Visit Our Other Sites
Happy Monday and first day of May!
This month is a busy one for berries as our fruit begins to peak, and we can’t wait. Despite the slow start in the fields this week due to a ‘Day Without Immigrants’ – labor will be back at its normal speed come Wednesday – just in time for our Mother’s Day pull.
For more information, including crop and weather reports, please scroll below.
Watsonville - Salinas: Weather will be warming up into the low 80s during the week with chances of rain this weekend. Despite the next few days of clear skies - fields are still recovering from damage of previous rainfall. Last week and early into this week we will stay focused on cleaning up damage and pin rot. In the face of weather damage, crops have still head up relatively well - counts are 10-14, with an average of 12-14. With that said, fruit is still big and healthy, and volume is expected to continue to grow week by week the whole month of May.
Santa Maria: With a warm trend emerging last week and continuing into this week, we can expect temperatures to stay consistently in the 80s the next few days until the end of the weekend. The heat is pushing things a bit - so we will see how the crops hold up. As of now crop quality still looks pretty good, with Monterey and San Andreas both having a lot of fruit and much to come. Volume is expected to be steady the next few weeks, with organic strawberries expected to peak next week, and then a subtle decrease overall as we enter week 4. Most berries are 18-20 count depending on the ranch and variety.
Oxnard: Weather this week will closely mirror that in Santa Maria - warm and dry for the majority of the week. Temperatures will range from the high 70s - low 80s, with showers predicted for the end of the weekend come Sunday. Volume is predicted to be steady for the next 3 weeks, with a 2-3 day picking rotation. Most varieties are 24-26 count, with Fronteras and San Andreas holding up in size and looking great.
Mexico: Our Mexico blackberries are experiencing some warm weather – with highs in the 80s and lows in the 50s in the Ziracuaretiro, Los Reyes and Tangancicuaro regions. In Ziracuaretiro quality is looking ok – main defects being green and red cells. It is believed that the fruit is turning black when picked dark red, while other exporters have a high tolerance on that defect – we are trying to change that idea to get better quality. In Los Reyes quality is looking good, with the occasional overripe fruit. Tangancicuaro is looking great with minimal defects. Picking up our fruit from Tangancícuaro in a cooling van and bringing it to our Megabastos cooler has gained us more volume, as we have shortened the distance between the cooler and fields.
Georgia Blueberries: Rain is in the forecast this week for our Georgie blues, which could limit production in the days ahead. However - despite potential rain setbacks – our highbush blueberries have peaked, and are expected to be consistent for the next 2-3 weeks. Later varieties will begin production at the end of this month and will be harvested for 2-3 weeks. Our organic blues are just hitting their stride, and should have a steady volume for the following 2-3 weeks as well.
California Blueberries: As for our California blueberries – warm, sunny skies are in our forecast for the next few days with organics in Southern California at their peak, which should remain steady for the next 2-3 weeks. Overall volume is expected to stay stable through May. Central Valley organic and conventional blues will experience light picking this week with stable production going forward. Starting around May 10th volumes will be steady through the middle of June.
Here's a peek at our Watsonville raspberries! These sweet berries begin their harvest this month. Who's excited?
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.
We are back again with more highlighted insights from the 2017 Packers Fresh Trends Report, and this week it’s all about blueberries.
Blueberries are ranked the 8th most purchased fruit with 45% of consumers saying they have purchased them in the last 12 months. According to the study, when considering ethnicity, Asian consumers led the charge as most likely to buy blueberries at 58%. They have had this status for three years in this report. Caucasians, on the other hand, come in at 48%, and overall 52% of shoppers are female. 59% of blueberry purchases made are from household incomes making $100K or more and have two kids. The highest purchasing by region of the U.S. is the upper Midwest, followed by the western states. These small but mighty berries are packed with a sweet punch, and continue to stay a consumer favorite.
Talk about a display! Reynolds in Montana sure do love their California Giant Berries.
Send us your own "pick of the week" and we will feature it here!