It's currently a great season for salad greens in southern California, with ideal weather conditions providing growers with good quality produce. Additionally, pest pressure has also been low, thanks to the steady weather conditions.
"Conditions in southern California have been pretty mellow," said Paul Rabadan of Scarborough Farms based in Oxnard. "We have not had too much rain or cold weather, and pest pressure has been low, overall it's been a pretty good year. Scarborough Farms specializes in small-scale custom farming. We create salad mixes, and therefore we have a year round program of salad greens including baby spinach, frisee, arugula, baby lettuce, and herbs. Because we specialize in salad blends, we grow according to what customers are asking for, rather than simply for volume."
One of the focus items for Scarborough Farms is frisee, which tends to be more popular in Europe. "Frisee is one of our main crops, and it's seeing growing popularity in the United States," Rabadan noted. "It is a member of the chicory family, with crispy leaves and a mildly bitter flavor. We sell it by itself and also as part of the majority of our salad blends."
Gradual growth in sector
The salad blend category is maturing, with suppliers saying there are many players in the market now. However, it continues to experience growth, with the end of spring one of the periods in the year that experiences good demand.
"The growth for salad blends has been steady and incremental," Rabadan observed. "At this time of year, we start to see an increase in demand as warmer weather arrives and people eat more salads. It then drops off again in July and August, because this is the time when there is more local production, in people's gardens and so forth. The demand is cyclical throughout the year."
Rabadan continued by saying that Scarborough Farms focuses on quality, and the ability to be flexible. "There are two routes for our distribution," he explained. "Mostly through wholesale, but we also have a network of local restaurants in the Los Angeles area that we cater to. Because we are a smaller player, we focus on quality and providing high-end produce to high-end establishments. It also gives us a scope of flexibility, allowing us to do a lot of custom blends for some of our customers."
Some of the challenges
As it seems to be for most growers in California, labor is one of the biggest challenges facing Scarborough Farms.
"Labor is probably our biggest challenge," Rabadan shared. "This is especially acute in California, and the more difficult it is to find workers, the more expensive it becomes. We also have to overcome the presence of the large companies that produce salads on a very large scale. Obviously, their cost base is lower, however we do have the advantage of our flexibility that keeps us going and enjoying a steady market."
For more information:
Paul Rabadan
Scarborough Farms
Tel: +1 (805) 483-9113