The Georgia vegetable season has gotten underway following last week's start. "Georgia is a great window because it bridges the gap between Florida and Mexico and those local deals," says Tyler Hiriak of PennRose Farms.
© PennRose Farms
Following the freeze at the end of January and early February though, was there pressure on the Georgia vegetable season? Not so much. "Many Georgia crops like peppers and eggplants are started as transplants in the greenhouse, while some growers will direct-seed items like squash and cucumbers," he said. He notes some growers were monitoring those cold temperatures and held off on planting at the usual time because they didn't want to risk losing crops.
They were also aware of the fact that some Florida growers who lost crops during the freeze needed to put something in the ground that was quick to grow and could be direct seed, such as squash and cucumbers. "So most Georgia growers saw that and pushed planting a bit later on certain items," says Hiriak, noting that for example many growers won't start on squash for example until the end of the month or early May, allowing Florida to finish and not stack on top of incoming Georgia.
With that in mind, here's a look ahead at the Georgia vegetable season.
Cabbage and squash: At PennRose, harvesting has begun on these items. "We pushed back a few days due to the earlier cold weather," says Hiriak
Following the company's slightly earlier start compared to the industry on these items, it'll move into larger volumes by next week with the ability to cover national level promotions. Promotable volumes on squash will be next week through the middle of June and on cabbage, next week through the middle of May.
© PennRose Farms
Cucumbers and okra: Harvesting will begin on these items in the last week of April/first week of May. "Cucumbers are a pretty serious deal for us because we grow our cucumbers on poles. That's not a common practice, especially in Georgia," he says. "It's more expensive, but you get a better output on the crop with more #1 fruit and higher yields." He notes that following Georgia's spring/early summer rains, that can also lead to more quality issues down the road on ground cucumbers.
On both items, promotable volumes will begin approximately two weeks after the start dates and should peak in volume for Memorial Day.
Green beans, hot peppers and eggplant: Production will start on these items at the end of April and on beans specifically, it's an item PennRose Farms hand picks. "You get a better-looking bean vs machine picked which can lead to scarring, split ends and discoloration," says Hiriak, noting the labor investment pays off in pricing of beans with a more premium pack.
Following this, production will begin on chili peppers, including Poblanos, Serranos, Long Hot peppers, Hungarian Hot peppers and more, and eggplant.
© PennRose Farms
Bell peppers: Green bell peppers are a significant part of the Georgia vegetable deal filling in between Florida/Mexican production and the Coachella/California season. Production in Georgia begins May 8-12.
"During this period, there's strong demand in both the East and even the mid-central part of the U.S. Pending Baja and Coachella/Bakersfield production on bell peppers, we will sometimes see higher demand trickle in from the Midwest as transitional periods can disrupt normal Western supply. Couple that with Eastern demand, and you can have a very heavy pull from mid-May through the first week of June," says Hiriak, noting that promotable volumes will be reached mid-May to mid-June.
© PennRose Farms
Corn: Corn harvest will begin in the first/second week of May in time for supply for Memorial Day.
While this is all for conventional production, the company also produces an entire line of organic production as well in Whigham, Georgia that also runs during the same season and time frame. Also new this year, the company has added a facility in Georgia dedicated for value-added production specifically.
As for how long the season runs, that's largely dependent on the heat seen near the end of June/beginning of July. "That's when you can get severe heat units mixed with some heavy rains towards the end of the season which leads to quality issues," he says, noting that generally the season finishes between July 1st-14th.
Also this season in Georgia, acreage may look slightly less. "From an industry perspective, the last couple of seasons have been hard on Georgia growers. If you look back from a commodity standpoint, there was a heavy amount of deflation last year and farms had a tough time producing a crop that generated a profit," says Hiriak, noting of course that planting crops takes significant capital. "So there's definitely a bit less this year than in seasons past as growers quite simply haven't made their initial investment from the previous two seasons. There won't be a scarcity in supply but it is less which should keep the crop moving at the right pace. This brings a level of balance into the marketplace. Maintaining a high level of quality at promotable prices is a good thing for both our customers and the farms."
For more information:
Tyler Hiriak
PennRose Farms
Tel: +1 (813) 633-8910
https://pennrosefarms.com/
