Lettuce supplies look normal from California and projections for the next three weeks anticipate them to stay that way. However, that could change. “Typically in the fall, we get some warmer weather and the lettuce varieties and growth patterns are a little different. They tend to have more irregularity in the fields in the fall, size and weight wise,” says Mark McBride of Coastline Family Farms.
Usually, these are changes being seen in late August or September but McBride says it has felt like fall for the past few weeks. “Some fields are needing more time in the ground to mature. We’ve pushed one field off from the tail end of this week to next week. The two or three subsequent fields are also going to take extra time. So we don’t have any excess acreage to begin with and now we’re starting to see the lettuce slow down growth-wise. That translates to being less overall, less weight per carton,” he says.
2022’s virus issues
Along with tighter supplies, what sits with growers in California is the reminder of the INSV Virus and Fusarium along with other viruses that hit the Salinas Valley--the majority of where lettuce is currently coming from--at this time last year. (Santa Maria, California is also in production with some processing production happening in Colorado and Mexico also shipping some lettuce.) Other reported virus-prevention initiatives include greater weed control and the lower temperatures California has experienced this year may also help.
“This industry is quick to correct and make changes. Growers have switched to INSV-resistant seed varieties and have moved plantings from areas that were hurt by the virus in 2022,” says McBride. “So I would expect that with all of the corrections as an industry, we tried to make, if those effects are out there, I don’t expect them to be near as severe. Last fall was unprecedented and it was a very very tough period for everybody.”
At the same time, demand is steady and average for this time of year. So this means that pricing, which is also average currently, could strengthen in the coming weeks. “If fields are slow to mature, it not only slows the commodity business down but also impacts the value-added. If the yield and pounds per acre drop off too much, processors start looking for additional acreage and that always puts additional demand on the non-value added people,” McBride says.
For more information:
Mark McBride
Coastline Family Farms
Tel: +1 (831) 755-1430
[email protected]
www.coastlinefamilyfarms.com