Oxnard 4/21/08

Ladies and Gents,
Reporting from our Oxnard district, the last couple of days and nights have been below normal temps, days in the low 60's and nights in the mid to low 30's in some spots, usually we are around 68 to 70 degrees days and 48 to 50 degrees at night. All that means we will have some green tips (night temps play a big part) on the fruit, condition will be solid. Crop is slowly beginning to lighten up, we will have fruit to pick for the next three to four weeks.

Santa Maria 4/16/08

Here are some photos from Santa Maria. Quality and volumes are excellent!!!

Oxnard 4/14/08

Gentlemen
Reporting from the Oxnard district, as you are probably aware, we had record highs this past weekend, temps reaching into the mid 90's and some cases the high 90's, not exactly conducive to good berry weather. Pics 1087 & 1088, the beginning of the hot weekend, strong winds blowing dirt and temps into the 90's. Pics 1089,1090,1091,1097 & 1098, show the sunburn and blistered fruit we are seeing on all the ranches, some ranches have minor problems while others have a more severe case of sunburn fruit. We are harvesting on our regular schedule, the workers have instructions to throw away any fruit that looks questionable. The fruit that passes through our QC people looks fine. The volume will be down for the next few days, once we get back to moderate temps the plants will begin to show new fruit and flowers. The sun damaged fruit can be seen in the pics, the skin will discolor and actually show blistering of the skin, the green and white fruit will show a brown or bronzing color.

Santa Maria 4/11/08

Included are some pictures of both ventana and albion fields. This weekend is forecasted to warm up with the temperatures in the high 70's. Our weather will be dry for the next week. The fruit quality is excellent in both varieties.

Oxnard 4/9/08

Gentlemen,
Reporting from the Oxnard district, cool day temps (low 60's) prevail, with night temps in the mid 40's. With the longer days, even though on the cooler side, the crop has come on very strong, with volume increasing throughout the next few weeks. The forecast has warm temps coming into and thru the weekend, the day temps may reach into the high 70's and mid 80's, with night temps in the high 40's to low 50's, this type of weather will keep the volume strong. The fruit quality is still holding, the QC people are working with the harvesters to keep any off quality out of the packs.

Sincerely,

Steven Yamamoto

Oxnard 4/4/07

Gentlemen,
The upcoming forecast suggest a slight cooling trend, with a chance of drizzle early next week, nothing of concern. Even with the cooler than normal temps for the day, our night time temps are beginning to creep up, with the days getting longer, the crop is starting to show signs of the next push in volume. We will be increasing each week as we approach our "peak" harvest, which will begin next week and each week thereafter, for the month of April.

Sincerley,
Steven Yamamoto

California Strawberry Volume Report

Report for 04/02/08

Cumulative Fresh Volume Weekending
03/29/2008: 15,782,808 Trays
03/31/2007: 14,709,172 Trays

Total CA Volume for week ending 03/29/2008: 4,121,809 Trays

Total Week's Volume from 03/30/2008 - 03/31/2008
Orange-San Diego-Coachella District: 164,905 Trays
Oxnard: 787,231 Trays
Santa Maria: 154,482 Trays
Salinas-Watsonville: 22,245 Trays

California Total: 1,128,863 Trays
Florida: 57,686 Trays
Mexico Crossings Thru Baja Ca: 102,682 Trays

Average price as of 04/01/2008 for Flats 12 1-Pint baskets
Orange-San Diego-Coachella District: $9.90 (Conventional)
Oxnard: $9.90 (Conventional)
Santa Maria: $9.90 (Conventional)
Florida: $7.40 (Conventional)

Average price as of 04/01/2008 for Flats 4 2-Lb containers with lids
Oxnard: $6.90 (Conventional)
Santa Maria: $6.90 (Conventional)
Average price as of 04/01/2008 for Flats 8 1-Lb containers with lids
Orange-San Diego-Coachella District: $6.90 (Conventional)
Oxnard: $6.90 (Conventional)
Santa Maria: $6.90 (Conventional)
Florida: $7.40 (Conventional)
Mexico Crossings Thru Baja Ca: $6.90 (Conventional)