More is changing at Atlanta’s Nickey Gregory Co. than the season. Heading into the Southeast Produce Council Fall Conference Sept. 25-28, the company is leveraging a decade of continuous growth for a next-level leap in the region’s produce industry.

PELION, SC — Kalemania began unofficially in January 2012, when Google searches for today’s superfood showed a sharp spike. Until then, kale was just another healthful, cabbage-like, leafy green vegetable. Just a small cloud on the horizon, kale was, no bigger than a man’s hand.

“We will soon be completing a major renovation of our Los Angeles distribution and repacking warehouse to provide better customer service, cold chain management and space utilization,” said Scott Albertson, senior director of sales and marketing for Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo, headquartered in Pescadero, CA.

Autumn will begin just in time for California Giant Berry Farms’ fall strawberry crop from Santa Maria, CA, complementing the harvest still under way in Watsonville and Salinas. Typically this was considered the tail end of the season, but now with the added volume the company has fruit to support consumer demand for year-round fresh strawberries.

WASHINGTON — The United Fresh Produce Association met with federal lawmakers recently carrying a short list of must-haves at its Washington Conference, but the three-day meeting also delved into a list of regulations the produce industry is closely scrutinizing.

The Food Safety Modernization Act's proposed regulation for sanitary transportation includes a provision that could easily render shipments adulterated if records show a variation in temperature controls, Jon Samson of the Agricultural & Food Transporters Conference said at a Sept. 9 session, here.

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Eastern Produce Council held its first meeting following the summer hiatus, drawing industry members from throughout the New York metropolitan area.