February 4, 2019

Happy Monday!

We hope you had a great weekend and Super Bowl Sunday. Regardless if your team won or lost, we hope you had a blast watching the event and hopefully enjoying some berry snacks along the way. This week, more rain sweeps our California growing regions affecting our harvest schedule and expected volumes. Our Florida and Mexico regions continue to have mild, temperate weather with sunny skies. In the meantime, be sure to check in regularly with our sales team regarding availability this week, and stay dry out there!

For more information, including crop and weather reports, please scroll below.

Crop Updates

Watsonville-Salinas:

We've received quite a lot of rain in the past few weeks during these January storms, with February starting off as a wet month as well. Crops are soaking in the moisture and nutrients, and harvest should kick off in the next few weeks once weather dries and temperatures warm up a bit. Plants are looking good overall, and a lot of fruit is on the way for spring.
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Santa Maria

Santa Maria fruit took some damage from the 2.5 inches of rain we’ve received the last few days. We anticipate showers through Tuesday - with potentially another half inch on the way. We are seeing minor damage on most fruit with color, cracking, splitting and some decay. This will require a round or two of clean up before we get back on our regular harvest routine. Overall, temperatures are in the 50s-60s, and more rain is forecasted again next week. Please be in touch with our sales team regarding inventory and our picking schedule at this time.
 

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Oxnard:

Rain has continued off and on throughout the morning - we had a particularly strong cell pass over us not too long ago. Picking conditions are slow due to the muddy furrows. We will continue to pack some fresh as weather permits, but do anticipate a decent amount of rain damage. The fruit being packed this morning looked fine, but the fruit and baskets are understandably wet. Color of the fruit has a lot of variance due trying to pick ahead of the rain - mostly 85-95 percent color, and size is still is holding at 14-16 count. Please be in touch with our sales team regarding inventory and our picking schedule at this time.

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Mexico:

Mexico fruit is looking good and defects are very minimal across the board for all commodities. Strawberry counts vary, but overall counts are 22-24 some more, some less. Our stems are also looking good just in time for the Valentines holiday. After next week, there is a possibility of strawberries beginning to downsize due to a rise in temperature. Raspberries are downsizing - meaning growers are 'cutting back' - a practice that involves growers pruning the canes in half. This method stops production and comes back in a few months to allow for easier, more efficient harvest methods. Blackberries have minimal defects and good quality at this time. Blueberries, per usual, have good quality overall and look great in size and color. 
Temperatures have been around the 80s during the day with sporadic clouds, and nights down in the mid-high 40s. Temperatures will rise 5-10 degrees by the end of next week and it looks like the hot season will end slowly enter after that.
 
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Blueberries:

Our organic blueberries in Oxnard are coming on great and the quality and flavor is excellent. Chilean blueberries remain good in quality, firmness and flavor, with a hot week ahead, and lots of sunshine on the horizon for all of the growing regions in Chile.

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Florida:

Plants in Florida are absolutely loaded with red and green fruit and still pushing bloom. Temperatures will continue to warm up into the high 70s and low 80s this week, with lots of volume expected for the next month. Counts are running 12-18 with lots of size for stems, and quality looking excellent.

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Weather Conditions

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. 

Watsonville

Salinas

Santa Maria

Oxnard

Mexico

Georgia

Florida

South America

 

Rainy Day Berries

With all the rain and cold temperatures sweeping much of the country, and specifically back here in California, we couldn't help but have rainy day berries on our mind. Warm, comfort foods are being sought out from consumers during these winter storms, and berries fit perfectly into that cozy equation.

See below for our top Rainy Day 'picks' to add to the menu:

Spiced Buttermilk Grits with Berry Compote - Grits are trending this winter and making a comeback on the dining table. These are the definition of comfort food with the perfect combo of sweet and savory. We'll take a night in with a bowl of these ANY rainy day. 

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Peanut Butter and Berry Waffles - Your guests will feel like a kid again with this take on the classic PB&J. Wake up slow, sip on some coffee, and indulge in this berry-stacked breakfast. 

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Spiced Berry Sangria - Got the rainy day blues? This Spiced Berry Sangria will cheer you right up. Pair this spiced cocktail with a mouth watering entrée and you have yourself the perfect date night out. Because wining and dining is the only activity that makes sense on a gloomy day!

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Blueberry Chocolate Chip Cookies - One of our most beloved, consumer-favorite berry recipes. Who doesn't love a warm, melt-in-your-mouth cookie? Blueberries are full-swing in our Chile and Mexico growing regions. These little dynamos pair perfectly with chocolate chips for any dessert dish - just add a big glass of milk, some hot coco, or some Bailey's and coffee and your rainy day will be turned upside down.

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Individual Berry Crumbles - Grab a spoon (or two, if you're willing to share) and dive into this dish. Berries take center stage during the cold winter months, as baking and indulging become top of mind to consumers, and there's nothing like skillet-berries to treat yourself! The only thing missing is a fireplace and a cocktail. 

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Consumer Spotlight
This local berry lover is ready for the Watsonville-Salinas season to start back up, and we are too. Just a few more weeks to go!
 
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Pick of the Week
Check out the California Giant blues at this Phoenix Walmart!
 
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  Send us your own "pick of the week" and we will feature it here!


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