Excellent growing conditions have led to an oversupply of spinach in the United States. Good weather in a number of regions has contributed to an extension of the season in many areas and subsequent strong volume in the market.
"Growing conditions have been excellent resulting in an abundance of spinach on the market," said Todd Talley, of Talley Farms in California. "There has been no inclement weather in any of the regions where spinach is currently growing and we are seeing continued, strong spinach production from multiple regions. Our growing region is located just north of the Santa Maria area on the Central Coast of California, and extends all year round. The ideal conditions have meant the desert regions have started up while other areas continue to produce."The market is weak at the moment, but growers are expecting it to pick up once colder weather starts to impact some of the more seasonal growing areas. "The market is low right now," Talley noted. "Once the colder or wetter weather slows down some of the growing regions, we expect to see prices climb again as supply return to more seasonal norms."
Spinach growers' battle with mildew
Mildew is one of the issues spinach growers have to face as part of their commitment to grow a successful and healthy crop. New varieties of seedlings are often under trial in order for the spinach to continue to build resistance to mildew.
"Spinach is very susceptible to mildew," Talley said. "It's always a battle to keep ahead of it as the mildew continually finds ways to impact seed varieties that were once resistant to mildew. The issue has been going on for several years now and growers are often trialing new seed varieties that have a better resistance. It's something that we deal with on a regular basis."
For more information:
Todd Talley
Talley Farms
Tel: +1 (805) 489-5400