May 23, 2019

Happy Thursday, 

As you may already know, our California growing regions have experienced significant moisture over the course of the weekend and into this week - with totals in Watsonville-Salinas ranging from 1.5 inches or more. As an industry, we are navigating through Mother Nature's unpredictabilities during what is typically a dry month of May, assessing crop damages, cleaning and tending to our fields, and preparing for the quality and volume ahead. This week and into early next, volumes will be slow as we get back on our feet. That said, this is a short setback, as we anticipate strong volumes and crop quality to pick back up by the end of next week as we stabilize our season and head toward peak volume periods in June. Be sure to communicate with our sales team about your orders going into the end of next week and into June, and have a great Memorial Weekend!

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

Crop Updates

Watsonville-Salinas: 

It has been a wet few days in our Watsonville-Salinas region - with showers over the weekend and into this week amounting to about 1.5 inches over the weekend, and about .10 so far this week. Fields are currently being assessed and quality is being monitored diligently. Right now, fruit is primarily being picked off for freezer and rounds of juice in order to clean the fields and maintain quality. Raspberries are set to start going into the first week of June, while blackberries are on track for June 8th. Although we are temporarily adjusting to Mother Nature's curveball she threw at the industry this week, we are forecasting being back on track this time next week with a lot of high quality, large fruit coming in once fields are cleaned and damages are evaluated. Volume for the season should continue to climb again at the end of next week and into June, and quickly. Our peak is still anticipated for mid-June, so while the industry is currently slow due to the storms, we advise not to stray too far from berries. 

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Santa Maria

We had scattered showers in Santa Maria yesterday as well as drizzles into today, with temperatures in the mid-high 60s. Weather has not been as extreme as our Watsonville-Salinas regions, but fields are still wet. There is rain forecasted for Sunday, with the rest of the week looking dry and mild in the low 70s. We are finishing our first round of clean up today and dropping fruit depending on the ranch and variety. Growers and field crews are doing a great job of assessing damages and ensuring a clean pack. San Andreas is currently 20-22 count and Monterey is 18-20 - some larger. The Monterey variety is seeing less damages than the San Andreas and quality is holding up well. Our organic packs look good among all varieties and counts are mostly 18-20.

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Blueberries:

Georgia Blueberries: 

The forecast shows hot and dry weather ahead in South Georgia - this will speed up ripening and color in the Rabbiteye crop. We will start packing load volume of Rabbiteye next week with good volume estimated. 

Oxnard Organic Blueberries: 

Weather in Oxnard next week looks like it will be sunny and in the mid-high 60s. Quality is good for our organic blues in this region. We are mostly harvesting the Jewel variety this week.

Central Valley Blueberries:

There is lot of blue fruit out in the fields throughout the Central Valley this week. Wet weather has delayed some picking this week - growers are also having a hard time getting enough labor to get all the volume picked. There is a lot of competition for labor throughout the valley now with cherry growers in the mix as well. Volume will pick up significantly next week and we will be entering our peak by the end of the week

Oregon Blueberries:

There looks like some scattered showers ahead this week in our Oregon growing region. We are expecting most Willamette growers to be picking large duke volumes the last week of June.

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Mexico:

It has been very hot in our Central Mexico regions with strong winds in the afternoon. Rain is forecasted but has not occurred quite yet, we are monitoring this closely. Nighttime temperatures remain in the high 50s, with some areas in the low 60s. Despite the adverse climate, raspberry packs look clean and quality is holding up well. While some fields being pruned already to start over next season come October, we will have decent volume all throughout June, mostly from the late planted crop from last year. Everything that was planted in September is going to have its peak by the end of June. We are estimating that the season continues through to the second week of July. As for blueberries, we are seeing some small fruit but being diligent at the cooler with packing. Overall, despite small size, we are seeing good quality and flavor. Rain is forecasted for our blackberry regions this week but at this time we cannot determine how significant they will be. Our Mexico blackberries should continue on through the end of the first week of June. Quality is currently good and growers are doing a good selection for packs and avoiding any red cell or soft fruit from the high temperatures. 

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Georgia Blackberries: 

Our first day harvesting our Georgia blackberries was earlier this week and quality is excellent. The weather will be hot and dry for the next few weeks. Volume will increase fast with good weather.

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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

 

News
We're heading to Chicago in a few short weeks and look forward to seeing you all there! We have a lot going on in our booth #7015 this year that you won't want to miss. Be sure to contact our team to schedule any meetings, and be sure to stop by to "Leave your Mark" at our booth - we'll have a 8-foot mural wall that needs our industries help to fill. 
 
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All are invited to leave their signature, handprint, draw their favorite fresh produce items or creative drawings to officially leave their mark on the city as the annual Chicago-based convention soon transitions to a variety of new locations in the future. Bring your creativity, or, our local artist on-site will assist you! We look forward to bringing this mural to life with the colorful array of industry members and commodities that we are lucky to gather with each year in Chicago, and beyond. 
 
 
Consumer Spotlight
    Ending our week on a sweet note after receiving this heartfelt message from one of our consumers! 
 
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Pick of the Week

This week: a special story shared on behalf of one of our customers Mike, President at Shelton Farms.

"My 88 year old Dad, is one of the sharpest "Fruit Peddlers" you will ever find. Jim "Jimbo" currently works 7 days a week (only because there is not 8 or 9 days in them) in our retail Farm Market. Today is 'wild Wednesday' and he plans on making lots of customers happy and move a couple hundred berries."

"There is no such thing as can't." - Jim Shelton, 1958

This story made our day here - thank you for sharing Mike! We're glad 'Jimbo' approves of these 1-lb California Giant strawberries.

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

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