While the East Coast and most of the U.S. is experiencing warm weather, leading to higher consumption of salads and summery meals, the country's main locations for growing leafy greens and other vegetables during winter, are suffering from the affects of winter weather. In the Imperial Valley and Yuma, Ariz., vegetable planting got off to a bad start as higher-than-normal temperatures in September caused germination problems.
Production problems in the state's desert growing region and a spike in demand this fall and winter have shot up prices for some vegetables. Now, with El Niño-fueled rainstorms slowing harvest, Imperial Valley growers say people may continue to see higher prices for a while longer.
A cold snap that followed further delayed development of the crops, particularly cauliflower, which is more susceptible to cold weather and stops growing, Imperial Valley grower Alex Jack said, noting that he had "lots of acres that should've been ready to go" but could not be shipped.
While the price of salad greens jumped, cauliflower prices soared. Broccoli prices also have been on the high side, but Jack said he thinks that market is responding more to increased demand. He noted his broccoli production was not affected much by the early heat and that many Imperial Valley growers plant broccoli mainly for crop rotation, growing just enough to cover their customers' needs.
For about the last two weeks, Jack said his production numbers have been increasing. Production of both head and leaf lettuces is "pretty much normal," he said, while cauliflower production is about 75 percent of normal. But he warned that it will take "a little while to fill the supply chain," so prices for items such as cauliflower will remain high, although they have started to come down in recent days.
Aside from production issues, Kay Pricola, executive director of the Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association said the only other concern at this point is being able to send their crops to market. She noted a hard freeze on the East Coast two years ago shut down transportation to some markets, resulting in less crop being sold.
"While it's all contracted, farmers are only paid on delivery," she said.
Source: California Farm Bureau Federation