We did a report on freezing temperatures in California, as well as Arizona last week, and to be honest there’s not a heck of a lot more to report on how Western produce shipments will be affected. But in case you missed that other report, here goes – with some additional information.
In California, freezing temperatures occurred for a few nights late last week and through Saturday a.m. It is known there will freeze damage to mandrians and navel oranges. How much freeze damage probably will not be known until the first of the year, if not the first week of January. There also a limited amount of vegetables being grown in the Central San Joaquin Valley, but no word on the veggies either.
The Salinas-Watsonville area had already completed its vegetable and strawberry shipments for the season when the freeze hit. The Santa Maria area was on the tail end of the strawberry season and the cold quickly ended what product was left.
Strawberry shipments have now shifted to Ventura County. While the cold may actually be beneficial to the berries in some areas of the county, others located in hilly, higher elevations of the county probably will suffer losses. We’ll also have to keep an eye on Southern California strawberries, particularly in Orange County.
It also got pretty frosty in the desert areas of California and around Yuma, AZ for desert vegetable shipments. It is believed items such as head lettuce, leaf lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower will make it okay, although it will not be surprising if it looks a little like it has been in a fight with Mother Nature.
Southern California strawberries, citrus – grossing about $6600 to New York City.