CASTROVILLE, CA - For the holidays, premium products like Ocean Mist® Farms’ artichokes are a must-have at retail. With its Oxnard, California, winter crop artichoke program in full production, and the Coachella, CA, season just beginning, volumes are here to meet consumer demand. 
“The quality of these artichokes coming out of Oxnard look exceptional and volumes are strong,” commented Vice President of Sales and Marketing Rick Bravo. “After the weather challenges from last year, which contributed to a lighter December harvest, this is a great opportunity for retailers to generate some strong year-over-year performance to close out Q4 of 2023.”
Ben Wilson, Commodity Manager for Ocean Mist, added the following. 
“We have the quality and promotable volumes to support customer demand through the holiday season. This is the perfect opportunity for ads and promotions that will generate buzz and excitement in produce departments and get artichokes in carts. Consumers will be left feeling like the holidays came early this year,” he shared.
Ocean Mist Farms outlined in a press release that it has four winter growing regions, with its main winter crop operation being in Coachella. There’s a science to determine which crops are grown when and where, especially as Ocean Mist develops a system in which it can migrate its operations from north to south to ensure year-round production across virtually its entire product line.
Coachella does still continue to be Ocean Mist’s strategic differentiator. 
“The sandy soil is the real game-changer for us,” explained Vice President of Production Jeff Percy. “The higher sand content in the soil makes for lighter material that allows us to work faster and still be able to harvest after heavy rains. Because the land in the Coachella Valley hasn’t been as heavily farmed as some other growing regions, it has less insect and disease pressure. We’ve also been using drip and sprinkler irrigation for over 20 years now, which means we’re utilizing the groundwater more effectively. It also means we can farm virtually every square inch of the fields without the need for water basins.”
We’ll continue to keep you abreast of the latest news across the industry, so stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
