Happy Thursday!
It sure does feel like spring in our California berry growing regions - weather has been beautiful this week, and berries are of abundance. We have a lot of fruit on the horizon for the months ahead and look forward to seeing berries on display, on the menu and on the table. We would also like to announce effective Monday, April 29th, we will be adding an additional two layers to each 8-1-lb pallet to maximize freight on trucks. Receivers will need to adjust their internal receiving systems by April 29th to accommodate this shift in quantities per pallet to ensure proper counts on arrival. Please contact our sales team should you have any questions regarding this change. We hope you all have a Happy Easter!
For more information, including crop and weather reports, please scroll below.
Watsonville-Salinas:
Weather this week in Watsonville-Salinas has been beautiful - temperatures have been in the mid-high 70s and the sun has been shining. Crews are still cleaning up their mud crop here and there, but overall, most growers have kicked off the season, with next week the season expected to be 'all in' and completely ready to go with all crews and growers. Volume is increasing each week, and counts are generally 10-12 and full color, with very large fruit in the fields.
Santa Maria:
Weather this week started off slightly cooler with very minimal rain Tuesday, and has since transitioned into gorgeous weather conditions with temperatures in the 70s-80s and sunny. We expect these conditions to persist through the weekend and a warming trend to reappear next week as well. San Andreas is 15-17 count, with nice quality and the most consistent of our varieties at the moment. Fronteras is 18-22 count and has seen better quality this week than previous weeks. It tends to transition between 3 different shades of red, but the warmer weather should keep it on track the next few weeks. Monterey is 14-15 count and quality is block to block, crew to crew - with most defects being weather related. Overall, quality is good with some burnt calyx and bruising here and there, but nothing alarming or significant. Our organic fields look excellent with great quality and volume increasing overall week by week. Labor continues to be a non-issue in this region.
Oxnard:
Weather has been in the 60s-70s, with consistent temperatures in the 70s the rest of this week and into next - with sunny skies on the forecast as well. Fronteras is mostly 16-20 count and 90-100% color and great quality. Our organics look very good at 18-20 count, and also 90-100% with steady volume the next 3 weeks. Labor is very tight right now - with foot traffic hard to come by.
Blueberries:
Georgia Blueberries:
Weather this week in Georgia looks good with the exception of some storms tomorrow. Quality has been good with firm berries and few defects, with our peak week beginning next week through the end of the following week.
Oxnard Organic Blueberries:
Oxnard weather this week into next should be warm and temperatures will be in the mid-high 70s with sunny skies. Organic blueberry quality has improved since last week, with recent picks showing large, firm berries.
Mexico:
Our Central Mexico region has experienced some very hot temperatures lately in the high 90s. Days are getting longer and the heat in the afternoon is becoming very noticeable as April-May are the hottest months of the year. We foresee no rain in sight, yet winds do become a concern here and there as they can make hoops collapse. Raspberry quality is excellent and an increase in volume is expected for May-June - with a big spike in numbers the last week of June. Our main concern for our raspberry crop continues to be thrips (pests) but we are keeping up with necessary prevention within the fields. Blueberry crops have past their peak of production and volumes are slowly starting to decrease. Quality has remained very good, but with slightly smaller fruit due to warm weather. Volume should remain steady until the third week of May. Blackberries will remain steady in volume the next few weeks and quality remains good, with only reported defects being minor leaky berries and thrip damage.
For up-to-date weather conditions in all of our growing regions, click on the region below. Wunderground.com is our go-to weather resource for fast and reliable weather updates.
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