If buyers of Coachella Valley grapes and vegetables are operating on the same timetable as last year, which led to production earlier than ever, they are on the right path.

Shipper after shipper indicated that the perfect spring weather, which had plenty of sunshine, little rain and mild temperatures, has produced a crop even earlier than a year ago. With micro-climates and varying production elevations altering start dates, virtually everyone said they were earlier than ever before.Grapes out of the Coachella Valley are early this year. Nick Bozick, president of Richard Bagdasarian Inc. in Mecca, CA, prides himself on being the first grape producer in the valley. In 2014, for the first time ever, the company picked its first grapes on April 22. This year they beat that start date by picking some vineyards on April 20.

Steve Root of East West Unlimited LLC in Coachella, CA, pushes all his grapes toward the start of the deal. In 2014, he picked earlier than ever before on April 27. On April 17 of this year, he revealed through some iPhone photos that his crop was “almost there” with picking only a few days away and certainly no later than last year’s start date.

Franz De Klotz, managing partner of Pasha Marketing LLC in Mecca, credited the perfect weather for producing not only early vegetables but ones that were high-quality and looked almost perfect. He said temperate spring weather with virtually no wind has created a great growing and marketing situation.

George Tudor of Tudor Ranch Inc. in Mecca expects this year’s table grape crop to produce about a fairly normal volume of fruit. Years ago, he said, volume was much higher but urbanization has decreased the acreage and he noted that there just isn’t any great undeveloped land left. Tudor said the Coachella Valley consistently produces about 6 million carton of grapes. He said on April 20 the fruit looked great and he was fielding many calls from retailers across the country who were eager to switch production areas. Tudor said the Chilean fruit in the marketplace was nearing the end of its season and buyers were eager to jump on the new crop of fresh grapes.

No one spoke of any hot new trends, but in both the grape and vegetable arenas, the stand-up pouch is apparently gaining much popularity. According to virtually all the shippers, it is a pack that has gained favor among retailers. They claim it is a very good option that shows off its contents very well. From mini-peppers to grapes, it is being used extensively.

Though California is suffering through its fourth year of drought, the Coachella Valley, smack dab in the middle of desert, is not experiencing water shortages.

The Coachella area gets the vast amount of its water from canals coming from the Colorado River, as a result of an agreement made with the federal government several years ago. While several measuring stations in the Golden State registered a zero snowpack this year, as of April 1, for the first time ever, that is not the case for the state of Colorado, which feeds the Colorado River. De Klotz said the snowpack has been most recently measured at 94 percent of normal, with solid predictions that it will surpass “average” figures by the end of the year.

While agriculture appears to have plenty of water to get through the season, the Pasha executive said agricultural users are acutely aware of limits in the other part of the state and are doing their best to reduce their water use and be good stewards of that natural resource.