California strawberry acreage sees slight increase
California strawberry acreage sees slight increase
Although unusually heavy rain in January caused some delays in the Southern California strawberry harvest, growers say that plants are healthy, new fruit is coming on strong, and there should be good volume for the Easter pull.
California strawberry acreage increased by anywhere from 1,700 acres to 3,400 acres each year from 2001 to 2004. This year, the increase is only 998 acres, an increase of about 3.2 percent, according to the California Strawberry Commission?s 2005 acreage survey.
Total planted acreage for 2005 is estimated at 32,636 acres.
Southern California strawberry acreage increased at a slightly greater percentage than the state as a whole, increasing by 506 acres over last year, or about 3.8 percent. That puts total Southern California strawberry acreage, consisting of the Oxnard district plus Orange and San Diego counties, at 13,790 acres, about 42.2 percent of the state total.
Acreage declined by 15.2 percent, or 442 acres, in Orange and San Diego counties, leaving just 2,457 acres in production. Acreage had held steady in the two counties in 2004 after increasing for each of the two prior years.
Oxnard acreage, however, is up over last year by 9.5 percent, giving the district a total of 11,333 acres, approaching the 12,250 acres in Watsonville-Salinas, the largest producing area.
The increase in Oxnard is not expected to mean greater volume during the winter and early spring period, however, because much of the acreage increase is in summer plantings for fall harvest. Nearly 30 percent of Oxnard?s acreage is now summer plantings.
In Orange and San Diego counties, the previously dominant Camarosa variety has now been overtaken by the newer Ventana by a scant 0.2 percentage points. In Oxnard, Ventana tops Camarosa by a more decisive 22.8 percent to 15.6 percent, but proprietary varieties dominate with 59.1 percent of the acreage, according to the commission.
Ventana is an earlier producer than Camarosa, giving a more robust start to the season, all else being equal. This year, however, heavy January rains diminished the early Ventana harvest from its expected levels, although growers were expecting a return to normal harvest volume by mid-February.
Tim Youmans, national retail sales manager for Watsonville-based Driscoll Strawberry Associates, said the rainfall in January has affected all varieties across the board. The plants are healthy, however, and he expected the crops to recover nicely after Valentine?s Day.
Dan Crowley, sales manager for Well-Pict Inc. in Watsonville, said that the company is up about 10 percent in its Southern California strawberry acreage. The company expects to be harvesting 500,000 trays or more per week in March, with volume increasing in April as the company?s Santa Maria acreage kicks in.
Stephanie Hilton of Beach Street Farms in Watsonville said that the company hopes to do more volume this year out of both Orange County and Oxnard. "We?re looking forward to more supplies in the early part of the season," she said. "Our goal is to supply customers 12 months out of the year," a goal the company anticipates achieving in 2005.
Ms. Hilton attended the Orange County Retail Field Day on Jan. 27 and spoke with The Produce News on Feb. 1. "The berries we had last week [had] great size," she said, with good color, flavor and aroma.
Most of Watsonville-based Pacific Gold Farms? Southern California strawberry harvest this winter will take place in Irvine, according to Steve Johnston, vice president of sales. He told The Produce News Jan. 28 that the size and conformation of the berries were "encouraging." It appeared that heavy rains in early January "have not created a bunch of misshapen stuff," he said. "I couldn?t ask for larger or better-shaped berries."
Eric Schwartz, president of Dole Fresh Vegetables Inc. in Salinas, CA, said that the company has Southern California production in Ventura County (including Oxnard), Riverside County and Coachella. Oxnard and Riverside County face a three- to four-week delay because of rain, he said, noting that mildew will affect some of the crop in the aftermath of the rains. There should be ample supplies by March, so the early Easter shouldn?t be a problem, he said.
?We had a warm spell right after the rain last week," Don Hobson of Boskovich Farms in Oxnard said Feb. 1. That brought on a burst of fruit. "It just really exploded, so volume is picking up pretty good."
Doug Circle, president of Sunrise Growers in Placentia, CA, told The Produce News that the nursery stock, which is grown near the California-Oregon border, has "more natural chill? this year. That, combined with early rains in October, "really made for strong plant establishment," he said. "A frost following Thanksgiving "made the plants that much stronger and increased the dormancy that the plants need to produce both the quality and the volume."
Rains since Christmas, while causing some short-term crop loss, also helped plant health, so the plants "are well set up to produce some of the best quality fruit we have seen," he said. "We think we have a real good foundation to work with."
Mr. Circle finds it "amazing that we could have six to eight inches of rain and those plants can be as resilient as they are." He added, "We are still going to get basically our volume in January that we originally anticipated. Even though we lost 10 days of actual production, the volume has come back. So we are really happy about harvesting the fruit that is both the quality and the condition that we have, and I don?t think we will have any long-term effects from all the rain we have had so far."
(A full report on California strawberries appears in the Feb. 12 issue of The Produce News.)
California strawberry acreage increased by anywhere from 1,700 acres to 3,400 acres each year from 2001 to 2004. This year, the increase is only 998 acres, an increase of about 3.2 percent, according to the California Strawberry Commission?s 2005 acreage survey.
Total planted acreage for 2005 is estimated at 32,636 acres.
Southern California strawberry acreage increased at a slightly greater percentage than the state as a whole, increasing by 506 acres over last year, or about 3.8 percent. That puts total Southern California strawberry acreage, consisting of the Oxnard district plus Orange and San Diego counties, at 13,790 acres, about 42.2 percent of the state total.
Acreage declined by 15.2 percent, or 442 acres, in Orange and San Diego counties, leaving just 2,457 acres in production. Acreage had held steady in the two counties in 2004 after increasing for each of the two prior years.
Oxnard acreage, however, is up over last year by 9.5 percent, giving the district a total of 11,333 acres, approaching the 12,250 acres in Watsonville-Salinas, the largest producing area.
The increase in Oxnard is not expected to mean greater volume during the winter and early spring period, however, because much of the acreage increase is in summer plantings for fall harvest. Nearly 30 percent of Oxnard?s acreage is now summer plantings.
In Orange and San Diego counties, the previously dominant Camarosa variety has now been overtaken by the newer Ventana by a scant 0.2 percentage points. In Oxnard, Ventana tops Camarosa by a more decisive 22.8 percent to 15.6 percent, but proprietary varieties dominate with 59.1 percent of the acreage, according to the commission.
Ventana is an earlier producer than Camarosa, giving a more robust start to the season, all else being equal. This year, however, heavy January rains diminished the early Ventana harvest from its expected levels, although growers were expecting a return to normal harvest volume by mid-February.
Tim Youmans, national retail sales manager for Watsonville-based Driscoll Strawberry Associates, said the rainfall in January has affected all varieties across the board. The plants are healthy, however, and he expected the crops to recover nicely after Valentine?s Day.
Dan Crowley, sales manager for Well-Pict Inc. in Watsonville, said that the company is up about 10 percent in its Southern California strawberry acreage. The company expects to be harvesting 500,000 trays or more per week in March, with volume increasing in April as the company?s Santa Maria acreage kicks in.
Stephanie Hilton of Beach Street Farms in Watsonville said that the company hopes to do more volume this year out of both Orange County and Oxnard. "We?re looking forward to more supplies in the early part of the season," she said. "Our goal is to supply customers 12 months out of the year," a goal the company anticipates achieving in 2005.
Ms. Hilton attended the Orange County Retail Field Day on Jan. 27 and spoke with The Produce News on Feb. 1. "The berries we had last week [had] great size," she said, with good color, flavor and aroma.
Most of Watsonville-based Pacific Gold Farms? Southern California strawberry harvest this winter will take place in Irvine, according to Steve Johnston, vice president of sales. He told The Produce News Jan. 28 that the size and conformation of the berries were "encouraging." It appeared that heavy rains in early January "have not created a bunch of misshapen stuff," he said. "I couldn?t ask for larger or better-shaped berries."
Eric Schwartz, president of Dole Fresh Vegetables Inc. in Salinas, CA, said that the company has Southern California production in Ventura County (including Oxnard), Riverside County and Coachella. Oxnard and Riverside County face a three- to four-week delay because of rain, he said, noting that mildew will affect some of the crop in the aftermath of the rains. There should be ample supplies by March, so the early Easter shouldn?t be a problem, he said.
?We had a warm spell right after the rain last week," Don Hobson of Boskovich Farms in Oxnard said Feb. 1. That brought on a burst of fruit. "It just really exploded, so volume is picking up pretty good."
Doug Circle, president of Sunrise Growers in Placentia, CA, told The Produce News that the nursery stock, which is grown near the California-Oregon border, has "more natural chill? this year. That, combined with early rains in October, "really made for strong plant establishment," he said. "A frost following Thanksgiving "made the plants that much stronger and increased the dormancy that the plants need to produce both the quality and the volume."
Rains since Christmas, while causing some short-term crop loss, also helped plant health, so the plants "are well set up to produce some of the best quality fruit we have seen," he said. "We think we have a real good foundation to work with."
Mr. Circle finds it "amazing that we could have six to eight inches of rain and those plants can be as resilient as they are." He added, "We are still going to get basically our volume in January that we originally anticipated. Even though we lost 10 days of actual production, the volume has come back. So we are really happy about harvesting the fruit that is both the quality and the condition that we have, and I don?t think we will have any long-term effects from all the rain we have had so far."
(A full report on California strawberries appears in the Feb. 12 issue of The Produce News.)
