NEWS FROM THE FARM

Last week’s rain ended the Salinas/Watsonville season earlier than expected. There were concerns that the Southern crop might also be affected, but shippers report no significant damage. Florida’s production is ramping up and should increase over the next few weeks. Volume out of Central Mexico remains stable. Organic strawberries will be limited over the next six weeks.

Tomatoes continue to experience availability constraints due to multiple Southeast hurricanes. Mexico is slowly improving availability, and Florida is expected to begin harvesting fields planted after the hurricanes by mid to late month. This should normalize availability for rounds, romas, and grapes. Until then, availability continues to be good on hot house tomatoes, including beefsteaks, TOVs, and snacking varieties, making them a solid option.

November weather impacted pepper availability across multiple regions. Hothouse peppers experienced gaps during transitions in North America and Europe, while field peppers were affected by Southeast hurricanes. Mexico should see increasing availability, and Spain is expected to start in December. Hot peppers are also improving, though Jimmy Nardellos will remain scarce through most of the month.

California has wrapped up early on virtually all grape varieties due to early-season heat, late-season storms, and a freeze. Most December grapes will come from South America. Tight availability is expected as first arrivals enter ports and supply chains stabilize, but no major gaps are anticipated.

The Honeycrisp crop is down from last year, with tightening markets and reduced availability already in play. Pears are also in short supply due to a significant freeze in Washington last winter, which depressed yields.

Just in time for our menu planning, we’ve put together a Specialty Produce Planning Guide! Based on arrival dates from previous years and ETA’s from our farm partners, these are our best predictions for our arrivals.