On the heels of significant growth in 2011, Colorado-based Farm Fresh Direct LLC has set its sights on more expansion in 2012, starting with the Jan. 1 hiring of produce industry veteran Mike Harmon.

“There are a few new and exciting things going on here this year,” Scott Mabs, director of marketing for Homegrown Organic Farms in Porterville, CA, said. “We are bringing on a new blueberry ranch in Oregon this year. We’ve been doing California blueberries for a number of years, and it has grown into a significant program, but once the northwest movement started, around the end of June, California would shut down. A few years ago we purchased this ranch of about 400 acres in Jefferson, south of Portland.”

Marina Pace, marketing representative for Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo Inc., a Pescadero, CA-based organic grower and distributor, told The Produce News that Del Cabo introduced several new crops this year.

“This has occurred through the expansion of our network of organic growers,” said Ms. Pace. “Our organic Peruvian ginger program began in October. In November, we started shipping organic avocadoes, also a new crop for Del Cabo, and a year-round program.”

Caroline Hogue, sales manager of Lakeside Organic Gardens LLC, in Watsonville, CA, said that the company has been in business for 20 years.

“We handle 40 commodities,” said Ms. Hogue. “Our line includes organic broccoli, cauliflower, celery, leaf lettuce, bunched greens, zucchini, beets, spinach, leeks, romaine hearts, dandelions and cabbage.

“We are currently running leaf lettuces, Iceberg lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower,” she continued. “These items are all great quality and volumes are very good. These staple products are always in demand.”

The Oppenheimer Group will market its first-ever organically grown blueberries out of Chile in early 2012, expanding the Vancouver, BC-based distributor’s organic category to include kiwifruit, mangos, apples, pears, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.

“This is an exciting time to be part of the organic community,” Rachel Pagano, who was appointed as Oppenheimer’s organic category manager last August, said in a company press release.