YUMA, AZ – Though the unseasonably warm weather and the rain provoked a quicker end to the season in Salinas, the cooler weather in Yuma is resulting in a slower crop this time of year. As resilient as ever, however, growers are tackling these challenges head-on to try and meet the holiday pull.
Nighttime temperatures in Yuma lately have been hovering in the low thirties, with daytime temperatures in the seventies. The high winds that growers are currently experiencing will likely bring cooler weather and the possibility of freezing temperatures, which tends to slow growth and could possibly create a gap.
Nevertheless, quality continues to improve for items such as lettuce, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, and more. Growers are trying to stay as optimistic as they can with the holidays quickly approaching and volumes still being on the light side, as expected.
“Volumes look to be very similar to last year,” C.R. Waters, Desert Operations Manager at Duda Farm Fresh Foods, tells me. “Availability will be tight for the next couple of weeks as volume will be lighter than expected due to weather.”
Duda Farm Fresh Foods has just started harvesting and is still planting. Iceberg lettuce started on November 2, while romaine/mix leaf started November 9. The harvesting is about ten days ahead of schedule right now.
“We are close to planned volumes,” he continued. “We will have promotable volumes of celery going into the holidays and New Year.”
Doug Classen, Sales Manager with The Nunes Company, the shipper of “Foxy” brand fresh produce, had a similar sentiment with the weather in Yuma so far.
“We are nearly complete with our transition to Yuma. We are seeing multiple weather-related challenges on the crop that have affected yield, and therefore, markets across all categories,” said Classen. “We expect these challenges to continue until the first of the year under the current weather conditions and holiday pulls.”
It’ll be a bumpy road the next few weeks with Thanksgiving almost here, but the moral of the story is to hang tight and get those orders in. Stick to AndNowUKnow for any further updates as we start heading into December.
