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Watsonville - Salinas:
Last week we had relatively good weather with a few overcast days. The weekend warmed up quite a bit with a heat wave, which helped to push out more berries. Quality looks good for the most part and production is still high. We have seen 10-12 count for most conventional, some 14-16. Our organic Sweet Ann variety is holding great size. However, fruit size should size down over the next week or two.
Santa Maria:
Weather has been in the high 60s - low 70s and falling to the high 40s. With an abnormal warming pattern now behind us, we are seeing weather calm back down. Fresh quality is looking strong with big, firm, and full colored berries. Organic is packing 16-18 count, some 20. We are packing more of our Monterey variety and quality is holding up well.
Mexico:
There is more rain all week is expected with temperatures still relatively high in the high 70 and low 80s. Saturday the 9th will be the last day of the season as weather has made things extremely difficult with the sweltering heat. Also, we have faced complicated trucking and logistics situations in tis region, which has made it rather difficult to move fruit. We have a lot of Mexico raspberries on the way, with more planting taking place last week.
Blueberries:
Pacific North West
Organic blueberries from Eltopia, Washington are about two weeks out. The field looks great as the fruit is sizing up and coloring now. Growth stage: 5-10% blue fruit, 50% pink fruit, 40% green fruit expansion. Ripening is variable throughout the field. The blocks on the top of the hill seem to be a few days ahead of the lower blocks. The ten day forecast has daily highs between 75-90F. Nighttime lows will be 45-55F. The estimated first pick date is June 15-17.
Georgia
Our later season varieties will be ready to harvest soon.
Central Valley
Steady production, coming down from our peak this week. For the next 2 weeks production will be declining. Hot, sunny days are in the forecast. Large fruit size and firm berries.
Georgia Blackberries:
We just started to harvest our Georgia blackberries so volume will slowly start ramping up. Fruit and field quality looks good, but some heavy rainfall is on the way so stay tuned with our sales team on how that might affect availability.
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.
California Giant Berry Farms is pleased to announce two new employees to join our sales team.
Meet Liz Frank, our newest Sales Claims Analyst. This position is new to California Giant, and we are excited to see the growth it brings to our department. Liz is responsible for preparing supply and demand forecasts, and collecting and analyzing data to evaluate current sales goals. She will also be developing quarterly and annual sales plans based on product supply and demand scenarios, while analyzing sales, pricing and promotional activity. Liz's cross-functionality with our internal sales team will be significantly valuable in ensuring our success.
Meet Melissa Schmitt, our newest Sales Coordinator. Melissa helps support our foodservice sales staff on their day-to-day tasks regarding their various accounts. These responsibilities range from order entries, passings, troubles, and more. Say hi to Melissa next time you call our company line!
It's jam & jelly season this summer, and we don't take it lightly here at California Giant! We are big jam & jelly fans, and love utilizing our berries in deliciously sweet spreads. We're calling all consumers to join in on the JAMberry, and show us their best jam & jelly recipes for a chance to win some fun prizes!
Consumers can stay tuned on our social channels this summer season for 8 more opportunities to win additional prizes!
We are SO excited to announce the launch of our new Foodservice page on our web site. This new edition to our site will serve as a reference for our partners in all things foodservice related - from menu trends, insights from the web, and of course - updates from our First Annual Chef Invitational. Check out our 5 finalists and their delicious recipes they plan to recreate at the showdown in just over a month!
Our organic blueberries are stacked at this Costco in Redmond, Washington!
