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Weather has been similar to Oxnard and Santa Maria with temperatures in the 60s, and rain ahead this Saturday and Sunday, and potentially to roll into Monday. We will also be expecting scattered showers again on Wednesday and Thursday. Monday was the start to our local season but not all growers have begun their seasons and are waiting for the rain and mud crop to pass. Overall, it’s still generally slow around town but more growers are expecting to kick off next week and get into a 3-4-day rotation. Volumes will be slow going into April and will pick up late April-early May. Labor is off to a good start with heavy foot traffic.
Weather this week has been cool, dry and windy with temperatures mostly in the 60s and overnight lows in the 40s. Tuesday, we nearly reached 80 degrees. Beginning this Saturday temperatures will drop, and showers will be on the horizon all the way through Thursday. We are expecting an inch total. Quality of fruit is strong, with Fronteras 16-18 count, firm with nice color and shape. San Andreas is 14-16 count with great color, shape and look beautiful overall. Monterey is 12-14 count with nice color and recovering well from burnt calyx concerns we faced in the month of March and packs look clean. Our Organic Spring Crop looks great at 14-16 count, with strong shape and color. We are picking ahead this Friday and Saturday to get ahead of the rain this weekend. Labor is normal for the time being and we are seeing good foot traffic. Volumes will continue to increase week-by-week exponentially.
Oxnard:
Weather in Oxnard has been mild and sunny mostly in the 60s-70s with nights in the 40s. Beginning this weekend on Sunday rain will be on the horizon and is forecasted to extend through Wednesday. We are anticipating anywhere from 1-2 inches, with the foothills expected to receive more than the ranches in the valley. Following the shower’s, we will clean and assess damages in the fields and be back on track for the following week with heavy volumes still ahead.
Quality is looking good currently among Fronteras and San Andreas, with both varieties mostly 16-18 count, with nice size, sheen and color 90-100 percent. We are not experiencing any issues with labor currently and maintaining consistent social distancing and proper sanitation measures on the field level.
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Mexico:
Weather in Mexico remains hot in the 80s-90s, with nighttime temperatures in the 50s. Most bushberries are under hoops and experiencing temperatures even higher than this. Our primary concerns at this time remain overripe and dehydrated fruit due to warm conditions.
Quality overall looks good and field personnel are keeping packs clean. Blackberries will have low volumes over the next few weeks, and will steady out the remainder of the season. Raspberries are currently steady in volume, and will then be upward trending. Blueberry volumes will be decreasing from now until June.
Blueberries
Central Valley California
One of our ranches in Stockton began harvesting the Snowchaser variety today, which is ripening earlier than expected. Quality is looking great in this region and volumes will increase each week. Organics are just a few weeks out, and conventional production will peak mid-late May.
Georgia
We have been packing light volumes out of Georgia and will begin to increase these volumes week by week. The early pick on Georgia blueberries is already reflecting excellent quality.
Florida
Weather has been mild in Florida and may increase into the 80s next week. Quality is good and the berries are firm with good size.
Oxnard
Fruit quality is mostly good, with only very minor defects here and there. Production will increase in the next few weeks.
Mexico
Quality out of Mexico continues to be good. We are seeing firm berries with good size and bloom. Organic production is slowing down and we’re expecting numbers to decrease soon.
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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Stay tuned for our Back to Basics eBook launch as well in the coming weeks!
School may be canceled, but snack time with California Giant blueberries is in session!
