“Sizing is a bit hit-and-miss, depending on the region, but so far quality has been amazing,” he said. “Each region had its period of adverse weather during the growing season, from extreme heat to hail to some isolated freezes, and that kept sizing and yields in check. We won’t have the monster yields that Idaho experienced last year, but that’s not a bad thing.”
Peterson explained that with the smaller yields this season, pricing should be more stable for customers and growers alike, and it will generally be a more manageable crop for shippers.
Wilcox is nearing the second anniversary of its acquisition of fingerling producer Southwind Farms, and Peterson said that has been a key part of Wilcox’s growth.
“We’ll be entering our second full crop with fingerlings, and that has enabled us to diversify and offer our customers a larger variety of products,” he said. “It’s been a good avenue for growth for us, as we have increased business with some existing customers while also attracting some new ones.”
Peterson added that fingerlings offer a nice complement to the russet line Wilcox offers. “Fingerlings don’t take as long to mature, and we can avoid the extreme heat since we usually wrap up that crop in mid- to late July,” he said.
But Peterson acknowledged that Mother Nature has the ultimate say when it comes to producing a crop. “We can only control what we can, and I feel that we have done everything possible to navigate those challenges.”
In addition to increased business on the domestic front, Peterson said Wilcox Fresh has enjoyed a surge of activity with foreign markets, especially those in Asia and Mexico.
“The opening of the interior of Mexico has been great for us and all Idaho shippers,” he said. “It was especially important last year when we had such a large crop.”
Peterson said Wilcox expects to ship double the volume to Mexico this year compared to last year. As for Asia, he said that market is more prone to ebbs and flows, but it remains an important part of the company’s business moving forward. “Everything is pointing to a very good year for both Mexico and Asia,” he said.
With all the robust business activity at Wilcox, it was an appropriate time to add staff to help shoulder the load, according to Peterson.
“We added two new people in sales — Cole Huntsman, who works from our Rexburg office, and Jenna Owens, who works at the Southwind Farms division,” said Peterson. “Cole joined us in March and brings experience in the packaging side of the business, while Jenna joined in May and has a background in California vegetable sales. They are both young up-and-comers with a lot of ambition, and we are excited to add them to our sales team.”
