples in the U.S.

Vegetable “pasta” maker Cece’s Veggie Co., Austin, Texas, made Inc. Magazine’s annual list of fastest-growing private companies, with a three-year revenue growth of 23,880% to put it at No. 3.

Beginning in August, pumpkin harvest will get underway across North America and retailers will start incorporating pumpkins and ornamental squash into their retail sets in anticipation of an October sales peak.

Produce Retailer editor Ashley Nickle and The Packer's copy editor and designer Amelia Freidline talk about Fresh Trends consumer research on squash and try out an easy but delicious preparation of the vegetable.

Zucchini squash averaged $1.20 per pound around the U.S. the week ending July 19, according to the USDA's National Retail Report for Specialty Crops. The vegetable saw a drop from year-ago prices.