Sage Fruit Co. renewed its associate sponsorship of JR Motorsports — the professional race team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. — which fields multiple teams and tours nationally in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (formally Nationwide Series). This will be the second year Sage Fruit has sponsored JRM.

Lakeside Organic Gardens LLC, headquartered in Watsonville, CA, recently announced that the company now offers highly nutritious organic broccoli leaf.

“Some argue that broccoli leaf is even more nutritious than kale,” said Lindsey Roberts, marketing communications director for the company. “Try them sautéed in a little olive oil and garlic just like you would with collards. They’re delicious, earthy and resemble broccoli just enough to remind you of where they came from.”

NOGALES, AZ — Organic Mexican vegetable supplies are down in January and demand is pushing prices to high levels, according to Steve LeFevre, sales manager for Wholesum Family Farms, based here. LeFevre added that red Bell peppers are the exception to this rule.  

“The cucumber market is extremely tight,” LeFevre said. “Wholesum’s organic cucumber volume was down this year anyway. We don’t have the (cucumber) numbers we had in the past. But organic cucumbers from Mexico are down in general. It’s extremely tight.”

The Southeast Produce Council's 2015 conference and trade show could see record overall attendance, with excellent representation as always from the key retail and foodservice sides of the produce industry, according to one of the leaders of the council.

The USApple Association, its members and industry supporters are once again partnering to engage with consumers on social media each day during February’s American Heart Month to spotlight apples’ essential role in heart health. The association’s award-winning “28 Days of Apples” initiative returns for 2015 after successfully engaging with more than 15 million consumers last year by highlighting 28 ways and reasons apples are healthy for our hearts and bodies.

Del Monte Fresh Produce’s banana farms in Guatemala and Costa Rica, as well as its pineapple farms in Costa Rica, have been certified as Sustainably Grown by SCS Global Services in accordance with the producer requirements of its internationally recognized Sustainably Grown Standard v 1.3.