Here we go. As the desert enters its final weeks, many of the shippers start to move crews and equipment out of the desert growing areas to northern areas such as Huron, Oxnard, Santa Maria, and Salinas. Unfortunately, with items such as broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, and various leaf items, we won’t know what area we will be picking up until the DAY we need to pick up. That really messes up the truck and the load. But, we go through this EVERY transition period, twice a year. Its just part of the produce business.
We had a bit of rain and wind over the weekend throughout California over the weekend, and the temperatures are very cool right now. But, long range shows gradual warming and little chance of rain for the next 10 days. That should get us through most of the Easter business pull, which would be a nice treat, for a change.
Plenty of trucks, although as we start picking up volume on strawberries, demand is starting to pick up, so we will see rates start to climb up a bit during these next weeks. The Easter “pull” starts this weekend, continuing into next week.

LETTUCE–a few shippers still going in the desert, but many have switched to Huron for the Spring. Actually, some shippers will start in Salinas next week. Quality is a real mixed bag. The desert lettuce is getting old and tired, while the new areas are showing some internal problems, as well as lighter weights and irregular head size. Again, its what we go through during transition times.

BROCCOLI–continuing battle with crowns. There just isn’t much crown material out there, even with all of the new areas going, including Salinas. We should see better numbers next week, but this week will be a tough go. We are seeing as much as an $8-10.00 SPREAD in price between bunch 14s and crowns.

CAULIFLOWER–light supplies continue, but demand has certainly fallen off. Retails have changed, and now demand is suffering for it. We are expecting warmer weather this weekend, so supplies should pick up, and the market should start coming down by this time next week.

LEAF ITEMS–supplies really scattered. Some shippers have red and green in the desert, and romaine in Huron. Others have green and romaine in Salinas, and red in the desert. Prices aren’t doing much, its just trying to put loads together that make “geographic sense” that is the problem.

CELERY–overall stronger market across the board, especially on the smaller sizes and hearts. Celery isn’t what it used to be for Easter, so we don’t see the market doing too much next week.

STRAWBERRIES–supplies picking up out West. But, there is also a VERY wide range in price. In fact, we are seeing as much as a $6.00/box SPREAD between Driscoll label and some lesser known brands. Easter business starts pulling this weekend, so we should see A LOT of berries shipped out these next 10 days. Fortunately, there is no rain forecasted, and slightly warmer days should help bring on more supplies.

ASPARAGUS–tough time of the season. The desert is finishing up this weekend, while the Stockton/Lodi areas are still trying to pick up some numbers. Currently, the market is fairly weak, but shippers are putting out HIGH lid prices starting this weekend and into next week’s big Easter pull. We’re skeptical about this Easter season. With the economy the way it is, we aren’t so sure that there will be the demand the shippers are hoping for. The lids they are giving out for Easter are $15-18.00//box HIGHER than the current market. So, the ads could fall flat. We’ll see.