February 28, 2020

Happy Friday!

We are here in Tampa, Florida and gearing up for the SEPC Southern Exposure tomorrow and are looking forward to meeting with all of you! Be sure to stop by our booth #217 to talk all things 2020 berries, learn more about our 3rd Annual Chef Invitational, sustainability initiatives and more.

We'll see you soon!

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

Crop Updates

Watsonville-Salinas:

We have been having very favorable weather conditions with temperatures in the 60s-70s and mostly sunny skies. Temperatures will begin to cool significantly come next week back down into the low 60s for daytime highs. The Watsonville-Salinas season is right around the corner and the longterm forecast is dry. We should begin harvesting in a few weeks with our most advanced fields. Most ranches will start middle- end of March. We could see activity in the industry next week but overall, most fields won’t start harvesting until the end of March. Pictures are conventional Monterey.

Santa Maria:

Today will be overcast and warm in Santa Maria, with temperatures in the high 70s. Sunday will cool off significantly into the high 50s, with temperatures to stabilize the week after into the 70s with partly sunny skies. Our Santa Maria crops are looking good, with Organic Fall Crop counts 20-22, minimal green shoulders and seeing less pin rot from the recent frost.

Oxnard:

Oxnard weather is going to be very similar to Santa Maria - with warm temperatures and cloudy skies ahead today, cool temperatures Sunday, and back to moderate conditions next week. Fruit quality is very good, with nice shape and sheen, coloring at 95-100 percent and sizing at 14-16 count. The plants are loading up with a lot of nice looking fruit, and volumes will have strong increases each week, barring any extreme cold weather. The crop will be very substantial from the middle of March and onward, and will continue into April. This is one of the heavier crop sets we have seen in a while, mostly due to the colder winter months we had.

Mexico:

In general, all Central Mexico regions continue with the same temperatures and mostly sunny skies. Most regions are experiencing weather patterns ranging from low 50s at night and up to the high 80s-low 90s during the day. Changes in temperature will increase the occurence of strong winds, and increase the risk of lifted plastic covers.

Blueberries

Blueberry volume will increase due to higher temperatures, and quality remains consistent. Jalisco is expected to increase most substantially in numbers due to the heat on the horizon.

Organic Blueberries

Organic blueberry production will increase and quality is just right. The production will be primarily concentrated in Jalisco.

Raspberries

Raspberry volumes are projected to continue to increase and the quality is just right for exportation. The weather will affect production due to high temperatures; however, the growers will maintain proper quality.

Organic Raspberries

The production will gradually increase and the quality is excellent. The location of the growers operations helps to mitigate weather problems.

Strawberries

Strawberry production will decrease. The high temperatures are affecting all strawberry growing regions. Maravatio is the zone that is less affected and continues to produce good quality. Growers are adjusting their operations to ensure quality.

Blackberries

The production for next week will increase and then we will be finishing up the fourth week. Field personnel are working diligently to maintain quality.

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Blueberries:

Mexico

Quality out of Mexico continues to be good.

South America

Volume is light out of Chile as the season is winding down. Week 10 is our last week with Chilean arrivals on the forecast.

Oxnard Organics

Quality is looking very good on Oxnard organics. We are not seeing any issues with stems or flowers and packs are remaining clean this season. We are currently harvesting the Snowchaser and Springhigh varieties.

Florida

We will be producing light volumes of Florida blues throughout March.

Florida:

Florida weather has changed drastically from last weeks 90-degree weather to highs in the low 60s this week and very chilly weather. However, the cooler weather is perfect for this crop late in the season. These berries are full color, sweet, firm and have great shine and sheen. Come by our booth #217 at SEPC tomorrow to see for yourself!

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.

3rd Annual Chef Invitational

Chef Invitational Recipe Submissions are due in TWO MONTHS!

In case you haven't heard the news, we're taking the fun on the road this year and heading up north to Portland, Oregon with our 2020 Chef Finalists. What does it take to become a Chef Finalist? We're asking both retail and foodservice chefs to submit their very best berry-inspired main dish or dessert recipes featuring California Giant berries.

2020 Chef Invitational Recipe Submission Criteria:

Each recipe must use 15 or fewer ingredients, not including berries
Berries must be a main ingredient, not a garnish, and at least 1 cup total must be used
All spices, oil, salt, pepper, etc. are NOT included in ingredient count
Recipe can be a main dish or dessert
All recipes must be entered accurately into online portal and include detailed ingredients, quantities, and instructions, in addition to a high resolution photo of the completed dish, a short chef bio, and high resolution chef head shot.
Failure to submit the above will result in disqualificationo Once submitted, recipes and photos will become the property of California Giant

The Chef Finalists selected from the recipe pool will be invited on an exclusive, all-inclusive trip to the Pacific Northwest to tour our blueberry operations, participate in varietal tastings, meal events, one-on-one time with our growers, educational activities and more. This year more than ever, our focus is to educate and inspire chefs across all sectors to innovate and create with berries, which ultimately, will drive more sales to the berry category and keep berries top of mind in the kitchen. There will only be one California Giant Top Chef, and Chef Finalists will learn criteria for what it takes to win big while in Portland. Who's ready for a very blue adventure?!

Think your chefs have what it takes to compete? Be sure to send them the 2020 Guidelines and link to our Recipe Submission Portal. The deadline to submit recipe(s) is May 1, 2020.

Good luck chefs!
#poweredbyberries #poweredbychefs

Consumer Spotlight

Quality berries is what we stand for, and we love to see shoppers notice the hard work from our growers!

We received a phone call this week from a Walmart customer, Gino Davis. He said he LOVES our California Giant strawberries and he wanted us to know that we are doing everything right.

Pick of the Week

The prettiest 'Pick of the Week' we ever did see! Our Brand Ambassador Ashley with Fit Mitten Kitchen made this scrumptious Yogurt Strawberry Bundt Cake for National Strawberry Day yesterday. Who wants a bite?!

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Send us your own "pick of the week" and we will feature it here!

February 28, 2020

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