Red Sun Farms has expanded its Pharr, TX, distribution facility and has begun construction on its expanded acreage at its new, cutting-edge hydroponic greenhouse in Dublin, VA. The facility is producing both conventional and organic produce, having received its organic certification on Nov. 9 of last year.

If a company that relies on ASAP deliveries needed to make sure there was always guaranteed coverage from a transportation standpoint, what would be the best way to ensure that? Start a subsidiary company that specializes in trucking.

That’s exactly what Nickey Gregory, president of Atlanta’s Nickey Gregory Co., did in 2013 with the launch of Gregory Family Express, a full service fresh and frozen hauler that serves the Southeast and Northeast with daily deliveries.

In 2000, Nickey Gregory had what some people thought was a crazy idea. He left an important job with a large distributor on the Atlanta State Farmers Market to start the Nickey Gregory Co. on that same market.

But the Nickey Gregory Co. has grown by leaps and bounds, already expanding its headquarters on the market as far as possible. Business has boomed so much as the company celebrates its 15th year that expansion is again a hot topic around the office.

On Jan.14, Vision Import Group headquartered in Hackensack, NJ, announced the hiring of Steve Hitchings as the company’s new general manager in its Southeast, Lakeland, FL office. He began his new position on Jan. 5.

Hitchings has more than 34 years of procurement and sales experience in produce. Most recently, he was part of the procurement and sales team for Paradise Produce Distributing. Prior to that, he held a vice president position with Maines Paper & Food Service Inc, headquartered in Conklin, NY.

It’s almost hard to believe now, but there was a time when sweet onions were thought of as a seasonal commodity —and that season was generally considered to be April through (maybe) August as supplies of sweet Georgia Vidalias were available.

Years ago, Vidalia onion growers like John Shuman of Shuman Produce Inc. in Reidsville, GA, realized sweet onions were a product consumers wanted year-round.

The Vidalia area has a reputation for sweetness and that’s proving to be true for more than just onions.

Historically, Georgia was once a major producer of sweet potatoes, but growers moved away from the crop. Now they are returning in a big way and with good reason.

Delbert Bland of onion giant Bland Farms started experimenting with sweet potatoes a couple of years ago. The results were so promising he launched a sweet potato program under the company’s Vidalia Brands subsidiary last fall to a great reception and plans to triple current production next year.