October 24, 2019

Happy Thursday!

By now we hope all of you are well-rested and caught up from the PMA Fresh Summit Convention in Anaheim last weekend. We had a great show and appreciated all the opportunities we had to meet and discuss our 2020 initiatives with our partners. It's warm and windy here in our California growing regions and despite the heat, crop quality is remaining steady. As for our international crops in Mexico and South America - quality is great and volumes are gradually increasing. We hope everyone has a safe and sunny weekend!

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

Crop Updates

Watsonville-Salinas:

Weather in Watsonville-Salinas has been warm and dry recently, with temperatures in the 80s-90s, with today potentially reaching 96 degrees. Temperatures will cool down a bit next week into the 70s with sunny skies and favorable conditions. No rain is on the forecast for at least the next 15 days. A handful of growers will begin planting
next week for the next season. Come mid-November our bushberry volume will decrease significantly. Quality has been steady and berries are firm - counts are mostly 22-26 and overall crops are looking good as we near the end to the season within the next few weeks.

Santa Maria:

Weather has been warm and windy mostly in the 80s-90s, even reaching the 100s around some areas of town. Next week, temperatures should decrease into the 60s with nighttime lows in the 40s. The cool nights are expected to help increase fruit size. As for quality - the Portola variety is holding on well with counts 16-18 - nice size and a good fruit/flower set. Crews are doing a great job of cleaning up crooked and soft fruit. The Monterey is looking better with nice flower and strong fruit coming in at 20-22 count. The Organic Fall Crop is 26-28 count, some 32. We are still dropping a decent amount of fruit but quality is looking much better than previous weeks. Planting is coming along well, and we should have everything in the ground by Halloween for our spring crop - with organic planting to wrap up in November. We are continuing to stay on top of a consistent harvest and planting schedule.

Oxnard:

Santa Ana winds are in full-force in our Oxnard growing region - with gusts reaching 40-45mph, but mostly staying around 25-30 mph. Temperatures are ranging in the upper 80s-low 90s and should taper off next week into the low 70s with winds to die down. We expect to begin harvest of our organic crop at the end of November-early December. More photos to come as the season progresses.

Mexico:

Blueberries -

Production is looking great and both Jalisco and Michoacan are increasing in volumes. The weather has affected the ripening of the fruit from Irapuato, but the other regions have helped to maintain the projected estimations. Quality, bloom, size and firmness are all looking good.

Raspberries -

The fields are looking great with more fruit on the plant. Weather has affected some crops but crews are working diligently to keep packs clean and only pack the best quality. The cool and crisp weather ahead will help us increase quality and normalize the maturation of the crops - with the hopes for clear, dry weather ahead. Quality, color, firmness and size all look good among our raspberries at this time.

Blackberries -

The production in this region was heavily affected by constant rains. The only fruit that we are receiving is from growers that are utilizing plastics that have protected the crops from the recent rainfall. Despite weather, the crops we have are looking good in color, size and firmness. With the right weather, numbers should increase in the next few weeks.

Strawberries -

Production is increasing in strawberries slowly but surely and growers are beginning to work with us on exportation. Counts are 26-28, with good color and firmness. Numbers will increase each week.

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rasp 43

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South America:

The Biloxi variety in Peru looks good in origin, and warm temperatures have allowed for steady harvest volumes every week in our farms in both Trujillo and Cañete. As for Argentina and Uruguay, temperatures have been warm since last weekend and thunderstorms are now forecasted for this weekend. The Snowchaser variety is still the main variety being harvested in this region, showing good appearance in origin. In Metán, Emerald is the primary harvested variety showing great size and firmness. High temperatures the last few days have accelerated ripeness and volumes. As for Chilean blues - Emerald and Ventura are our main varieties at this time showing nice appearance and firmness. Weather is also warm and favorable here with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-high 70s.

Florida:

Weather in Florida has been warm in the high 80s with nighttime lows in the low 70s. Next week, temperatures should drop into the low 80s, and low 60s at night. It is essentially a 'waiting game' around town at this time as growers and field personnel wait for the crop to kick off, with an anticipated harvested date still projected for 11/9. Despite the rainfall and minor flooding throughout the Florida region last week, our crops and fields were unaffected and plants are looking strong at this time.

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.

News

Another successful and FUN Tour de Fresh in the books! The 6th annual Tour de Fresh, made possible by each of our dedicated and hardworking riders, supportive sponsors, supporters and industry members is breaking records. This year's Tour de Fresh has exceeded all previous year's of fundraising, with the current total at $179,943 - the most that has ever been fundraised to place salad bars into schools!

You can still donate to the cause everyone in the industry is talking about. With everyone's support and generosity, we can continue to bring increased access and produce options to schools all across the nation and feed the minds of future generations!

A HUGE thank you to everyone that helped make the 6th annual Tour de Fresh possible. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2020!

Consumer Spotlight

Music to our ears!

Pick of the Week

California Giant berries spotted at the Tour de Fresh Finish Line Ceremony in Anaheim last week - talk about a refreshing snack on a hot day!

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

October 24, 2019

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