McAllen, TX – After years of absence from the Rio Grande Valley, Val Verde Vegetable Company is helping cauliflower make a comeback and introducing other new products, including green onions.
In a season marked by strategic changes it should come as no surprise that this third generation company also has an ambitious schedule of variety trials that include not only cauliflower and green onions, but also Malabar (Indian) spinach, golden beets and romaine.
In the past, California has been able to take credit for nearly 90% of all U.S. cauliflower production with various other states growing only small seasonal tracts. Changes in varieties and increased transportation costs created an opportunity for Texas to re-enter the cauliflower market and work to assume a larger share of commercial volume. The same can be said for products like romaine and green onions.
Frank Schuster, President at Val Verde Vegetable Co. commented, “We trial nearly a dozen new items each year looking for both new products and new varieties. We are always looking for items that help our customers and add value to our program.” Schuster continued, “We believe our centralized location and the current economy with its continued increase in costs related to production and freight are starting to give us an advantage over California.”
Harvest of cauliflower and pencil size green onions are now underway with the first shipments starting last week. Currently Val Verde is the only grower in South Texas growing green onions.
Schuster concluded, “The core of our business will always be our leafy green program including items like cabbage, collards and kale, but our focus is on customers. We want to do more to meet their ever changing needs and be a one-stop shop for all their vegetable needs.”
Val Verde Vegetable Co., Inc. is a third generation family farm and grower, shipper, marketer of products from South Texas and Mexico with a specialty in leafy greens and cabbage. Val Verde is dedicated to a culture of quality and committed to always providing MORE.
Source: Val Verde Vegetable Co.
