There should be significantly more produce loading opportunities from the Rocky Mountain State, primarily due to a great snowpack and a lot of favorable growing conditions.
Depending on location, snow packs in the Rocky Mountains have been anywhere from 130 to 150 percent of normal, filling up reservoirs, and easing concerns over drought conditions.
Colorado Peach Shipments
Peach shipments from Colorado’s western slope have been underway since the last week of July. Loadings should continue until after Labor Day, and a few limited loadings could be available into the third week of September. Last year, peach volume was off 25 percent because of weather factors. This season loadings are expected to only be down 10 to 15 percent from what is considered a full crop. There also are some loadings available with apple and pears, although its is much smaller than with peaches.
Rocky Ford Melon Shipments
Cantaloupe shipments, as well as honeydew are now coming out of Colorado’s Rocky Ford area. Loadings should be available for another month.
Colorado Vegetable Shipments
San Luis Valley potato shipments could be up as much as eight percent this season. A combination of 54,200 acres of potatoes planted, combined with plentiful water supplies have helped. While limited potato shipments started from Northeastern Colorado a week ago, most volume comes out of the San Luis Valley. SLV harvesting generally gets underway after Labor Day and wraps up in October, with shipments continuing into following the summer.
The Northeastern part of the state also is shipping items ranging from onions to sweet corn and squash.