With the harvest of California early garlic underway as of mid-June, Argentine garlic cleaning up, old-crop Chinese garlic winding down and the first arrivals of new-crop Chinese garlic still a month away, garlic marketers in the United States say that demand is picking up and market prices are firming compared to a year ago.

HILLSDALE, NJ — The New Jersey Department of Agriculture sponsored the Eastern Produce Council’s June 12 meeting, here at Demarest Farm, marking the 25th time it has sponsored an EPC meeting. In recognition of that achievement, the council presented a special plaque to New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher and other representatives of the department past and present.

“This is a special night for the Eastern Produce Council,” EPC President Dean Holmquist of Allegiance Retail Services said in his opening remarks on a rain-soaked evening.

KYM SANDERS joined Kerman, CA-based Riverbend Fresh LLC in May as a sales coordinator, where she is responsible for sales and coordination with the field, handling Bell peppers, grapes and organic heirloom tomatoes.

Christopher Ranch in Gilroy, CA, a major grower, packer and shipper of organic garlic, has been growing organically since 1997, and it handles organic products produced by other growing partners.

Patsy Ross, vice president of marketing, told The Produce News that the largest organic item in its line is its new 32-ounce of organic chopped garlic.

“We are working very diligently at Westside Produce and moving at a very rapid pace” to become Global Food Safety Initiative certified, Jim Malanca, a partner in Westside Produce in Firebaugh, CA, told The Produce News.

In the company’s desert melon deal in Southern California, that process was nearing completion at the end of May . “We have an audit going on today in the desert to finish up on that,” he said May 24.

Trenton, NJ — A very mild winter followed by an unseasonably warm spring has brought New Jersey blueberries to market well ahead of normal schedule. Most growers are noting they are well into harvest, and supplies and quality are excellent.