Because garlic is an annual harvest and storage crop item for Christopher Ranch, headquartered in Gilroy, CA, spring is more about continuing to manage its storage inventory and maintaining its supply to customers as sufficiently as possible until its new crop starts in June and July.

Anthony DeAngelis, director of the northeast division for Christopher Ranch, said the company hopes to have some greater opportunity to promote in the late summer.

Anthony DeAngelis, director of the Northeast Division of Christopher Ranch, with delivery drivers, Jorge Burbano and Henry Polanco, who have served the customers in the Hunts Point Market for many years with Christopher Ranch California heirloom fresh and peeled garlic.“With our Garlic Festival promotions, and moving into early fall with our annual Halloween garlic displays and promotions, we are anticipating good movement going forward,” said DeAngelis. “We are hopeful that the breaking weather encourages people in the Northeast to get out and eat, as increases in restaurant business come naturally with the nice spring weather. This helps market business in general.”

He added that all Northeastern markets, including the businesses at Hunts Point terminal market, have surely felt the impact of a tough winter, and that everyone was looking forward to a strong spring to help them bounce back.

Looking forward, DeAngelis said the company is anticipating a larger California crop this year.

“That will help us to continue to build our business with customers who have found value in promoting the superior flavor of our heirloom California garlic,” he said. “But it’s still too early to tell for sure how things will yield.”

A recent statement issued by Bill Christopher, managing partner of Christopher Ranch, addressed the drought in California.

Christopher said, “The California drought is unfortunately not new news to Christopher Ranch. We have been working with our farmer-partners in California for the past three years on securing land with adequate water. We were successful, and our 2015 harvest this summer is on schedule. We are now working with landowners in different parts of the state that have good water supplies in order to plan for our 2016 crop and beyond.”

DeAngelis noted that the locally grown movement continues to be a popular consideration, and surely as the spring weather allows local farms to do what they do best, it always is an opportunity for local markets to feature locally grown produce.

“But the difficulty of cultivating and harvesting garlic limits the majority of good quality, domestic production to California,” he explained. “For garlic, with other options coming from China, Argentina, Mexico and now Spain a bit, the best locally grown option is to buy domestic garlic. We are fortunate that the most flavorful garlic in the world is grown locally in California.”