(Note: Since this press release the state of California has issued a state of emergency that covers Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties in Southern California due to torrential rains and flooding. Strawberries could be a primary crop adversely affected by this weather. An update will be provided on how crops and shipments are affected.)
By Bobalu Berry Farms
Oxnard, CA — As the company heads into the 2024 strawberry season, partners at Bobalu Berry Farms are reviewing how the crop looks today compared to the very unsettled beginning at this same time last year.
Thankfully, January has been much more forgiving in 2024 than 2023 with the volume coming out of Oxnard, currently double of what it was at this time in 2023. The plants are healthy, staying somewhat dry, and providing excellent fruit, even though we are still technically in Winter.
The Oxnard region has received its share of rain already, but with dry days in-between and nice breezes, the plants are thriving. Additionally, Santa Maria is showing some signs that the spring season there will begin very soon.
“While this is all very good news for our strawberries, the challenge we are facing now is the inclement weather in our receiving markets”, says Anthony Gallino, VP of Sales. “When you can’t get trucks to the east coast due to blizzard conditions and flooding rain, that affects all of us”, he adds.
Consumers typically begin filling up their shopping carts at this time of year with fresh strawberries from California to help them get that taste of Spring during the winter across the country. However, when they can’t get to the store due to weather conditions, demand takes a hit, so the Bobalu team is working to keep the pipeline full, and is diverting some fruit to markets that are not impacted by weather at this time.
“The fruit from our ranches here in Oxnard and from our partner fields in Mexico is excellent right now and we are ramping up for the Valentine’s Day demand”, says Gallino. The company expects to have promotable volume to supply their partners with high quality fruit and stems for the upcoming holiday.
Once Bobalu Berry Farms gets into February, the sales team will be focused on promoting the Spring crop from Oxnard, Mexico and Santa Maria as they prepare for an early Easter this year.