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Watsonville - Salinas:
Weather this week is forecasted to be in the mid 60s- low 70s with partly cloudy days ahead. No rain is in the immediate forecast, and Mother’s Day weekend should be bright and sunny. Fruit is huge and quality is great - we have an abundance of stems underway for the holiday festivities ahead in May.
Santa Maria:
This week weather is expected to be mild and temperate in the high 60s – low 70s with mostly partly cloudy days. Conventional fruit is 15-18 count, and quality looks great on all varieties. Our only challenges include minor bronzing and scarring developing from wind events the last couple weeks. Organic berries also looks great, with some at 14-16 count, and others 18-22 count.
Oxnard:
We are in the peak of our season which started last week and will continue for the next two to three weeks. The weather has really helped with the fruit quality - cool nights in the low 50’s, and mild days from 68-74 degrees. Size of the fruit has come off a little at 18-24 count, but shape and condition are very good. Organic fruit continues to be steady in volume and condition is holding up nicely.
Mexico:
Rain is on it's way. All regions are scheduled for some rain this week. It appears that we're going to start off with isolated rain and then transitioning into full rain by the end of this week or early next week. All regions are in the 80s and have been partly cloudy with some wind. The rain forecast begins tomorrow with 40% and up to 80% by next week in all regions.
Quality in the blacks is good - issues are minimal. Raspberries are holding up well, though there's quite some fruit going to juice due to inconsistent coloring and some overripe issues. Blueberries are making good quality with minimal defects.
Blueberries:
Oxnard organics are currently peaking in production and will be steady for the next 3 weeks. Varieties include Emerald, Jewell and Springhigh. Weather this week looks to be perfect and sunny, with a warming trend ramping up this weekend.
Georgia is seeing steady production, and will be increasing rapidly by the weekend. Varieties include Emerald, Star, Sweet Crisp, Patricia, Rebel, and San Joaquin. Weather has been sunny and warm, with no rain in the forecast.
Central Valley blues have had cool weather which has slowed down the ripening of the fruit. First day of harvest in the Central Valley is projected to be May, 10th, with steady production on the way starting in 14 days. Weather is forecasted to get very hot this week in the low 90s range, which will bring on the fruit in a hurry!
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’ve updated our Trade site yet again with all the useful shopper insights you need to stay in-the-loop! From shopper data, to retail category trends, to quarterly retail data – our Trade site has been designed specifically for our partners as a platform to bring you industry information conveniently and efficiently. All you have to do is visit our site here and click on which data you would like to see more of, and we’ll send full reports straight to your inbox. Sound easy enough? Good, that’s our goal!
In our latest shopper data report we’ve learned that the primary age of our shopper database is 37-56 years-old – consisting of both Boomers and Generation X. Did you know that 82% of those shoppers are female, and also the primary shopper within their household? We think those are interesting insights that give us a deeper dive into learning more about our consumers and how and where they choose to shop. Want to know how often these consumers are buying berries, or what type of recipes they are most interested in right now? Request to download the full report, and you can!
We’re just about 3 weeks out from the submission deadline for our First Annual Chef Invitational and we are so excited about the recipes we have received thus far! We don’t want to give too much away… but we’re seeing recipes that range from pickled strawberry usage, to Mexican-flared berries. We love the creativity and innovation so far, and look forward to a few more weeks of submissions! Submit your top chefs and recipe creations, and don’t miss out on the chance to compete against the best of the best, and the opportunity to collaborate with us and our community. That’s right, local cheese, wine, chocolate, and many other businesses and vendors are sponsoring the event and will showcase their very own products for attendees to taste and sip as they watch the showdown unfold. There’s still time to participate and join all the fun if your recipes make the cut!
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
We spotted our classic blue and red Cal Giant label in this local Costco, and the berries are looking huge!
