L&M Cos. Inc., headquartered in Raleigh, NC, and with branch offices in 12 other locations around the country, is a vertically integrated supplier of an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables, functioning variously as grower, packer, shipper, marketer, broker, distributor, importer and exporter.

Potatoes and onions constitute one of the company's four core commodity categories — the others being apples, pears and cherries; limes, mangos and Texas-grown produce; and a wide array of vegetables.

Idaho potatoes may be the core product for Wada Farms Marketing Group LLC in Idaho Falls, ID, both currently and historically, but the company is a strong year-round supplier of both potatoes and onions from many producing areas, and of sweet potatoes as well.

"We have potatoes and onions all across the country," said Kevin Stanger, senior vice president of sales and marketing and a partner in the company.

With regard to potatoes, “we have a good strong base throughout all the major potato producing states.”

Matt Curry, president of Curry & Co. in Brookside, OR, said he is pleased with 2010 onion sales. "We have had a strong year for quality from both domestic and international supplies," he told The Produce News in early November. “We did see lower yields on onions at the start of 2010 due to wet conditions in several growing areas. But the product we ended up putting in the box was of nice quality.”

Jack Gyben, vice president of marketing and co-owner of Los Angeles-based Progressive Produce was a guest speaker panelist at the Produce Marketing Association Traceability Symposium held in Cerritos, CA, in October, according to a company press release.

John Shuman knows a thing or two about marketing sweet onions. As president of Shuman Produce Inc. in Reidsville, GA, he has helped launch some memorable campaigns, most notably the decade-old Produce for Kids program that supports Children's Miracle Network hospitals and PBS Kids.

After weathering a quirky spring season and then an unseasonably mild summer, Peri & Sons Farms in Yerington, NV, found itself challenged at harvest during the wettest October that Nevada had seen in more than 30 years.

David Peri, president and chief executive officer of Peri & Sons, expressed concern during the third week of October, when most of the onion fields were in the last stages of harvest.