With a record turnout, the Fresh Produce & Floral Council held a socially-distanced golf tournament in the Northern California town of Pleasanton on Thursday, Oct. 30. The Castlewood Country Club served as the venue as scores of golfers teed off in a scramble format. The record crowd and mask-wearing environment spoke to both the industry’s need for in-person contact and the seriousness of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

An iceberg lettuce market with an f.o.b. price in the low $30s is greeting the transition of production from coastal California to the winter vegetable districts in Arizona and California. With Salinas, Santa Maria and Huron districts quickly running out of production with the dawn of November, shippers are or will be transitioning to the desert districts over the next couple of weeks.

Supplies are often a bit low during this period and this year there are even more volume issues that have created the hot market. Salinas Valley has been fighting disease issues for the better part of two

Applewood Fresh, a premier produce brand and fourth-generation grower-packer-shipper-marketer of Michigan apples, and The Produce Moms, one of America’s most trusted fruit and vegetable influencers, have launched a co-branded apple package just in time for fall and the holiday baking season. The new co-branded apple bags start shipping Nov. 9.

The new packaging features popular Applewood Fresh Michigan grown apples.  The clear, resealable bags are available in three and five pounds and feature the apples riding in the back of The Produce Moms car filled with The Produce Moms’ characters.  The

With the start of the holiday season and Thanksgiving fast approaching, Jacobs Farm del Cabo’s holiday herb program is in full swing. In preparation, the company is now shipping its popular organic Poultry and Holiday Herb Mixes and their full line of fresh, organic, culinary herb packs.

Jacobs Farm del Cabo’s organic herb mixes provide consumers with a convenient bunch of all the fresh organic herbs they need for their holiday meals. The Jacobs Farm Poultry Mix includes organic rosemary, sage and thyme — the combination of which adds a beautifully aromatic and earthy flavor to home-cooked

For perhaps the first time in five years, the retail produce industry has an almost endless opportunity to promote one of its most popular items to its shoppers at very favorable prices.

In a series of interviews, virtually every shipper said a version of the same thing: big supplies from Mexico have lowered the f.o.b. price on avocados to a point where very aggressive promotional prices are available and should be well into 2021. 

“The volume in Mexico is there to support some very good promotional programs,” said Rankin McDaniel Sr., president of McDaniel Fruit Company, Fallbrook, CA. 

The COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency on March 13 and it continues to be a challenge; however, Publix estimates its sales for the three months ended Sept. 26 increased approximately $1.25 billion or 13.4 percent due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The company’s sales for the three months ended Sept. 26 were $11.1 billion, an 18.3 percent increase from $9.3 billion in 2019. Comparable store sales for the three months ended Sept. 26, 2020 increased 16.5 percent.

“Our associates’ efforts to serve our customers, our communities and each other during this challenging