West Side melon deal on pace with 2006
West Side melon deal on pace with 2006
The projected volume of this year's West Side melon deal in California is 20 million 40-pound cartons, which closely mirrors last year's production of 20.7 million cartons.
The West Side deal covers Bakersfield and points north but not the Imperial Valley.
When the Cantaloupe Advisory Board met April 27, not all cantaloupes in the West Side deal had been planted, according to Jerry Munson, manager of the board.
"Our guess was 20 million cartons," Mr. Munson said. "[The West Side deal] is always between 20 [million] and 22 million cartons." Most of that volume comes out of Fresno County.
In 2005, the West Side deal's production total was 22.2 million cartons. Five hundred cartons of melons per acre is a standard baseline.
Spring rains in April 2006 delayed plantings and accounted for the drop in volume in 2006 compared with the previous year, Mr. Munson said.
The melon deal typically starts in Kern and Kings counties in early July. In addition to those counties, Fresno, Merced and Stanislaus counties make up the West Side melon deal.
Seven or eight years ago, the advisory board no longer is involved with marketing, but instead conducts grade standards and surveillance.
Jeremy Lane, sales manager of Fresno, CA-based Baloian Farms, said that this year's melon acreage is about the same as last year. The melon harvest should start at the end of June and should continue through September. Mr. Lane said the melon crop looks "gorgeous," and that the weather has cooperated with consistent temperatures.
"The different stages are nice," Mr. Lane said. "We plant so [varieties] are staggered." The company doesn't have cantaloupe in its melon program. Baloian's cantaloupe starts in Bakersfield and continues up to Huron, CA. The harvest in Bakersfield typically goes through July, and Huron continues into August. Baloian's melons include Casaba, Sharlyne, Persian, Santa Claus, Juan Canary, Crenshaw, Galia, orange-flesh honeydew, golden honeydew and regular honeydew.
Baloian has a broad line of fruits and vegetables. Its California growing regions are in Blythe, Coachella and the San Joaquin Valley. It has numerous processing and shipping points throughout California.
Mike Farrage, sales manager of Blythe, CA-based Danna & Fisher LLC, said that its melon harvest in Huron, CA, will start around July 1 and its melon harvest at River Garden in Yuba City, CA, is slated to start around the third week of July. It has about 60 acres of organic honeydews at River Garden.
Danna & Fisher also has a mixed-melon deal in Blythe. The company has cantaloupes, honeydews and mixed melons, such as Crenshaws and Casabas. The company is down in acreage at River Garden, Mr. Farrage said. Danna & Fisher has mini-watermelons in the desert and also has a Tuscan-type of melon.
"[The Huron harvest] looks decent," Mr. Farrage said. "A few fields might be light."
The Brawley, CA, and Yuma, AZ, melon deals were "good," he added.
Steve Smith of Turlock Fruit Co. in Turlock, CA, said that the warm spring weather has been "ideal" for melons. The cantaloupe harvest in Huron will start around June 25, and honeydews will follow after that. The timetable for Turlock's melons is a little earlier than last year, but the melons "are progressing well," Mr. Smith said.
"There's been excellent setting whether [for melons]," Mr. Smith said, adding that temperatures during the daytime have reached the low 90s and dropped down to the low 60s at night.
Turlock Fruit will have mixed melons, honeydews and cantaloupes. There's a growth trend in the Galia and Sharlyne melons, and in orange-flesh honeydew because of "exterior appeal" and "high color," Mr. Smith said.
Turlock Fruit also has an heirloom-style cantaloupe that is growing in volume incrementally each year, Mr. Smith said. The heirloom-style cantaloupe has high sugar, high color -- dark, deep orange -- and a honey-flavored type of flesh that fits the trend toward flavor and sugar.
The heirloom-style cantaloupe is distributed in the western United States. On the East Coast, it would compete with the Athena variety, which has similar characteristics.
Mr. Smith's son, Alec, a recent graduate of Yale University, will begin working at Turlock Fruit this season and represents the fourth-generation of the family business.
At Pappas & Co. in Mendota, CA, Sales Manager Rodney Van Bebber said that the company expects to do 2 million cartons of cantaloupes and 500,000 cartons of honeydew this year. It also has 350 acres of seedless watermelons. The harvest for all three melons varieties should run from July 1 to Oct. 15. Mr. Van Bebber said that Pappas' cantaloupes and honeydews "are normal on supplies and sizing."
The company's state-of-the-art melon cooler handles 25,000 to 30,000 cartons a day. Pappas applies PLU stickers to its produce.
Mr. Van Bebber said that all the company's costs, such as labor and fuel, have been going up, and as a result, the "old prices [on Pappas' product] aren't working any more." The company would like to get more money for its products from the chainstores, he said.
The West Side deal covers Bakersfield and points north but not the Imperial Valley.
When the Cantaloupe Advisory Board met April 27, not all cantaloupes in the West Side deal had been planted, according to Jerry Munson, manager of the board.
"Our guess was 20 million cartons," Mr. Munson said. "[The West Side deal] is always between 20 [million] and 22 million cartons." Most of that volume comes out of Fresno County.
In 2005, the West Side deal's production total was 22.2 million cartons. Five hundred cartons of melons per acre is a standard baseline.
Spring rains in April 2006 delayed plantings and accounted for the drop in volume in 2006 compared with the previous year, Mr. Munson said.
The melon deal typically starts in Kern and Kings counties in early July. In addition to those counties, Fresno, Merced and Stanislaus counties make up the West Side melon deal.
Seven or eight years ago, the advisory board no longer is involved with marketing, but instead conducts grade standards and surveillance.
Jeremy Lane, sales manager of Fresno, CA-based Baloian Farms, said that this year's melon acreage is about the same as last year. The melon harvest should start at the end of June and should continue through September. Mr. Lane said the melon crop looks "gorgeous," and that the weather has cooperated with consistent temperatures.
"The different stages are nice," Mr. Lane said. "We plant so [varieties] are staggered." The company doesn't have cantaloupe in its melon program. Baloian's cantaloupe starts in Bakersfield and continues up to Huron, CA. The harvest in Bakersfield typically goes through July, and Huron continues into August. Baloian's melons include Casaba, Sharlyne, Persian, Santa Claus, Juan Canary, Crenshaw, Galia, orange-flesh honeydew, golden honeydew and regular honeydew.
Baloian has a broad line of fruits and vegetables. Its California growing regions are in Blythe, Coachella and the San Joaquin Valley. It has numerous processing and shipping points throughout California.
Mike Farrage, sales manager of Blythe, CA-based Danna & Fisher LLC, said that its melon harvest in Huron, CA, will start around July 1 and its melon harvest at River Garden in Yuba City, CA, is slated to start around the third week of July. It has about 60 acres of organic honeydews at River Garden.
Danna & Fisher also has a mixed-melon deal in Blythe. The company has cantaloupes, honeydews and mixed melons, such as Crenshaws and Casabas. The company is down in acreage at River Garden, Mr. Farrage said. Danna & Fisher has mini-watermelons in the desert and also has a Tuscan-type of melon.
"[The Huron harvest] looks decent," Mr. Farrage said. "A few fields might be light."
The Brawley, CA, and Yuma, AZ, melon deals were "good," he added.
Steve Smith of Turlock Fruit Co. in Turlock, CA, said that the warm spring weather has been "ideal" for melons. The cantaloupe harvest in Huron will start around June 25, and honeydews will follow after that. The timetable for Turlock's melons is a little earlier than last year, but the melons "are progressing well," Mr. Smith said.
"There's been excellent setting whether [for melons]," Mr. Smith said, adding that temperatures during the daytime have reached the low 90s and dropped down to the low 60s at night.
Turlock Fruit will have mixed melons, honeydews and cantaloupes. There's a growth trend in the Galia and Sharlyne melons, and in orange-flesh honeydew because of "exterior appeal" and "high color," Mr. Smith said.
Turlock Fruit also has an heirloom-style cantaloupe that is growing in volume incrementally each year, Mr. Smith said. The heirloom-style cantaloupe has high sugar, high color -- dark, deep orange -- and a honey-flavored type of flesh that fits the trend toward flavor and sugar.
The heirloom-style cantaloupe is distributed in the western United States. On the East Coast, it would compete with the Athena variety, which has similar characteristics.
Mr. Smith's son, Alec, a recent graduate of Yale University, will begin working at Turlock Fruit this season and represents the fourth-generation of the family business.
At Pappas & Co. in Mendota, CA, Sales Manager Rodney Van Bebber said that the company expects to do 2 million cartons of cantaloupes and 500,000 cartons of honeydew this year. It also has 350 acres of seedless watermelons. The harvest for all three melons varieties should run from July 1 to Oct. 15. Mr. Van Bebber said that Pappas' cantaloupes and honeydews "are normal on supplies and sizing."
The company's state-of-the-art melon cooler handles 25,000 to 30,000 cartons a day. Pappas applies PLU stickers to its produce.
Mr. Van Bebber said that all the company's costs, such as labor and fuel, have been going up, and as a result, the "old prices [on Pappas' product] aren't working any more." The company would like to get more money for its products from the chainstores, he said.
