Happy Wednesday!
We are halfway through the week, and halfway through the month with a lot of updates underway. We are counting down to CPMA next week in Vancouver, and are looking forward to meeting and speaking with our industry partners in a few short days! Speaking of counting down.. Mother's Day is just around the corner. Though weather has been scattered with rain the past few weeks, we will have a lot of large, fresh stems just waiting to be chocolate-dipped for the special ladies in our lives. Be sure to contact our sales team to place your Mother's Day orders this week.
For more information, including crop and weather reports, please scroll below.
Watsonville - Salinas:
Watsonville is on the chillier side today, with a 40% chance of showers this evening. The same odds of rain are forecasted for Salinas as well. Temperatures should increase later in the week into the low 70s, and there does not appear to be chances of rain the rest of this week into next. This Monday’s rain started early in the morning with a big downpour around 9am and scattered showers throughout the day. Rain totals ranged a quarter of an inch to half an inch depending on ranch location. We are seeing damage in some fields damage. Despite weather conditions to start the week, our crews are doing a good job cleaning the plant and putting a good pack together. We forecast being back into a regular packing schedule toward the end of the week.
Santa Maria:
We are seeing chances of rain today with temperatures in the mid 60s – mid 70s this week. Nighttime lows are in the 40s-50s. Forecasts look to be dry in the days following. Fruit volume is increasing week by week, with counts among all varieties mostly 14-16 – with size to increase with cooler temperatures underway. We foresee full color and firm berries moving forward – with plenty of labor and foot traffic in our fields.
Oxnard:
We are looking at 50% chances of rain today, with temperate, partly cloudy days ahead in the low high 60s – low 70s and nighttime lows in the low 50s. Forecasts look dry in the days ahead. We saw record temperatures last week in the Ventura County – but our ranches were not impacted as we have coastal farms that were able to pick up an ocean breeze. Temperatures are anticipated to stay moderate in the immediate forecast, and fields are loaded with very good quality fruit. We should see this pattern of good volume and quality to continue for the next 3-4 weeks.
Mexico:
Our Mexico regions remain hot, but showers are underway for Los Reyes tomorrow, with Ziracuaretiro forecasting showers and possible thunderstorms for the weekend and into the following week. Volume among blackberries and raspberries are low but expected to increase in the next 2 weeks.
Blueberries:
Our Oregon blueberries have started to flower and are off to a good start. We anticipate harvest in this region to kick off in the next few weeks as we approach the month of June. Our Oxnard blues are looking good, and our Georgia blues are loaded with great size.
Oxnard Blues
Georgia Blues
Oregon Blues
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.
We are 3 months out from our 5th Annual Tour de Fresh and we couldn’t be more excited. With a long(er) 4-day ride ahead, and lots of funds to raise to bring salad bars to schools – our riders mean business! The goal of the 2018 Tour de Fresh and its participants is to privately finance 50+ new salad bars in school districts across the country. At a cost of approximately $3,200 per salad bar per school, this is a small investment that makes a BIG impact. Since 2014, Tour de Fresh has raised more than $600,000 to provide salad bars to schools across the United States and we could not have reached our year-5 Tour de Fresh milestone OR raised these funds without the support from our generous riders and sponsors.
This year, we are throwing a Finish Line Festival at the Wharf Marketplace July 26th to celebrate our rider's accomplishments! You can expect to see involvement not only from our Premier Sponsors and Finish Line Festival Sponsors who will have 10x10 tents to hand out swag, samples and more, but we are also inviting our community to join us! That's right, we're bringing out a local band for live entertainment, our local Jamba Juice truck with delicious smoothie samples, the Monterey Sports Center representatives, and more. We still have some Finish Line Festival sponsorships that you can snag if you want to join in on the fun and showcase your own company tent. This is a chance for heightened brand exposure within the community, and not to mention, one of our most exciting new sponsorship opportunities to date!
Click here to learn more about how you can get involved in this year's Tour de Fresh and how to solidify a sponsorship spot. Want to check out and support some of this year’s riders? You can donate to the rider of your choice here. We can’t wait for another successful Tour with all of you!
We are exactly ONE MONTH out from our recipe submission deadline for our First Annual Chef Invitational event taking place this July. Do you want to participate? All our foodservice partners have to do is submit an innovative recipe creation and bio from 5 or more of their BEST chefs. We'll select our favorites after the May 18th deadline, and invite the top 5 chefs and recipe submissions to compete at the Tehama Golf Club in Monterey for the chance to recreate their dish and be named Top Chef. Did we mention a plethora of awards and incentives for not only the winner, but also for our 5 participating chefs? Don't miss out on the opportunity to collaborate with us on this creative, innovative, and tasty event!
For more information on the First Annual Chef Invitational and how to get involved, please inquire with Cal Giant Director of Foodservice Tom Smith at tsmith@calgiant.com
This Salinas Costco is loaded with our juiciest 2lb. strawberries!
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