An early look at the Morro Bay Avocado™ crop shows that it will be a lighter crop this season. "It's an alternate bearing season for us so it's probably about 50 percent lighter than what we even saw last year," says Megan Shanley Warren of Shanley Farms. "The trees are very healthy though and the fruit is sizing up more right now than they normally do because there's so much more going into the smaller amount of fruit on the tree."
Morro Bay Avocados are premium Hass avocados which are the last avocados available in California from San Luis Obispo County, a region with a cooler climate that allows the fruit to hang onto the tree longer. As for harvest, that generally runs from August through October. "We have to wait until that oil content in the avocados is up there to where we like it to be. It's a very rich and creamy avocado," says Shanley Warren.
Expanding retailer base
While there are set customers for the Morro Bay Avocado program who take a variety of sizes, Shanley Farms is looking to expand the program to new customers and adds that consumers are increasingly gaining recognition of what Morro Bay Avocados are. "So we're in the process of searching for retailers who value holding on to California fruit as long as possible and who are willing to support the financial side of that decision," says Shanley Warren.
Gaining that retail support is key with the Morro Bay program. "Without having the commitments from retailers for the program, we can't convince growers to continue holding their fruit into the fall," says Shanley Warren. "The growers see the prices start dropping in the fall, so they'll try to get their fruit off in the summertime when really if we can convince them to hold on, prices are much better."
For more information:
Megan Shanley Warren
Shanley Farms
Tel: +1 (805) 323-6525
[email protected]
https://www.shanleyfarms.com/