Downloadable Radicchio and Chicory Chart
Bitter is better this fall and winter, and OGC is happy to help get as many heads of colorful, crisp and flavor-packed radicchio and chicories into the hands (and hearts) of more eaters!
Boldly Grown Farm: Really Into Radicchio!
Boldly Grown Farm was built upon a very specific vision and followed a strategy that few first-time farmers take. Amy and Jacob decided early on that they would focus on wholesale relationships rather than try their hand at farmers markets and retail-direct sales. They also made the decision to grow exclusively fall and winter crops.
Grow Mushroom Sales with Mycopia!
Fall holidays frequently mean a tight mushroom market, which can impact availability on standards such as Crimini and White Button. To supplement, look to specialty varieties from Mycopia to help fill any gaps, expand mushroom sets, and increase category sales!
Catch Up on the Latest with OGC’s Ladybug Brand!
A year ago, OGC introduced a fresh new look for Ladybug Brand™, our growing line of certified organic fruits and vegetables grown on farms big and small by farmers in the Northwest and beyond. The Ladybug Brand product line is expanding to include products with year-round availability and the packaging will be evolving in the future as we aim to reduce the use of plastic.
Fall Favorites: Fuyu & Hachiya Persimmons
Most shoppers have a favorite fall fruit. Apples and pears abound, but for the discerning eater, only a persimmon will do.
Celebrating Lucas Crawford
Twenty-five years is an incredible milestone to reach at any company, especially one like OGC that has grown alongside a rapidly changing sector such as the organic produce trade.
Lucas Crawford, OGC Senior Account Representative, shares that among the many things he’s enjoyed during his two-and-a-half decades of service is the rate and scale of change. That has been exciting to participate in. Starting as a warehouser and driver, as the ninth employee at the Portland facility, Lucas has been a part of the company’s evolution and played a role in shaping the business that OGC has become.
Celebrating Transitions: Spring Hill Organic Farm Sprouts Sunrise Organic Farm & Eloisa Organic Farm
The progression from summer to fall recently inspired OGC to reflect on the theme of “transitions.” Supporting the next generation of organic farmers, and finding opportunities to prioritize more growers of color, are two of OGC’s priorities. While not new news to those in the Pacific Northwest’s community of growers and purveyors of organic produce, Jamie Kitzrow and wife Lisa Schwartz’s retirement from farming in 2019 and their subsequent passing of the torch from Spring Hill Farm to Sunrise and Eloisa is a lovely story to share this time of year that touches on both themes.
Download OGC’s NW Winter Squash Chart to See What’s In & What’s Ahead!
Organic Winter Squash season is upon us and delicious cucurbits of all shapes, sizes and flavor profiles are steadily streaming from the fields of our Northwest grower partners. Now through early 2022, the options are plentiful with numerous varieties of squash perfect for every type of retailer to satisfy your customers’ cravings!
Stock these Apples to Wow Shoppers in Early October
The good times keep rolling in apple-land with new varieties landing each week! Need inspiration for your next order? Look no further. Here are six organic apples we know you and your shoppers will love!
And remember: the key to a strong apple set includes “something for everyone!”
OGC’s Friend Lane Selman Wants You to Eat More Winter Squash and Radicchio, Too!
This fall, Lane Selman, founder of Culinary Breeding Work (CBN), Professor of Practice at Oregon State University, and passionate produce fanatic, is partnering with OGC to help us encourage our community of farmers, retailers, and eaters to grow, buy and enjoy more organic winter squash and radicchio - two categories on which Lane is an expert!
We’re dedicating today’s Spotlight to introduce Lane’s connection to OGC and her years of work with farmers, researchers, retailers and chefs to expand these two exciting categories. (Spoiler alert: It’s happening and it’s delicious!)
Stock These Five Early-Season Apples!
The deluge of domestic organic apples has begun and now’s the perfect time to capture eager eaters' attention with some of the most delicious varieties available! The trick to creating a successful apple program is to bring in a mix of colors and uses to satisfy the needs of a wide range of shoppers. Alongside standard favorites like Honeycrisp, Fuji and Gala, these five apples will have eaters dreaming up all the ways they’ll incorporate apples into their menus this fall!
Cute and Craveable Kiwi Berries At Peak Season
Packed with vitamins and antioxidants, sweet and tangy organic kiwi berries are the perfect, poppable snack for eaters of all ages. Resembling a standard-size kiwi, but more similar to a kumquat in scale, this perennial vine is native to Japan, Korea, Northern China and far-east Russia.
NW Apple Season Off To a Delicious Start!
Northwest apple season is upon us, and OGC is looking forward to all the crisp, sweet and flavorful apples our region grows. From standard favorites to unique heirloom varieties and newer hybrids, there’s an apple for every type of eater.
OGC’s apple expert, Buyer Brian Keogh, shares a category outlook and early, mid and late-season varieties to round out a strong display. Be sure to download our Northwest-grown apple chart, too!
Little Garden Farm Represents a Big Dream Realized
This is the final chapter of our four-part series on Denison Farms’ transition with the story of Little Garden Farm.
Like Commonplace Farm and Riverland Family Farms, this small, family-run organic grower has benefitted from Tom Denison and Elizabeth Kerle’s commitment to ensuring the next generation of young farmers find success in an increasingly challenging landscape.
We wish Tom and Elizabeth the best as they enjoy their next chapter and hope you join us in supporting these three fantastic growers!
NW Grape Season, Short & Sweet!
Late-summer offers up some of the most deliriously delicious fruit the Northwest has to offer, and the brief but bountiful organic grape season tops the charts! With varieties that present plenty of excitement and nuance, these special grapes add interest to fruit displays. Shoppers will be sure to adorn their charcuterie, fruit bowls and desserts with supple, gorgeous grapes.
From Punjab to Corvallis, Riverland Family Farms Carries On A Legacy
“Our culture, language, music, food is all influenced by farming,” says Inder Singh of the fertile Punjab region in India that he, his business partner and brother-in-law Tal Singh, and their families hail from. “We’re a multi-generational family of farmers. My father farmed, as did my grandfather and many before him.”
California-Grown Organic Esquire and Keitt Mangos Long on Flavor!
Located in the Coachella Valley, near the Salton Sea, our friends at Corona College Heights have grown, packed and shipped citrus for over 100 years. They also market the only domestically grown, certified organic mangos!
In Pursuit of More Than Farming, Commonplace Farm Looks to Long-Term Community Investment
Beyond just gorgeous specialty lettuce, chicories and fresh herbs, Jeremy and Ashli Mueller are using acreage purchased from long-time organic farmer Tom Denison to make the career of farming accessible to future generations.
From His Early Days at Good Time Trying Farm to Denison Farms, Tom Denison Reflects on Four Decades of Farming and His Decision to Retire
For over four decades, Denison Farms has been a household name to many shoppers in the Willamette Valley who have purchased their organic produce at area farmers markets. Tom is one of the earliest organic farmers in Oregon to find success at scale, and created a farming model that set the benchmark for many in the region.
Now, a year since the last pint of berries was sold under the Denison Farm name, OGC takes a look at how Tom’s decades of experience helped to make way for a new generation of organic farmers and his inspiring story of succession planning.
Join us as we share the four chapters of Denison Farms’ transition from Tom’s early days of farming and the sale of his life’s work to three next-generation Willamette Valley growers now coaxing crops from the land.
Okra is On! Give this Gorgeous Crop the Attention it Deserves
On a field trip to eastern Washington and Oregon this week to visit OGC’s growers in the region, farmer Alan Schreiber of Agricultural Development Group shared with us his beautiful and impressive okra crop. Standing in a field of chest-high plants, Alan offered a lesson on this under-appreciated fruit (yes, okra is a fruit that’s eaten as a vegetable).