The Georgia peach harvest has commenced and growers are feeling optimistic. The weather has been favorable throughout the growing season which has resulted in an excellent crop. In fact, The Genuine Georgia Group - which represents many of Georgia's peach growers - said it expects to pack approximately 3 million boxes of peaches this year. Growers like Robert Dickey of Dickey Farms said it's one of the best crops in years.
"It looks to be an excellent crop this year," he said. "The weather has cooperated, we have had good winter chill hours as well as some good moisture in the lead up. We expect to see good volumes on everything with the exception of some of the very early varieties. Therefore, supplies will be more limited in May, but once June comes around, we expect to have strong volumes throughout the season which will go until mid August."
Early varieties already being harvested
Although the official season launch is on May 20, growers are already picking some of the early varieties. Some are even starting to harvest subsequent varieties. As mentioned, the majority of varieties will be in good supply this season.
"We started harvesting the Flavor Rich variety this past week and we are about to start on some other varieties," Dickey shared. "Along with the strong volume, we are seeing good sizing on the fruit along with excellent quality. There has been no weather issues so we don't foresee any problems with supplies, especially from June onwards."
Many packaging types available
With the sale of fixed weight produce items steadily increasing and in some cases, overtaking that of loose produce, many producers are considering their packaging options in order to provide buyers with more variety to try and stay ahead of the market. Dickey said his company has a variety of different packaging options available to retailers.
"Dickey Farms is very flexible when it comes to packaging," he said. "We have a variety of different sizes and shapes available, and we are capable of providing these at any time. We are looking forward to working with retailers as this strong Georgia peach season builds."
For more information:
Robert Dickey
Dickey Farms
Ph: +1 (478) 836-4362
rdickey@dickeyfarms.com
www.dickeyfarms.com