Gaylords in Vineland and Bridgeton

The Vineland Cooperative Produce Auction is the anchor. Growers bring crops, buyers bid on them, and the commodities leave in buyers' trucks. Around it, farms in the Vineland and Bridgeton area grow vegetables, melons and squash; processors and cold storage buildings add the packing step.

A grower's year runs through the auction season, and so does the demand for boxes. In the weeks when melons and pumpkins come in, every grower wants bins at once and every supplier runs short. Early orders matter more here than anywhere.

The Vineland Cooperative Produce Auction held its first sale in 1931, was owned in 2010 by 160 growers from six South Jersey counties, has 140,000 square feet of loading docks and sells up to 60 commodities from April through Thanksgiving (Inquirer).

We cite the auction for geography only. We name no grower, buyer or processor, and we state no prices.

This page covers 08360, 08361, 08362 and 08302. The industries to expect there, from our market research: produce auction, vegetable and melon farming, food processing and cold storage.

The auction runs April through Thanksgiving. Melons and squash peak mid-summer to fall; pumpkins close the season; the winter is quiet.

• Buy. Growers wanting octagonal gaylords or harvest bins, with liners where needed.
• Sell. Packers with clean Grade A or B empties after the season.
• Recycle. End-of-season board that is damp or soiled, ready for the baler.

Send your buy request before the season, with the crop and the week you need boxes.

• Consignment. Handing crops to an auction to sell on your behalf for a commission.
• Lot. A batch of produce sold together at auction.
• Squash. A family of crops including summer and winter varieties, moved in bulk bins at harvest.

• The crop and the weeks you need boxes.
• The quantity, and whether you need lids or liners.
• The ZIP and farm address type.
• Whether you can pick up.