Spring showers hitting California this week continue to add to the sporadic nature of the state’s vegetable production. “These showers are not big storms--those are behind us. However it’s been a tough spring with the weather and all those winter rains and that really hindered the industry’s ability to plant spring crops for the entire state,” says Frank Ratto of Ratto Bros Inc.
Ratto Bros' new bagged greens line will be processed in a new plant that was built over the pandemic. The plant is running machinery and testing operations now ahead of that June launch.
Ratto notes that generally when California sees storms, they’re more localized but this winter saw rains across the state. “So while we have better water conditions, our plantings were thrown off,” he says.
That means for the next two weeks throughout California, there will be some planting gaps and Ratto predicts it will get worse before it gets better by the first of June. Crops that were able to be planted last year and come up in the spring fared better than crops that needed to be planted earlier this year given wet grounds made it difficult to get into fields. “So leaf lettuces such as butter, green, red and romaine were affected, some of our herbs are a bit behind and bok choy and napa cabbage are very tight because nobody got them in the ground. It’s just sporadic. When we saw a window to plant, we planted. In one week we planted over 100 acres of product which for us is a lot,” he says, adding that cannery tomatoes were also in the ground two weeks late and that means they’ll likely finish two weeks late. In turn, those tomatoes could run into potential weather issues at the other end of the season.
Available product
This means there’s been increased demand for product from other growing regions. “There have been storms across the country and finding products right now is difficult,” says Ratto, noting given that it offers product year-round, sometimes it’s turning to out of state for items. “Prices have also been higher because they have a captive audience now. Product is out there and available but it’s just in lesser quantities and with somewhat higher prices.”
Curly Mustard and Turnip greens are part of the new bagged greens line the company is introducing next month.
At the same time, lettuce and other salad-associated items are seeing increased demand as the weather warms up. Greater interest in eating healthier and using items such as kale in smoothies and more is also factoring into demand. “Sales are firm but I think people are really feeling the financial crunch. They’re being very selective in what they buy,” he says.
However consumers are also interested in convenience and come the early part of June, Ratto Bros. is introducing a new packaged greens program, Ratto Bros. Packaged Greens, for Southern greens including collard, mustard and turnip greens. They’ll be introduced across the country and processed in a new plant that was built over the pandemic. The plant is running machinery and testing operations now ahead of that June launch.
For more information:
Frank Ratto
Ratto Bros. Inc
Tel: +1-209-545-7575
fratto@RattoBros.com
www.rattobros.com