April 5, 2021

Strawberries

Oxnard: 

The berries enjoyed temperatures in the low 80’s last week that were joined by strong Santa Ana winds of 30-40 mph with gusts hitting 50 mph, causing significant dust storms over our fields.  

Quality: Fruit continues to look good, though the dust has hurt the sheen on some blocks. Shape and taste are good. Coloring is at 95-100% and sizing is starting to vary.

Volume: There is a nice fruit load on the plants. Production is expected to increase week over week for the next four weeks. 

Pack Counts: Conventional: 14-18 / 18-20 ct. depending on the ranch.

Santa Maria:

Quality: Growers are reporting a significant amount of crooked fruit and split tips as a result of the cold weather events a few weeks ago. Up to 30% of the fruit is being dropped due to split tips from hail scarring. 

Volume: Harvest numbers will stagnate the next 7-10 days. This is caused by dry winter conditions and severe weather at the beginning of March. 

Pack Counts: Conventional: 18-20 ct. / Organic: 18-20 ct. 

Mexico:

Quality: Overall quality is good.

Pack Counts: Conventional: 25-28 ct.

Watsonville/Salinas:

Harvest Status: Growers are on track to begin harvest around week 15. Volume is expected to drastically increase week over week thereafter. 

Blueberries

Mexico

Quality: Quality is very good with good size, bloom, flavor, and firmness on both organic and conventional product. 

Volume: Mexico is currently in peak blueberry production.

Oxnard

Quality: Quality of this all-organic crop is good with firm berries and good bloom. The only minor defects in the pack are some debris from attached blossoms and stems of which crews have added new corrective actions in an effort to mitigate this.

Volume: Production is expected to be strong and steady for the 5 weeks. 

Central Valley, CA

Harvest Status: One grower is harvesting light volumes. The rest of the farms are projecting a start date around April 17th.

Quality: Berries are firm with good bloom. The only minor defect present in the pack is some redback.

Florida:

Weather in our growing regions has been very inconsistent. They are currently experiencing some below average temperatures for this time of year, which is slowing ripening and causing production to continue to be light this week. 

Volume: While production is currently light, growers expect volume to increase quickly by week 14. 

Georgia:

Harvest Status: Georgia growers are projecting a start date of April 10th. April volume is expected to be light. Significant volume will begin coming on around May 1st.

Raspberries

Mexico:

Quality: Overall quality is good with an occasional broken fruit and irregular ripening. 

Volume: Production remains steady. 

Blackberries 

Mexico:

Quality: Quality remains good with an occasional red cell. 

Volume: Production is projected to increase in the next few weeks.