Could California be picking strawberries early this year? The state has seen some mild weather recently with very few cold mornings though it’s also had a fair amount of rain. “Overall it’s been a very mild winter,” says Steve Johnston of G.W. Palmer & Co. Inc.
Right now the field workers are seeing an occasional red berry in some Salinas-Watsonville fields which is unusual for January. “There are very few berries in the fields right now because we won’t start to harvest here for a couple of months. However it’s been so mild that if something doesn’t change, we could be picking here in March,” he says.
Meanwhile, Santa Maria-Oxnard comes into production before the Salinas-Watsonville region. “If this El Nino pattern of mild temperatures continues for the rest of this winter and going into spring, we could see a good amount of berries coming on earlier than normal overall if we don’t get a cold spell,” says Johnston.
Last year’s rains
Add to that the events of 2023 when California saw plentiful rains. Those rains will help the 2024 crop given they washed some of the soil’s salt away making for a healthier growing environment. “I predict a very big bountiful crop this year in all of California,” adds Johnston.
As for demand right now, colder temperatures in the northern part of the country have impacted strawberry demand somewhat, particularly on recently stronger-priced berries. “It’ll change though as milder temperatures come on this week and into next week throughout most of the country. That always helps demand,” he says.
Still, the Valentine’s Day supply is yet to be determined for California strawberries. Between now and February 14, more rains and a cold spell are expected right before the holiday’s pull. “It’s always a crapshoot when you do Valentine’s Day ads for strawberries but everybody does them,” says Johnston.
That said, Florida is anticipated to have a sizeable amount of fruit coming on starting next week and Central Mexico is peaking on strawberries currently. “Looking ahead, there will be a lot of berries coming from California, central Mexico, Florida and Baja Mexico. They’ll collide next week so the shippers better be making a lot of deals for next week,” says Johnston.
For more information:
Steve Johnston
G.W. Palmer & Co., Inc.
Tel: +1 (831) 753-6578
[email protected]
http://www.gwpalmer.net/