Growers in North Carolina will see their first cabbage crops for the season within the next two weeks. Georgia is the primary growing region on the East Coast at the moment and weather conditions have been favorable so far. Supply is good and there are no gaps expected, unless any rain events occur. "We will shortly be transitioning to the North Carolina season which will continue through to November," said Jonah Critcher of Critcher Brothers. "Weather conditions in Georgia have been very good and as a result, supply has also been excellent. Cabbage is in plentiful supply which is typical for this time of year. Wet weather is forecast though, and there is the chance of storms coming in, so we hope this will not affect the crops in any way."
Demand consistent
Along with the bountiful supplies, the demand for cabbage has been steady. There was not much change in this despite the Memorial Day holiday, which matches growers' sentiments that cabbage is not a big mover for this particular holiday. The market is also cheaper at the moment, however this may change once the North Carolina season begins.
"Demand has been consistent and hasn't changed very much for some time now," Critcher observed. "The Memorial Day holiday attracts other items such as potatoes and sweet corn, with cabbage demand remaining steady. The market is cheaper, but we are hoping that as we transition to North Carolina, it will improve."
"North Carolina has a larger overall acreage than Georgia, however the districts are spread out in terms of their growing timeframe," he continued. "We grow in different areas throughout the season, beginning with the far eastern coast, before moving to the Piedmont area, and finally into the mountains. This spreads the season out more."
Trial of plastic bins
Critcher Brothers have been using traditional cardboard boxes to pack and transport their cabbage. However, this season they are looking to make a change to plastic, and have already begun trails. If successful, they will consider moving away from the cardboard.
"We've been working on getting plastic boxes to pack our cabbage in," Critcher shared. "The cardboard boxes tend to get wet and they can more easily collapse. We have samples of the plastic boxes which we are using for trials at the moment and they are the same size and capacity of the cardboard boxes. It's still in the development phase right now."
For more information:
Jonah Critcher
Critcher Brothers
Tel: +1 (828) 264-2669