SALINAS, CA - As Labor Day approaches, the time of those patriotic-colored berry displays is nearing. California Giant Berry Farms advises that retailers particularly maintain display space and offer a variety of berries for those cookouts, berry cocktails, appetizers, and other popular options for long weekend celebrations.
You will have the berries to back you up in way of blueberries and blackberries especially. According to the company’s most recent crop evaluation, blues are looking excellent while blackberries are in the middle of their peak for the Salinas, CA, season and should see steady volume throughout September.
Raspberries are winding down in the region, but if you’re still looking for the “red” in your red, white, and blues, organic strawberries are looking very good coming out of Santa Maria, CA, with full color and counts at 24-26, California Giant noted.
“We also have a lot of strawberries now and will for the next few months,” Vice President of Marketing Cindy Jewell shared with me. “Our Watsonville fields will produce consistent volume as long as this great weather continues. We are getting foggy mornings and sunny afternoons every day which helps to maintain production.”
The company’s organic strawberry fall harvest is slated for the first or second week of September, and is looking to bear lots of fruit, peaking in late October.
While weather has presented a few humps, it's labor challenges that present a main concern, the company said.
“Labor is definitely tight, so it’s a constant challenge to keep the fields clean and stay on a three-day harvest rotation,” Cindy confirmed. “All the more reason we all need to be unified in our message to legislators considering immigration reform. Now more than ever we need to express our voices and concerns in Washington, so I plan to attend the Washington Conference next month.”
The company’s recent release noted that pickers are falling behind the first part of the week, saying “we foresee this industry-wide labor issue worsening as the week’s progress,” touching on a continued trial throughout the industry as harvest practices, technologies, and resources look to evolve.
Despite this hurdle, demand looks promising as more and more holiday recipes explore the versatility of berries. For ideas to inspire shoppers, visit the company’s recipe suggestions here.
