Media tour educates food editors on California avocado industry
Media tour educates food editors on California avocado industry
VALLEY CENTER, CA -- Food editors from various consumer publications around the country, from Southern Living to Sunset, had an opportunity April 26 to tour avocado groves in Southern California, meet with growers, visit a small on-farm packing operation and a large commercial packinghouse, have their questions answered by industry experts, and sample some creative dishes using avocados as an ingredient.
At Fairfield Farms, an organic avocado, citrus and blueberry farm near Valley Center in northern San Diego County, participants had the opportunity to walk through the avocado groves, witness fruit being harvested, see the blooms on the same trees that will set next year's crop, and hear the farm's owners, Carol and Bill Steed, talk about their love of the land and about the care they give the trees and the fruit.
At Stehly Ranch in Valley Center, here, also an organic operation, the owners, Jerome Stehly and his brother Noel Stehly, hosted a tour not only of their avocado groves but also of their small grove-side packing operation, and they talked about their family's multi-generation commitment to farming and about the sustainable farming practices they use.
Later, the group visited the West Pak Avocado packing facility in Temecula, CA, to see how a large-scale packinghouse cleans, sorts, packs, cools, preconditions and ships avocados. West Pak President Randy Shoup noted that some 27 million pounds of avocados will be run through the facility this year.
Lunch, which was served at Fairfield Farms on a hilltop overlooking avocado groves, was prepared by renowned chefs and restaurateurs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, who have appeared on the Food Network in 396 episodes of their series, "Too Hot Tamales." During the lunch, which featured avocados in every course, the chefs gave a cooking demonstration on how to prepare the dishes being served. The main course was cilantro chicken with California avocado and pickled tomato salsa.
Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the California Avocado Commission, which hosted the tour, told participants about the industry's promotional and marketing activities, with a particular emphasis on giving consumers an opportunity to learn about some of the growers who produce California avocados and to hear their own stories. There are 6,000 growers of avocados in California, and the vast majority of them are family farming operations with an average of about 10 acres of avocados.
Guy Witney, the commission's director of industry affairs, was on hand throughout the tour to share his wealth of information about the industry and answer questions on a wide range of topics pertaining to California avocado production.
He noted, among other things, how growers have suffered a series of natural disasters over the last 16 months or so, beginning with a severe freeze and followed by damaging winds and wildfires last fall and now by 30 percent water cuts for many growers for the 2008 season, which has necessitated the cutting down or "stumping" of up to 30 percent of their trees.
Yet in spite of all that, the industry has managed to produce a moderate- sized crop this year, and the quality is exceptional with well over 90 percent of the fruit harvested packing out No. 1 grade.
At Fairfield Farms, an organic avocado, citrus and blueberry farm near Valley Center in northern San Diego County, participants had the opportunity to walk through the avocado groves, witness fruit being harvested, see the blooms on the same trees that will set next year's crop, and hear the farm's owners, Carol and Bill Steed, talk about their love of the land and about the care they give the trees and the fruit.
At Stehly Ranch in Valley Center, here, also an organic operation, the owners, Jerome Stehly and his brother Noel Stehly, hosted a tour not only of their avocado groves but also of their small grove-side packing operation, and they talked about their family's multi-generation commitment to farming and about the sustainable farming practices they use.
Later, the group visited the West Pak Avocado packing facility in Temecula, CA, to see how a large-scale packinghouse cleans, sorts, packs, cools, preconditions and ships avocados. West Pak President Randy Shoup noted that some 27 million pounds of avocados will be run through the facility this year.
Lunch, which was served at Fairfield Farms on a hilltop overlooking avocado groves, was prepared by renowned chefs and restaurateurs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, who have appeared on the Food Network in 396 episodes of their series, "Too Hot Tamales." During the lunch, which featured avocados in every course, the chefs gave a cooking demonstration on how to prepare the dishes being served. The main course was cilantro chicken with California avocado and pickled tomato salsa.
Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the California Avocado Commission, which hosted the tour, told participants about the industry's promotional and marketing activities, with a particular emphasis on giving consumers an opportunity to learn about some of the growers who produce California avocados and to hear their own stories. There are 6,000 growers of avocados in California, and the vast majority of them are family farming operations with an average of about 10 acres of avocados.
Guy Witney, the commission's director of industry affairs, was on hand throughout the tour to share his wealth of information about the industry and answer questions on a wide range of topics pertaining to California avocado production.
He noted, among other things, how growers have suffered a series of natural disasters over the last 16 months or so, beginning with a severe freeze and followed by damaging winds and wildfires last fall and now by 30 percent water cuts for many growers for the 2008 season, which has necessitated the cutting down or "stumping" of up to 30 percent of their trees.
Yet in spite of all that, the industry has managed to produce a moderate- sized crop this year, and the quality is exceptional with well over 90 percent of the fruit harvested packing out No. 1 grade.
