Vineland, NJ-based M. D’Ottavio Produce Inc. and Immokalee, FL-based Oakes Farms announced that they will be working together for the 2014-15 Florida produce season, farming over 600 acres in Immokalee.

Always exploring. Constantly curious. These are words to live by for Noah Robbins, a self-described “still 26” year-old with a clear vision about his world.

Robbins is the founder, chief executive officer and sole proprietor of Ark Foods, a company that was only a concept just four short years ago.

FOREST PARK, GA — This year will mark the 90th year of business for JJ Jardina, based here. “Our grandfather started JJ Jardina in 1925 and the business has grown over the years to support three generations of our family,” said Chief Executive Officer Mike Jardina. Today, three brothers, Mike, Larry and Matt, operate all facets of the company on a daily basis.

The brothers are continuing to grow the company’s product line and are focused on providing high-quality product and service to its customer base. 

In 2014, newly designed trade advertising by the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association “will continue to promote the strength of the red potato market over the last couple of years,” said Ted Kreis, the group’s marketing and communications director.

Ted Kreis, NPPGA marketing and communications director.The trade will also be reminded that the Red River Valley is “the leading producer of red potatoes,” Kreis told The Produce News.

Beneficial rains over the Red River Valley in late August and early September were setting the stage for good harvest conditions of the region’s red potato crop.

Ted Kreis, marketing and communications director of the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association in East Grand Forks, MN, added that good harvest conditions, including a softening of the northern plains soil, can be as important to crop quality as the growing conditions that created the potatoes. If the soil is too hard it can damage the spuds during harvest.

BENSON, NC — North Carolina's sweet potato harvest, still in full swing at mid-September, is back to normal, and none too soon. After two years in a row of below-average acreage planted due to weather, the 2014 crop is growing on 66,000 acres. That's the USDA estimate cited by Sue Johnson-Langdon, executive director of the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission, here.