Bravante Produce is acquiring more acreage for their table grape program. With the acquisition of about 700 acres of table grape production to go through in June, the company is expecting to increase annual production to two million boxes by 2017.
“I think the growing demand for grapes is being driven by better-eating fruit in the marketplace,” said Ron Wikum of Bravante Produce. “We're a part of that, and we need to grow our available crop to match that demand.” Though 700 acres of property will be dedicated to grapes, the total deal is for 1,300 acres in Madera, California that will be purchased from the Morgan Johnson family. The rest of the acreage will be dedicated to cherries or other crops. The current cherry crop will be handled through OG in Stockton, California, as it has been. The future crops will be determined at a later date after evaluation and discussion with current customers regarding demand and other factors.
In addition to the added production that the new acreage will provide, Wikum expects another 500,000 additional boxes every year in the next three years from new plantings that are currently underway. As for the upcoming season, though the drought continues to challenge growers, Wikum believes things are off to a good start.
“California has been short of water for six years now, so water management is nothing new,” he said. “We've had a good water year so far, but the drought's not going anywhere in just one year. We're just getting the first leaf growth starting, and though it's too early to tell, we expect the season to go well because of the chill hours and water we have received so far.”
For more information:
Ron Wikum
Bravante Produce
+1 559 638 5075