Ocean Mist Farms, a grower and marketer of fresh artichokes in North America, advises that its Oxnard winter crop artichoke program is in full production. The Coachella season is just beginning with excellent volumes to meet customer demand.
Coachella VP of production, Jeff Percy.
“The quality of these artichokes coming out of Oxnard look exceptional and volumes are strong,” said Rick Bravo, VP sales & marketing. “After the weather challenges from last year which contributed to a lighter December harvest, this is a great opportunity for retailers to generate some strong year-over-year performance to close out Q4 of 2023.”
“We have the quality and promotable volumes to support customer demand through the holiday season,” said Ben Wilson, commodity manager. “This is the perfect opportunity for ads and promotions that will generate buzz and excitement in produce departments and get artichokes in carts.”
As it migrates its growing operations in the fall each year, Ocean Mist Farms has four winter growing regions, with its main winter crop operation being Coachella, California. Developing the science of what crops are grown when and where as it migrates its operations north to south, ensures the year-round availability of virtually its entire product line.
Ocean Mist Farms has four winter growing regions, with its main winter crop operation being Coachella, California.
Coachella, however, is a strategic differentiator for this company. “The sandy soil is the real game-changer for us,” said Coachella VP of production, Jeff Percy. “The higher sand content in the soil makes for lighter material that allows us to work faster and still be able to harvest after heavy rains. Because the land in the Coachella Valley hasn’t been as heavily farmed as some other growing regions, it has less insect and disease pressure.”
Percy also notes it’s been using drip and sprinkler irrigation for over 20 years which means it’s utilizing the ground water more effectively. ”It also means we can farm virtually every square inch of the fields without needing water basins,” he adds.
For more information:
Lori Bigras
Ocean Mist Farms
[email protected]
www.oceanmist.com