That is what the Baja growers are wondering this year. I had a terrific trip to Ensenada the week of October 11th to meet with the growers / owners of Viva Organica Farms. If you could ever imagine a perfect growing location and then add passionate farmers this is the place. David and Lidia Rifenbark along with Jaime Parada are the managing owners of the farm and the driving force behind this project. David is a tomato fanatic and it shows in the green houses. The imagination they use at the farm in making their own compost and compost tea from worm castings is really cutting edge, taking control of the quality and integrity of the inputs they use. With an emphisis on food safety and sanitaion you will be amazed at the lush plants growing inside the houses. We are happy to be a part of this great farm and now will join them in wishing for some better weather for the region, as excited as we get about the farm we are limited in supply due to the cool weather pattern they have had for most of the year. Make sure to keep in touch with the sales office so you can be tuned into this project. The main items we will have over the next few weeks are Red Grape tomato and Tomato on the Vine. On our way out of town back to San Diego the group took me to an incredible seafood feast, Jaime is one of the best at ordering for the table and he did a great job this time, again! We enjoyed Bay Scallop Ceviche with mango, strawberry and avocado, Clam Ceviche, Tempura Oysters in a sesame soy sauce, fresh grilled Mahi Mahi with a black fig sauce, mixed Seafood Burritos some with shrimp and some with smoked marlin, Squid Tubes in a caper sauce (Like Buttah!) these were especially delicious and tender.
Season is at it’s Peak!
we made it past the worst week of the year, PMA week here in the states.
We are enjoying excellent quality and happy customers. November will begin the stretch run to Thanksgiving…
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Our Organic Asparagus is Here!
Guanaco and Maragos Labels Available for U.S. and Canada
Watsonville, California (September 30, 2010) – A&A Organic Farms is now offering their organic asparagus from South America. After partnering with two well established growers in Argentina, A&A Organic Farms’ can guarantee a strong supply of organic asparagus for U.S. and Canadian retailers and distributors.
After launching the Guanaco brand in 2009 and entering their third season with the Maragos label, A&A Organic Farms has established a strong relationship with two of the main organic asparagus growers in Argentina. Growing in the Túlum Valley, grower Andres Barbieri packs the Maragos label and expects to harvest more than 8,000 cases of product for A&A Organic Farms. As for the Guanaco labeled product, “Richard Martin of Finca Fresh grows for us in the Argentine Patagonia,” A&A’s President Andy Martin explains, “and we will import around 20,000 cases from him this season.” In addition to excellent supply, the asparagus packaging is retail friendly, packed in eleven pound bunches with PLU tags and labels that include English and French text so that the product can be imported into Canada.
A&A Organic Farms received their first air shipment of organic asparagus into Miami about two weeks ago and supply is now strong on the East and West Coasts. With this being the beginning of the harvest season, A&A Organic Farms expects production to steadily increase and peak during the month of October, then wind down around the Thanksgiving holiday in late November.
Representing some of the strongest organic asparagus growers in South America, A&A Organic Farms is entering their ninth season as an organic asparagus importer and is well experienced in importing fresh product. “The key to our success is that we are representing and selling on behalf of these two growers, not buying from them, which allows us to have the flexibility to contract with supermarkets and distributors in a way that other importers are not able,” stated Mr. Martin. “And all of our product is Jet Fresh so the quality is excellent!” Between the growers’ and A&A Organic Farms’ experience, retailers and distributors can be confident that product will be top quality.
An Array of Organic Produce Available this Fall at A&A!
Let’s Start with Our Tomatoes!
From our locally grown heirloom tomatoes to an assortment of tomatoes from Baja, customers can look forward to getting all their organic tomatoes from A&A Organic Farms. Weather willing, we’ll have heirlooms from the Hollister area -very popular and in high demand!- through October. In addition, we are excited to distribute tomatoes using our new A&A Organic Farms packaging. All items are available in clamshells with bilingual labels (English and French). These organic tomatoes are available in Los Angeles year-round and include beefsteaks, heirlooms, mini romas, tomato on the vine, red cherries, red grapes, and mixed medley.
Oh, So Much More Good Stuff in California and Miami…
We are excited to announce that the fall asparagus season from Argentina has officially started. We are currently receiving 11# bunched, organic green asparagus into Miami and we will soon have product available for customers in the Los Angeles area. We are featuring our Guanaco brand with a bilingual tag (English and French) and our Maragos brand (soon to be bilingual with French). We expect supply to be excellent through Thanksgiving. Also available in Los Angeles are our cucumbers, zucchini and green beans. And what would fall be without all the amazing winter squashes? We will have organic butternut, spaghetti, kabocha and green acorn squashes in Salinas and Hollister.
Product Availability in October, November and December
· Asparagus · Beets – Gold & Red · Red Bell Peppers · Broccoli · Cabbage · Cucumbers · Fennel · Ginger · Winter Squash
· Onions · English Peas · Tomatoes · Zucchini · And More!
***Ask about organic bing cherries from Argentina. We will be shipping them November 25th through December 10th***
A&A Organic Announces New Name
President Andy Martin Chooses Name that Represents Connection to Growers
WATSONVILLE, California (August 24, 2010) – A&A Organic Marketing, Inc., a grower and shipper of organic produce, has changed their company name and logo to A&A Organic Farms Corp. “We felt that changing our name better represents who we are and what we do,” explained President Andy Martin.
With nearly two decades of experience serving as a sales agent for organic farmers, A&A Organic Farms has expanded their role as a grower and shipper of organic fruits and vegetables. Due to an increase in demand for specific products, A&A Organic Farms now grows some of their own products including broccoli, cabbage, chards, kales, leeks and radish. By growing their own product and selling it under the A&A Organic Farms label, A&A expects to ship more domestic products and guarantee a steady supply to customers. “We are partners with a number of dedicated local farmers as well as farmers in Mexico and South America,” Martin explains, “and it is our goal to represent this network of growers by opening sales channels using our contacts and relationships with supermarket chains and produce distributors.” Over the past several years, A&A has developed invested partnerships with growers in South America allowing them to market the Inka Fresh label for Peruvian grown organics and the Guanaco label which represents Argentine grown organic produce.
A&A Organic Farms assists growers with national sales and distribution programs, crop plans, package design and marketing strategies. They are a family-run business committed to honesty, integrity and exceptional customer service. A&A’s growers operate small to medium sized family-owned farms. Ultimately, A&A Organic Farms’ priorities are to ensure that today’s farmlands are available for future generations, to protect the environment and to safeguard the health of farm workers. Together, A&A Organic Farms and their farmers are working to bring healthy and delicious organic food to consumers nationwide while continuing to protect the environment.