Mother Nature may have made things a little easier on pickle crops in Ontario, Canada after dolling out some less than desirable spring and early summer weather conditions. “Our Ontario (pickle) crop is scheduled to start July 15. That will take us to about September 15. July 15 is a little bit late for us,” said Peter Mead with Can-Am Pepper Company. “It’s a little over week late, but that was mainly due to weather.” They have expectations of a strong yielding crop for pickling cucumbers for mini gherkins all the way up to larger pickling sizes.
3,200 acres in Ontario
Their most sizeable volume comes out of Ontario; over 3,200 acres is dedicated solely to pickles. Mexico wound down a couple of weeks ago. Mead said the season there “was fantastic.” It was their first year growing pickles out of Mexico (Hermosillo and Culiacan). “In doing so, it exceeded expectations to the point where we have increased acreage to about 1,000 for the upcoming fall-winter-spring programs.” Pickle cucumber production is crossing from Nogales, Arizona to Eagles Pass, Texas. “Having a diverse growing region is important for us, and we have strategically planted in various geographic regions to protect our commitments and contracts.
Sustainable operations throughout the Western Hemisphere (Canada, US Mexico & Colombia) are a combination of open field and protected crops. “In Ontario – we’re harvesting a combination of open field & protected agriculture,” said Mead. Our Mexican crop will have about 1,000 acres where a good portion is in shade.” CanAm Pepper’s involvement in fresh and processing arenas allow us to service a wider range of customers, Mead said. “Our unique vantage point is our ability to plan for our processing commitments, and then cherry pick the cream of the crop for retail customers. CanAm currently services the major chains and wholesalers, along with household brands such as Vlasic and Mount Olive through our processing outlet.”
The current market for fresh is doing “very well”, about $22 FOB/bushel according to Mead. Whether or not that will maintain, he says, may change once northern growing areas like New Jersey comes into production. The market may soften, but prices historically remain plus or minus in that range. In terms of quality, Mead says they’ve identified a few varieties that work very well for fresh market not for just flavor profile, but also shelf life. “We take pickles very seriously.” Since they grow in such high volume, they continue to research varieties and perfect efficiencies.
Packaging
Value-add packaging will be introduced soon, which will feature recipes and how-to for the customer to utilize at home. The package will be launched through major retailers in Canada with hopes of the US customers to follow. Mead says it’s a half-bushel package for the pickling cucumber. “It’s an emphasis to add additional ring sales, not to pull from the open basket which is a traditional packaging for locally grown pickles in the Jul-Aug-Sept time frame. It’s to give more attention to the consumer and a creative way to enjoy pickles.”
For more information:
Peter Mead
Can-Am Pepper Company
Ph: 561.945.2793