First, let’s talk about the weather! The hurricane and tropical storm that swept through southern California, on its way up from Mexico, somehow took a turn eastward and we were spared. Oxnard did receive a little over 2 inches of rain, but thankfully the timing worked out well since we are not harvesting yet in that region. Santa Maria didn’t get any rain at all, but we did have a muggy day.
Santa Maria:
Our weekly volume is still holding steady as we came off that mid-summer gap earlier this month, and the quality remains strong as we continue through the rest of this month. At the same time, we are beginning to see our fall planted crop come into season. We expect to see promotable volume of our fall crop by mid-September.
The weather here has finally shifted to summer, and we see a forecast of sunny days in the high 70’s and nighttime lows in the upper 50’s. Looking forward to mild conditions, excellent fruit and a promotable fall season of our quality strawberries.
Oxnard & Mexico:
The timing for these two regions coming into fall season has not changed from our last forecast so we expect to begin in October. As we get closer to the start of the harvest in both regions we will let you know and send photos.
Statewide Status:
The Strawberry Commission Pink Sheet shows we are still somewhat behind overall volume compared to 2022. However, in reviewing regional totals, you can see that volume to date in southern regions did catch up despite the very late start this Spring. Santa Maria is still behind last year, but very close to the volume compared to this time period in 2021.
Weekly volume over the last couple of months has been very strong and actually ahead of last year when looking at August numbers. This tells us that we still have a good season ahead and promotable volume for fall holidays, back to school promotions, and more, as we get into October and November.
