California apricot and peach harvest has started

Overview of peaches from California in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published on May 6, 2024.

While California saw a few weeks of heavy rain and hail this spring, the damage to the stone fruit crop was minimal. In fact, the growing conditions have been very good this spring as is evident by looking at the health of the tree and the fruit set. As a result, the crop is currently scheduled to harvest ahead of last year’s season start. “We were warmer in February and March, and we were 7-10 days ahead of last year, but a cooler April has pushed us back to maybe only 5-7 days ahead of 2023 harvest dates,” says Krista Beckstead with Mountain View Fruit Sales. “In addition, we’re expecting a larger quantity compared to the past few years,” she added. Crop volume will especially be up over last year, which was a low volume year for stone fruit. “The favorable growing conditions have resulted in the fruit first being harvested last week but the volume is light,” Beckstead shared. Apricot harvest and the first round of peaches were also picked last week with white peaches starting this week. In addition to apricots and peaches, the company also grows nectarines (both yellow and white) as well as plums, plumcots and grapes.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

This year marks Mountain View Fruit Sales’ 30th stone fruit season. “We are excited to celebrate it together as a team alongside our retail partners and consumers.” Over the years, the company has built long-lasting relationships with each of its customers and the company prides itself on being “more than just a box of fruit”. The company is family owned and all fruit comes from family farmers. Many of them live on land farmed by their parents and grandparents. Old time traditions are still being practiced and knowledge is passed down from one generation to the next. What also sets Mountain View apart from other stone fruit growers is its ripening process for all Summeripe branded product. “The fruit is ripened a bit longer once picked and before it is shipped to the retailers. This allows the fruit to stay in the optimal eating quality window longer, making it perfect and ready to eat once it hits the consumer’s home,” said Beckstead.

Celebrations

As part of its 30th anniversary Mountain View Fruit Sales has some fun giveaways scheduled to celebrate the stone fruit season. The first giveaway is scheduled for the end of May to celebrate the company’s 30th Year of Harvest and the second one will take place the week of the 4th of July. It will be titled “Cheers to Summer” and will be in partnership with Tea With Tae – featuring their peach/nectarine iced tea product and Mountain View’s stone fruit. The winner will receive a prize pack filled with products from both companies and more.

The News in Charts is a collection of stories from the industry complemented by charts from Agronometrics to help better tell their story.

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