VINELAND, NJ — Arbittier Farms has been a constant in the south Jersey produce deal for a long time, with roots going back 80 years. The company took a major step a couple of years ago to keep the company going forward and continue its successful run.

Dan Del Monte bought the company in September 2009 from longtime owner Howard Arbittier and has been instituting a number of changes and innovations to keep the company competitive and growing, Mr. Del Monte told The Produce News May 11 at the company’s headquarters here.

Phil Neary director of operations and grower relations for Sunny Valley International, headquartered in Glassboro, NJ, told The Produce News earlier this month that this year’s blueberry and peach crops are trending toward a more normal movement date.

“We had an extremely early start with New Jersey’s crops last year,” Mr. Neary said May 12. “This year we’ll be moving on a more normal time frame. Blueberries will start by mid-June, and peaches will start the second week of July.”

Some things just go together, like apples, caramel and peanut butter. That’s why National Apple Month has teamed with Marzetti, Smucker’s and Jif for a national retail and military commissary display contest, with $14,000 in prizes.

Jerry Mongelluzzo, president of Mike & Matt’s Produce Co. LLC in Vineland, NJ, told The Produce News in mid-May that the company was moving wet vegetables.

“We’ve had perfect growing conditions for these crops,” Mr. Mongelluzzo said May 18. “The leafy greens, lettuces and herbs are [showing] excellent quality this year. We’ll run these items through the end of June.”

He noted that wet items aren’t grown in New Jersey in the summer because it is too hot. Instead, they love cool nights and just enough daytime heat to help them grow.

VINELAND, NJ — The produce area in southern New Jersey is no different than other produce areas throughout the United States in regard to the principle that supply and demand generally equals price. As Jay Krichmar, president of Krichmar Produce Co., put it, “This area’s [pricing] is generated from supply and demand — just like everywhere else.”

This year’s Australian citrus program will be shorter than expected, but the first boatloads of Navels from Down Under arrived on American shores earlier this month at the port of Long Beach, CA.

By all accounts, quality is outstanding, though supplies are about 70 percent of what importer DNE World Fruit Sales would have liked.

“What we’ve seen so far is very encouraging,” said Stu Monaghan, national sales manager for the Fort Pierce, FL-based firm. “The color is very good, and the taste is exceptional, so the start to the Australian Navels is