August 14, 2018

Weather last week was not as hot as originally predicted, which came as a relief to growers in this region. It was a beautiful weekend in the Salinas-Watsonville area, with weather to remain in the mid 70s the rest of the week. Mornings begin cloudy, but wean off into sunny afternoons. Overall, quality looks good among strawberries. Blackberries are struggling slightly to meet quality standards, and our team is working very closely with the cooler and the growers to ensure only the best quality is being packed. Raspberries look excellent with very minimal concerns at this time. Labor is getting tighter industry-wide, with more stories about blocks being left behind. Field workers have begun qualifying for sick pay, and many are taking advantage of this, which could result in the continuation of labor shortages in the weeks ahead. 

Santa Maria: 

Weather started off last week in the low 80s, this week, temperatures will cool down into the moderate 70s, with 50s at night. Organic strawberries look better this week in terms of quality, with more firmness to the fruit. Counts are 26-28, with the occasional 30 count. We are mostly dropping small fruit when packing, with most fruit looking good overall. As for our Portola - we anticipate this crop ramping up quickly and will likely peak end of September early October. This crop has a lot of flowers coming in with great quality on the way. As for blackberries – they continue to look strong, with only minimal issues recorded such as minor leaking and red cell here and there. Our peak among blackberries is forecasted for the first few weeks of September. Overall, there have been no reports of labor issues, with the season cruising along nicely. 

Blueberries:

In Oregon and B.C., we are seeing a steady supply of northwest blueberries for the next 10 days. Looking ahead, supply will begin to decline at the end of this month as we finish our last picks in the field. Our supply will be light, but will have blueberries in this region through the month of September. Following that, our export season will be well underway.

 Markon Field Tour: 

We had a great time taking our friends at Markon out to our strawberry fields last week. From explaining the growing process, answering eager questions, to even taste-testing fruit straight from the field - it was a success from start to finish. We always enjoy our summertime tours with our partners and look forward to more in the weeks ahead.

For a lot of consumers, another school-year has already kicked off or their first day is right around the corner. Not only does the new school-year pose as the perfect opportunity to get back on track nutritionally, but it’s a great time to set some personal goals, get active with friends and explore new ways to meal prep. In addition to gearing this promotion to our ‘mother of the household' demographic, we are excited to continue to promote back to school to our college-age consumers as well. We realize that not only are mother’s focused on their children’s health and nutritional choices while away at school, but our millennial demographic is motivated to find healthy snacking choices while on-the-go – and did we also mention, on a budget? Consumers can find an eBook geared to their Fresh Start with recipes ranging from smoothie bowls, homemade Lara Bars, and quick ‘n easy strawberry guacamole. With each entry, consumers have the chance to win a $250 gift card to start the year off right! Remember to keep berries front and center as lunch box combos and dorm room snacks become that much sweeter with California Giant berries.