Crop Report: June 14th, 2021
Tomatoes
Conventionals – All plantings are looking good. Daytime temperatures last week were below normal slowing the ripening process.
San Marzano Style – Fruit is developing nicely and at this time appears to be on track for harvesting upon the completion of the organic tomato harvest.
Organics – Daytime temperatures last week were below normal slowing the ripening process. Crop continues to look good.
Peaches
Organics – Harvest began June 7th and is going well. All normal cultural practices and crop protection continue.
Conventionals – Growers continue to thin orchards due to lack of labor availability. The 4th round of reference sizing will take place this week. Overall fruit size has been tracking smaller than historical averages. Cooler weather last week followed by above average temperatures later this week should help in sizing efforts. Some growers experienced a short, isolated hail event June 9th but no signs of damage have been reported. All normal cultural practices & crop protection continue.
Pears
Crop continues to progress nicely. The fruit is clean, sizing well, and volume remains ample. All normal cultural practices and crop protections continue. Irrigation continues as temperatures rise.
Grapes
Growers are in maintenance mode as crop develops. All normal cultural practices and crop protections continue.
Cherries
Harvest has started. Deliveries will pick up next week when California’s cherry harvest finishes and labor becomes more available. Crop quantity and quality remain good. All cultural practices and crop protection continue as needed.
Apricots
Growers are starting to pick orchards this week. Extreme heat later this week will speed up fruit ripening. Growers are concerned about being able to get enough labor to harvest fruit in a timely manner after the heat wave. Growers continue to irrigate as needed to increase overall fruit size.
Mango
Harvest was late but overall quality is good and ample. Plants continue to face impacts from COVID as they struggled with labor. We continue to face increased costs due to labor and raw material cost increases.
Pineapple
COVID continues to hinder the workforce as labor typically comes into these countries from other Southeast Asian countries. Because of this plants are operating at 65% capacity and are not running as efficient. Crop looks ample & positive for this summer’s pack as well as the winter crop.
Oysters
This year’s crop was good. Overall size was slightly smaller than average. We continue to face increased costs due to supply chain and COVID regulations.