James De Lorimier<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Account Manager, Green Giant Fresh<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">We are harvesting in North Monterey in the Castroville vicinity. We have had a very cold, dry January which caused a lot of issues with quality. On the artichokes, we are just starting to work our way through them because we have had some good, mild temperatures. The rain event that we had was a real help for us. In general, demand is improving, because artichoke quality is improving, resulting in business picking up on them a little bit. It is not a runaway, but demand is definitely a lot better.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">http://www.greengiantfresh.com/<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Steve Adlesh<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Director of Sales and Marketing for Beachside Produce<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Our primary acreage is in Lompoc and in the Lompoc Valley and we also have acreage here in Santa Maria and Guadalupe. The temperatures here were in the low thirties, 31-32 degrees Fahrenheit, and it was sort of wet and it froze because of the moisture in the air more than anything. Its not that it was a hard, hard freeze in the twenties. It was just in the low thirties so hopefully these artichokes are just going to come out of it as they usually do. With some of the frost kissed chokes, they actually eat a lot better, they just aren't as pretty as they could be. We will start harvesting next week and peak season for us will run from about April 15th through the end of May and into June. <hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">http://www.beachsideproduce.com/<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
