The asparagus season started early for Snow & Sons Produce Co. “We received our first asparagus on March 23, five days earlier than the earliest start in 30 years,” President Steve Thomas told The Produce News. “Since getting started, we have had cooler weather and have had very light production. We are looking for increased production as the weather warms up and may see our peak as early as the week leading up to May 1.”

The company is located in Outlook, WA. Thomas said he expects a volume increase in 2015 with new production acreage being cut.

Sakuma Bros. Farms, part of Sakuma Family Businesses, anticipates a highly successful and prosperous fresh produce season in 2015.

The company is headquartered in Burlington, WA. Sakuma Bros. is in its fourth generation of operation, with extensive expertise in the area of small fruit production. Commodities grown and marketed are strawberries, conventional and organic blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and apples. Plant stock and teas are also sold.

Steve Root, president of East West Unlimited LLC in Coachella, CA, has a simple strategy for success in the California grape deal: one of the first shippers in, get a good price for his grapes and get out of the deal as soon as he can.

He told The Produce News on April 17 that he would begin his harvest during the week of April 27, which is about the same timing as last year but much earlier than normal. “Last year I started as early I have ever started and this year looks to be the same,” he said.

Operating under one roof in Mecca, CA, the sister companies of Richard Bagdasarian Inc. and Pasha Marketing LLC thrive offering both fruits and vegetables, all grown in California’s Coachella Valley.

While it is a valley, it is also fully entrenched in the California desert, which creates a fairly short harvest season. Bagdasarian is the fruit side of the family with grapes being its number one crop at this time of the year.

Jump with Jill, a rock and roll nutrition show, is visiting schools across the Midwest thanks to the fall 2014 Produce for Kids campaign that took place across all Meijer stores Aug. 31 to Sept. 27.

Western Growers and Silicon Valley Global Partners have entered into an exclusive strategic alliance agreement to accelerate the advancement of technology in the ag space.