Salinas Valley grower-shippers feel the heat
Salinas Valley grower-shippers feel the heat
Four consecutive days of high heat the week of May 12 found grower- shippers in the Salinas Valley making allowances for the heat before it hit and evaluating their crops once the heat wave passed.
On Friday, May 16, the heat registered as high as 98 degrees in Salinas, CA.
Andy Cumming, president and managing principal of King City, CA-based Metz Fresh, told The Produce News Wednesday, May 21, that he didn't experience a big impact from the heat. Knowing that weather reports had called for the heat wave, Metz made sure everything was well irrigated, he said.
"Some spring mix items grew faster than was scheduled," Mr. Cumming said. "We had to pass by some of it."
Mike Antle, executive vice president of Salinas, CA-based Tanimura & Antle Inc., said that the heat forces growers to make up their minds on what to do with their crops.
A lot of T&A product, including broccoli, Iceberg lettuce and mixed leaf, was disced under early in the week of May 19, Mr. Antle said. The extreme heat sped up the time to harvest crops at a time when the market couldn't accommodate the product. Companies typically wait until the last minute before discing crops under, and that was true this time as well, he added.
Steve Church, sales manager and a partner in Salinas-based Church Bros., said that some companies around the Salinas Valley prepared for the heat wave by harvesting product before the heat wave struck. Church Bros. experienced "a little bit of fringe damage on Romaine," he said.
John Baillie, president of Salinas-based Baillie Family Farms/Tri-Counties Packing, said that there has been some sun scalding on the outer cap leaf of Iceberg lettuce, but otherwise it's too early to tell what degree of damage his crops may have suffered. He said he should know more during the week of May 26, including about his celery crop.
Depending on the crop, Salinas Valley crops have been a week or two behind schedule.
"The ground temperature has been abnormally cool," Mr. Baillie said. The heat wave sped up his crops to where he went from being two weeks behind schedule to being one behind schedule, he said.
On Friday, May 16, the heat registered as high as 98 degrees in Salinas, CA.
Andy Cumming, president and managing principal of King City, CA-based Metz Fresh, told The Produce News Wednesday, May 21, that he didn't experience a big impact from the heat. Knowing that weather reports had called for the heat wave, Metz made sure everything was well irrigated, he said.
"Some spring mix items grew faster than was scheduled," Mr. Cumming said. "We had to pass by some of it."
Mike Antle, executive vice president of Salinas, CA-based Tanimura & Antle Inc., said that the heat forces growers to make up their minds on what to do with their crops.
A lot of T&A product, including broccoli, Iceberg lettuce and mixed leaf, was disced under early in the week of May 19, Mr. Antle said. The extreme heat sped up the time to harvest crops at a time when the market couldn't accommodate the product. Companies typically wait until the last minute before discing crops under, and that was true this time as well, he added.
Steve Church, sales manager and a partner in Salinas-based Church Bros., said that some companies around the Salinas Valley prepared for the heat wave by harvesting product before the heat wave struck. Church Bros. experienced "a little bit of fringe damage on Romaine," he said.
John Baillie, president of Salinas-based Baillie Family Farms/Tri-Counties Packing, said that there has been some sun scalding on the outer cap leaf of Iceberg lettuce, but otherwise it's too early to tell what degree of damage his crops may have suffered. He said he should know more during the week of May 26, including about his celery crop.
Depending on the crop, Salinas Valley crops have been a week or two behind schedule.
"The ground temperature has been abnormally cool," Mr. Baillie said. The heat wave sped up his crops to where he went from being two weeks behind schedule to being one behind schedule, he said.
