Oxnard 1/30/08

Gentlemen,
The aftermath of the storm has left us with plenty of snow on the local mountains. We will finish our round of taking off the damaged fruit today. Unfortunately not only did we lose the "red" mature fruit, but we also lost a lot of the half and three-quarter color fruit. After today we will be back in the fields next Monday to begin another round of hopefully light cleanup and begin to harvest some number one fruit. The weather forecast is a chance of rain/showers this weekend, and then after a couple of cool days, we are supposed to be back into drier and warmer temps. As far as having fruit harvest on a regular schedule, we are probably ten days out.


Steven Yamamoto

Chilean Blues 1/28/08

Production on the blues continues to be steady!!

Oxnard 1/28/08

Gentlemen,
Reporting from the Oxnard district, another system passed through Ventura county last night leaving anywhere from 1-3 inches of rain. We are still experiencing some heavy showers this Sunday. The local weather forecast has just lifted the severe storm warning for this area. We now have received about 5-6 inches in total rainfall since the storm began four days ago. Many of the furrows still have standing water. The next couple of days are still unsettled, a break is expected mid week, with yet another smaller system possibly towards the weekend. As you can see, any fruit with "color" is now damaged. We will be back in the fields Tuesday with another round of cleaning off all the water damaged fruit. So far the white and green fruit have survived the rain, we see some damage to the white fruit , but so far it appears minimal. Right now we probably have lost at least three weeks of actual harvest. After this week, we will be able to have a better handle on the time frame when things will be back to "normal harvest".

Sincerely,

Steven Yamamoto

Oxnard 1-28-08

Gentlemen,
The rain gauge shows about 3.75" of rain from the last seventy-two hours, but it is more like 4" because of the strong winds with the rain we had during the day, the gauge could not capture the rain properly. We are expecting another strong storm this weekend with rain amounts of ranging from 2 to 5 inches. The long range weather is a chance of another system next tue./wed., then a break with dry and milder temps. We are finishing our first round today of picking off the damaged fruit. As you can see in the pics# 908-910, the water damage is quite extensive. We have a lot of water in the furrows and must still come back next week and pick off another round of water damaged fruit. We still have a lot of green and white fruit that so far has not been affected with all the rain, with some good weather, we should be back on track the following week.

Sincerely,

Steven Yamamoto

Oxnard 1/23/08

Gentlemen,
Reporting from our Oxnard district, we are experiencing a very wet system coming through right now. As you view the following pictures, you will see the damage the heavy rain has done so far, many of the mature fruit have already began to show the water blister, we have very wet furrows and some that are beginning to collapse. The rain gauge shows just over 1-1/2 inches of rain, but the total is now over two inches for the last 24 hrs. The rain events are forecasted to stay with us for the next 4-5 days, with rain totals ranging from 5-7 inches. So far the damage is mainly the mature and semi-mature fruit, if we can get through without too much damage to the white and hard green fruit and the flowers, we will make a clean up round and get back on track within a few days

Sincerely,

Steven Yamamoto

Chilean Blues 1/23/08

Production in Chile is steady. As you can see in the photo... the plant is loaded!! We will have excellent supply for the next few weeks.

Florida 1/21/08

Field reporting from the Florida district. The weather this past week was overcast for most of the week, except for 2 1/2 in. of rain on Thursday and a rain storm Saturday night. The forecast for the upcoming week is 20% chance of rain for the whole week with daytime temps of 70"s and the nights as low as 31 degrees. (still cool for the berries to really ripen for more volume). There is a lot of vegetation but no fruit. This is one of many reasons why the harvest has been slow, and will continue until we get consistent sunshine and warmer weather.

Palo Thomas

Blacks 1/19/08

Supplies and quality continue to be excellent!!

Oxnard 1/18/08

Field reporting from our Oxnard district, the weather this past week was actually fairly nice except for the strong northeast winds we had last night. The forecast for the upcoming week is a slight chance of some light drizzle/rain Monday and Tuesday, otherwise the daytime temps should be in the mid 60's and night temps on the low 40's (still cool for the berries to really ripen for more volume). Overall the fields are in great shape, as the pic shows, #878(early part of the planting season), and 884(last of the planting). This is one of the main reasons why the harvest has been slower to get off the ground this season, planting season was staggered this year due the problems from the nurseries. As the days become longer and the nights get warmer, the fields will all come together.

Blacks 1/14/08

The blacks are still coming into California and Florida consistantly. The fruit quality and supply continues to be excellent.

The Daily Report

CALIFORNIA STRAWBERRY COMMISSION
Daily Report for 01.14.08



Cumulative Fresh Volume Weekending
01/12/2008: 179,611 Trays
01/13/2007: 1,382,527 Trays

Total CA Volume for week ending 01/12/2008: 75,048 Trays



Total Week's Volume: N/A


Average price as of 01/11/2008 for Flats 12 1-Pint baskets
Oxnard: $27.90 (Conventional)
Florida: $21.90 (Conventional)

Average price as of 01/11/2008 for Flats 4 2-Lb containers with lids
Oxnard: $25.90 (Conventional)

Average price as of 01/11/2008 for Flats 8 1-Lb containers with lids
Oxnard: $25.90 (Conventional)
Florida: $19.90 (Conventional)
Mexico Crossings Thru Texas: $19.90 (Conventional)


Weather Highs
Coachella Valley: Sunny. High 73F. Winds N at 9 mph. Tonight Clear. Low 36F. Winds N at 4 mph.
Irvine: Sunny / Wind. High 75F. Winds NE at 18 mph. Tonight Clear. Low 44F. Winds ENE at 12 mph.
Oxnard: Sunny. High 73F. Winds NE at 18 mph. Tonight Clear. Low 46F. Winds ENE at 12 mph.
Salinas: Sunny. High 68F. Winds ENE at 13 mph. Tonight Mostly Clear. Low 43F. Winds ENE at 7 mph.
San Diego: Sunny. High 68F. Winds N at 9 mph. Tonight Clear. Low 46F. Winds ENE at 4 mph.
Santa Maria: Sunny. High 72F. Winds NNE at 7 mph. Tonight Clear. Low 40F. Winds ENE at 5 mph.
Watsonville: Sunny. High 66F. Winds E at 1 mph. Tonight Mostly Clear. Low 41F. Winds N at 1 mph.

Strawberry Volume Report

CALIFORNIA STRAWBERRY COMMISSION
Daily Report for 01/11/08

Cumulative Fresh Volume Weekending
01/05/2008: 104,563 Trays
01/06/2007: 509,649 Trays

Total CA Volume for week ending 01/05/2008: 113,810 Trays

Total Week's Volume from 01/06/2008 - 01/09/2008
Orange-San Diego-Coachella District: 31,050 Trays
Oxnard: 29,045 Trays
California Total: 60,095 Trays
Florida: 419,438 Trays

Average price as of 01/10/2008 for Flats 12 1-Pint baskets
Oxnard: $27.90 (Conventional)
Florida: $21.90 (Conventional)

Average price as of 01/10/2008 for Flats 4 2-Lb containers with lids
Oxnard: $25.90 (Conventional)

Average price as of 01/10/2008 for Flats 8 1-Lb containers with lids
Oxnard: $25.90 (Conventional)
Florida: $19.90 (Conventional)
Mexico Crossings Thru Texas: $18.90 (Conventional)

Blacks 1/9/07

New pictures from Mexico. Still looking great with nice size, great flavor and very firm. Cooler temps in Mexico will slow down production a little, but there is still a great supply coming into the states.

Oxnard 1/9/08

Due to cool tempatures, berry production has been slowing down. As you can see in the picture above, there is snow on the mountain tops. As soon as we get some warmer weather, the berry production will increase very quickly! We are only a few weeks away from load volume!!

Oxnard 1/8/08

After 2-3 inches of rain fall in Oxnard, we were able to get back into the field. It always starts with a clean-up, which normally take 2-3 rounds before fruit is able to be shipped to the East. Fruit size and color are excellent, but we need to strip off all of the water damaged fruit first. Production over the next few weeks will be steadily increasing with outstanding quality!!

Chilean Blues 1/8/08

The blues are here!! We will have the blues in Florida and in California for the next few months. Supplies and quality have been excellent.

Florida Crop Update

We are currently assessing the fields for potential damage due to freezing conditions in the strawberry growing regions of Florida. Once our field personnel walk the fields today, we will post another update.

California Crop Update

Rain and wind has hit the central coast of California. As of this morning, the weather has not reached Santa Maria or Oxnard, but is expected to today. The forecast shows sustained showers and wind at least through the weekend, with additional showers possible early next week.

Blacks 1/3/08

The blackberry season from Mexico is here!! We are receiving blacks on a regular basis now and will continue to do so for the next few months. The quality and appearance is excellent.

Florida Freezes Oxnard waiting to get wet

Florida was hit with severe weather last night. Bartow, Winterhaven reported a low of 17 and was holding this morning at 28 degrees. Sprinklers were still on and a good ice cover was set. Plant City reported a low of 22 degrees and was holding at 32 this morning. they also were still running water We should have crews back in tomorrow to clean up. Temps will be back to normal by Sunday and we should be back on a normal picking schedule Monday.


California is expecting rain by this afternoon with rainfall totals from 2 to 4 inches thru Sunday

More photo on the way

Harvest from 1/1/2008

The fruit below was harvested 1/1/2008. This fruit was harvested in Florida and is being cooled at Clear Springs in Winterhaven. We have been harvesting 4-5 days a week and will continue to do so. Production may be affected if we get "the freeze" that's expected. I will keep you updated on the weather.

Crop Update as of Jan 2

California:
California is expected to be hit by the first significant storm of the season. The storm will hit Thursday Jan 3 and is expected to last thru the weekend,with rainfall totals between 2 and 4 inches. This will slow down the already light production in the region.