Like many commodities out of California this spring, stone fruit will also see a later start to the season next month. “The crop is really late--definitely two weeks later than last year,” says Jon McClarty of HMC Farms. “We grow everything around the heart of the stone fruit production area near Fresno County so it will be the middle to late May when we get started.”
In turn, there may be a slightly later end to the season by a day or two. “It will compress as the season goes,” McClarty says. He notes that some of the peaches in the industry are producing late into the season, through most of October, and that some growers have plums shipping later than that.
Meanwhile, as far as the volume of the crop, it looks to be comparable to last year. “The front end might be a little bit light because of frost but nothing too bad. After that, the crop looks pretty good,” McClarty says. “The orchards do look great after all that rain. It was almost a cleansing of the soil so I do think fruit quality will be very good.”
Promotable fruit?
On demand, he anticipates it to look good following an uptick in demand the industry saw last year that McClarty is hoping to build on this year. “There will also probably be a bit more of a focus on promotions during some of the stone fruit windows,” he says.
That said, last year’s stronger pricing was needed. “We’ve had years and years of pricing not being in line with what’s needed to farm these crops. These are permanent crops and while they can come out of the ground really quickly, they can’t come back. It takes a while to grow a tree,” he says.
For more information:
Jon McClarty
HMC Farms
Tel: +1 (559) 897-1025
jonm@hmcfarms.com
www.hmcfarms.com