The initial stage of Salinas Valley's vegetable crop rotation is concluded, with early-season lettuce harvesting in July. Post-harvest, ground preparation commences for the subsequent crop cycle.
Ryan Kelly, vice president and general manager of Boutonnet Farms, reports favorable weather conditions for lettuce and other vegetables in Monterey County. Market scenarios for spring and summer often deal with lettuce oversupply from California and Mexico, yet adverse weather conditions in Mexico during spring favored Californian output.
"The Salinas Valley in the summertime is typically brutal because we're in a somewhat oversupply situation," Kelly noted. This usual scenario shifted due to Mexico's adverse weather, boosting prices for U.S. farmers.
"They had some weather down there that negatively affected their lettuce crop," he added.
Kelly's mid-July romaine lettuce harvest transitions into a subsequent Brassica crop to promote soil health by alternating crop types. "This year has been a pretty mild year in terms of weather," Kelly remarked, indicating minimal local production issues.
By midsummer, ground turnover for the next crop, like Brussels sprouts, scheduled for October harvest, poses challenges such as managing the Diamondback Moth insect pressure. "These last few years, the Diamondback Moth has been bad," Kelly commented, referring to insect management strategies involving nutrition, trapping, bug vacuums, and insecticide treatments.
Source: FarmProgress
