Tom Consalo hopes strong fall follows consistent summer
Tom Consalo hopes strong fall follows consistent summer
VINELAND, NJ — Summer 2014 in southern New Jersey saw ideal growing conditions and fairly steady pricing, according to Tom Consalo, vice president of The Freshwave LLC, who is now hoping that the state’s fall produce deal will show this same kind of consistency.
“The summer’s been good. I don’t know that we’ve seen a summer with such near-perfect growing conditions,” Consalo told The Produce News on a warm, pleasant, sunny day in late August — just the kind of summer day the company executive was referring to. “We’ve had warm days, mild nights, no extremes. You couldn’t ask for better growing conditions as far as weather is concerned. It’s been exceptional.”
Tom Consalo of The Freshwave in Vineland, NJ.Those growing conditions have made for “a steady and strong summer,” he said, with excellent quality on virtually all produce crops. As he put it, “Quality has been a non-issue.”
On the subject of pricing this summer, Consalo stated, “Pricing has gone hand in hand” with the ideal growing conditions.
“With the theme of no extremes [in weather], pricing was fairly steady. A few things lagged, but not enough to complain about.”
Looking ahead to New Jersey’s fall produce deal, the young executive said, “We’re hoping to keep the same kind of consistency as far as growing conditions — and hoping for good movement.”
He added, “This time of year always seems to lag a bit,” as people are away enjoying summer vacations in late August, for example. “But with school starting, we’re looking to have an active season.”
The steady conditions this summer have played a part in helping retailers utilize local produce, noted Consalo. “These kinds of conditions made it easy to plan promotions with retailers,” he stated, as retailers enjoyed steady supplies of consistently high-quality Jersey produce.
Offering lettuce as an example, Consalo said that there was less product coming out of California during New Jersey’s spring deal, and “there was more interest from retailers in New Jersey lettuce. So we are hoping that this interest in New Jersey lettuce will be strong in the fall,” he stated. “We’re looking to have a strong fall season on lettuce.”
