Meet the Farmer: Matt Maring
Meet the Farmer: Matt Maring Labels on boxes of melons grown by the Maring family mean so much more than just “Palm Tree Produce” translated in English. The Las Palmas Produce brand with an image of palm trees overlooking farm fields is deeply rooted in California agriculture. Matt Maring is a third-generation farmer whose family […]
The Story Behind the Widely Followed Westside Farmer, @JoeDelBosque
The Story Behind the Widely Followed Westside Farmer, @JoeDelBosque Joe Del Bosque’s life in the melon industry began as a child picking melons alongside the field workers his dad managed. He didn’t know that one day he’d own those same fields. Originally studying to be a dentist, Joe soon realized chemistry-oriented classes weren’t for him. […]
Turlock Fruit Company: Fresh Cantaloupes Shipped to your Grocery Store
Turlock Fruit Company: Farm Fresh Cantaloupes Shipped Right to your Local Grocery Store Who says that Farmers’ Markets are the only place you can get vine-ripened, hand-picked cantaloupe carefully grown and harvested by family farmers? Turlock Fruit Company is one of California’s oldest commercial producers of cantaloupe and honeydew melons in the country. They pride […]
Pappas Family: Farming in the “Cantaloupe Center of the World”
Pappas Family: Farming in the “Cantaloupe Center of the World” The sign as you enter the small Fresno County town of Mendota reads “Welcome to Mendota. Cantaloupe Center of the World.” And, while no one is quite sure how this particular community came to have such a distinguished title, everyone who lives in Mendota […]
The Heart and Soul of Legend Produce
The Heart and Soul of Legend Produce It’s all melons all the time at Legend Produce Company. The company, which was started in 1999 by partners Barry Zwillinger and Pat Tucker, is currently the largest supplier of cantaloupe in the U.S. Not only do they grow and ship melons from the major cantaloupe growing areas […]
Meet the Farmer: Bill Colace
Meet the Farmer: Bill Colace Around the country, most farmers are celebrating another harvest and looking forward to the fallow winter season. However, at Five Crowns Marketing, located in the Imperial Valley in very southern California, the last crop of cantaloupes will not be harvested until mid-October. And that’s a big source of satisfaction for […]
Meet the Farmer: Garrett Patricio
Meet the Farmer: Garrett Patricio Garrett Patricio started his career as a certified public accountant and a lawyer in San Francisco and Fresno, but found his calling when he went to work for his family’s business, Westside Produce. Garrett was one of three young hires brought on in 2005 to help modernize the successful company, […]
Meet the Farmer: Alec Smith
The California Cantaloupe Honest to Goodness Blog is planning a series of posts to introduce cantaloupe lovers to the people who grow their favorite fruit. When we called cantaloupe farmer Alec Smith, of Turlock Fruit Company in Central California, he picked up the phone and the first thing he said was –“I was just listening […]