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Watsonville-Salinas:
Weather has been beautiful in our Watsonville-Salinas growing regions - with temperatures even reaching the low 80s mid-week this week. Immediate forecasts show weather to slowly taper off into the low-mid 60s with partly sunny skies next week, but good berry conditions nonetheless. Our longterm forecast calls for very slight chances for rain May 5th and 9th - we will continue to monitor this closely, but as of now, it does not look alarming. Strawberry counts are huge at 10-12, some even 9. Organic counts are 10-12 and still very large as well. The only conditions we are combating are dry calyx here and there in the fields, but nothing significant. We anticipate numbers jumping very quickly here, with our Mother's Day pull taking place between the end of this week and all next week.
Santa Maria:
Santa Maria has had temperatures in the 60s-70s with partly sunny skies and good conditions heading into the weekend. There looks to be some moisture on the horizon for Monday, but nothing significant at the moment. The rest of the week looks mild and temperate in the mid-high 60s. Our conventional crop is 16-18, with Fronteras slightly smaller in both conventional and organic at 18-22 count. Organic counts are 12-14 and look great.
Oxnard:
Temperatures in Oxnard have ranged in the mid-high 60s, with similar weather patterns to continue into next week with partly sunny skies. Our season here is beginning to slow down, with our organic crop pushing another week or two in the season. Counts are 18-22 count and on a 2-3 day rotation. Fruit has a nice sheen to it, and looks solid overall. Labor remains very tight in this region.
Blueberries:
Georgia Blueberries:
Our Georgia blueberry quality looks strong with good size, and firm berries. Growers are moving into the first pick of the Farthing variety and the quality looks good so far on that as well. There was a storm that came through over the weekend with high winds that knocked some fruit off the plants, which caused some minor losses in volume, but nothing significant. We anticipate hitting our peak production at the end of this week and this should last about 10-14 days.
Oxnard Organic Blueberries:
Fruit quality in our Oxnard organic blueberries remains good with large, firm berries. Our field personnel started running the fruit over the packing line today rather than field packing to clean up the issue of stem and flower remains in the pack. The packed fruit today off the line looked good and free of stems and flowers. Weather in this region looks to remain in the mid-high 60s with scattered clouds.
Mexico:
Weather in our Central Mexico growing regions consists of clear skies, dry weather and high fluctuations of temperature from day to night. Daytime temperatures have been in the mid-90s in some regions with no rain in sight. Winds are a threat at times being that they typically range from 8-15 mph - this time of year this is common to see. Raspberry quality is excellent with minor defects at times - including overripe, uneven color and minor thrip damage. Volume should remain as forecasted. Blueberry quality is good, but volume will begin to decrease by week 22. As for blackberries, quality remains good volumes should also taper off by week 22.
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.
It's still April which means we're still talking all things sustainability - one of our favorite topics all year-long! That said, earlier this week the nation celebrated Earth Day and how we can all make a positive impact on our planet – something that we have been working toward improving within the past year within our corporate offices, cooling facilities and on farm through our partnership with Measure to Improve. We have also been working behind the scenes conducting field tests on prototype cardboard clamshells for fresh strawberries.
The cardboard strawberry clamshell called Ready-Cycle introduced by Sambrailo Packaging has received attention by many in the industry, and we have conducted our own real-world shipments partnering with both Sambrailo and Markon Cooperative. We have spent several months working closely with Markon testing the two-pound clamshell in the field for shipments to our distributor partners. After some adjustments were made to the container to ensure fruit integrity, a recent test shipment showed positive results.
Markon Cooperative Inc. is introducing the first of its new line of Ready-Cycle, corrugated, fully-recyclable clamshells, leading the way to reducing the packaging used in the foodservice industry. Beginning with these cardboard strawberry clamshells, this sustainability initiative is their effort to reduce the amount of packaging in its supply chain, while increasing the potential of recyclability.
While we acknowledge the cost-factors associated with the new packaging, the top priority between each of us is making a difference. We look forward to continuing to partner with members of the industry to innovate, find solutions, efficiencies and new opportunities to better serve our customers and consumers.
Attention Foodservice Partners! Your chefs have less than 1 week to submit their recipes.
