Cabbage harvest has begun in New York. "There doesn't seem to be a lot of supply gauging by the calls we're getting and the market is pretty good," says Eric Hansen of Hansen Farms LLC., who adds that the harvest began slightly early this year. "We've had good growing conditions that have helped."
The harvest is coming at a time when the stages of growing are all overlapping–along with harvesting the new crop, Hansen Farms is also still trimming old crop storage and it's also still planting for its late fall crop this year. "We're a little behind on plantings by about a week," adds Hansen.
As for demand, it's also good and has seen the usual strengthening post-July 4th holiday. "It's hot across the country and traditionally that would affect demand but it seems to be decent right now. There are also not a lot of regions going right now and people are coming to me who may not always come to me and that's because supply is low," says Hansen. This is even though there's been a general softening of demand over the past few years that he attributes to the economy.
Higher cabbage pricing
This is making for stronger pricing over last year with cabbage priced at $13/carton, $11-$12/bag, and bulk between .18-.20 cents/lb.
Looking ahead, more regions are coming online in the coming weeks with local cabbage production including Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, and Canada.
In all, regional windows seem to also be shifting for cabbage availability. "In the past five to seven years, the windows where you've got short supply, they're just not the same anymore," says Hansen. "Weather drives it but there are fewer places also doing this so when you have lower numbers and there's a weather event, it's going to have more of an impact."
For more information:
Eric Hansen
Hansen Farms
Tel: +1 585-526-5260
[email protected]
http://hansenfarms.com