Last week’s rain in Salinas, Santa Maria, and central California was highly unusual. Not unusual that we got rain in October, but unusual for how MUCH. 1-2 inches fell during a 3 day stretch, and that is a LOT for this time of year. Heavy damage was done on strawberries and the fall wine grape crop.

Trucks are readily available, and rates have slipped quite a bit to the east coast. They should continue to slide until the start of the Thanksgiving business that starts in about a month.

Long range weather shows a chance of light rain tonight, but after that, it shows wide open for 10 days, with days in the 70s and 80s.

LETTUCE–the rain hurt lettuce in Salinas and Santa Maria last week, with muddy, wet product, and broken mid ribs due to the brittleness, that will show up red at receiving. Keep in mind that we are winding down the Salinas lettuce deal, and even under GOOD conditions, the lettuce quality gets suspect, as it starts to look tired, and doesn’t have the “legs” that peak season does. The market is fairly steady at the bottom. We could see things go up by this time next week.

BROCCOLI–more demand for west coast broccoli, as the east coast and Canada starts to wind down. There is plenty of product in Salinas and Santa Maria areas, and the quality is second to none. Prices are steady.

CAULIFLOWER–the rain last week actually acted as a shot of fertilizer, and there is plenty of flower out west. However, we are watching the quality and going with fresh product. The rain can cause black spotting, and will show up at the receiving end. Good deals on all sizes, 9s, 12s, and 16s.

LEAF ITEMS–stronger market on red, green, and romaine. Romaine has already been the top priced veg item in Salinas for several weeks now, and things continue strong there. Even though red and green are stronger, there are still deals out there.

CELERY–still no change and the market is on the floor for 24s and 30s. 36s are a bit stronger, and 48s are higher, and hard to find. The reason is that the smaller sizes are going into hearts, and that market continues red hot. We see the same pattern for the next few weeks.

STRAWBERRIES–a REAL mess. That rain put a huge hit on supplies last week, and this week shippers are “stripping” fields, so there won’t be much available until the end of the week. What IS available is NOT good. Lots of light colored fruit, dirt, leathery spots, and just plain nasty. Still, shippers (especially Driscoll) are saying, “if you can’t take the fruit with these problems, give us back your orders”. In other words, if you buy it, you OWN it.

Ed Brem

ed@producewest.com