Florida Fresh Potato Growers, a grower cooperative comprised of potato growers in southern Florida, moves Florida-grown potatoes to retail, foodservice and wholesale distributors primarily on the Southeastern and Eastern Seaboards, as well as in the Midwest and into Canada.
The association grows and markets new crop red, gold, white, purple and fingerling potatoes.
Ken Wiles, vice president of sales with cooperative member Mack Farms Inc., said the 2014-15 south Florida fresh potato harvest commenced in early February and will continue until early to mid-May, adding that peak harvest months are March and April.
“There were no freezes that affected yields this year, so volume is steady and yields are good,” he told The Produce News.
Wiles said movement has been increasing with plenty of ads planned for the upcoming Easter holiday, noting that many retail chains are switching from storage crop to new crop around the beginning of March.
“Florida potatoes stand out because they have never been in storage,” Wiles said. “They are thin-skinned, freshly harvested ‘new potatoes’ in red, gold and white varieties.”
Mack Farms grows new crop potatoes, watermelons, cabbage and sweet corn in Lake Wales and Okeechobee, Fla.
Source: The Produce News