Most of us remember that old Wendy’s commercial, “Where’s the beef?”. Well, we can say “where’s the biz”, when it comes to the produce business! Not much demand for just about ANY fruit or vegetable item has everyone scratching their heads and looking under every rock for sales. As a rule, this time of year, with school back in session, local produce deals still pumping out product, and backyard gardens continuing to produce, it is a typical September. We need cold weather to hit the East coast to dry up their supplies, although don’t tell the local farmers that! “That” time year is around the corner, and we should see business pick up in the next few weeks.
Trucks were a bit short last week due to the Labor Day holiday getting them off track, but things are now back in order, and there are plenty around. Rates continue to slip.
Long range weather in the growing areas on Salinas show warm, mild days and nights, which is normal for this time of year. East coast weather for growing conditions show cooler temperatures, but not cold enough to end their growing season.

LETTUCE–still plenty of product and prices are “flexible”. Huron won’t start their Fall deal for another month or so, and we will continue to have supplies in Salinas well into November. Quality, for the most part is pretty decent, although there are some arrivals that show some complaints. It is important to stay with shippers that are on “top” of their fields, and don’t get behind, because as we start to wind down Salinas, the quality starts to get “iffy”, and you want to buy as fresh as you can.

BROCCOLI–lots of competition from East coast suppliers that are covering that area of the country. Supplies in Salinas/Santa Maria aren’t overly heavy, and growers here plan for that because of the flood of East coast supplies. With their lighter supplies out West, they are able to keep the market fairly strong. Still, there are plenty of bunch 14s, 18s, and crowns available.

CAULIFLOWER–the roller coaster ride is still going, and last week there were a FLOOD of supplies. Today, things are about the same, but we expect the market to get stronger as this week goes. Not because of demand, but supplies will start to dry up.

LEAF ITEMS–romaine is starting to drift downward, while green and red leaf are steady. Last week, we saw as much as a $5.00/box spread in price for romaine. We are now seeing prices from their higher priced shippers drift downward, giving us less of a “spread” in price. More “flex” with those folks.

CELERY–still a very wide range in price with just about all sizes of celery, especially the smaller sizes. We are seeing as much as a $6.00/box SPREAD in price, depending upon the size, between the “mostly market” shippers, and the “preferred” labels, such as Dole. Overall, the market is steady from the past 3 weeks, and we don’t see much change for another 3 weeks.

STRAWBERRIES–about the only change here is that Driscoll expects to pick up more volume, from where they have been the past month, or so. Still, they will be $3.00-4.00/box higher than the mostly market, because they CAN. Quality-wise, Driscoll is still the best, and few shippers even want to attempt to send their labels to the East coast, for fear of bad arrivals. However, even Driscoll’s arrivals are starting to get more “off and on” now. This is that time of year.