Spring Bloom

This year’s bloom has now dropped and everyone is trying to determine what size crop we will have for next year.  As it is too early to see how much of the young fruit will stay on the tree, we do think this looks like a lighter crop than this past year. 

 

Our weather has been mild and this will help to hold this new fruit on the tree; however, if the weather heats up too fast or just stays hot for any length of time, we could drop more fruit than we would like.  We will have a better idea on the outlook for this new crop in July and he official CASS estimate comes out in early September.

This past year’s navel crop was challenging: small sizes, poor weather, and fruit pliability; however, we worked hard to provide a quality package and appreciate all of our customer’s efforts to help move this season’s crop.

We are currently harvesting valencias and we are mainly exporting as the domestic market still prefers navels.  The valencias are on the smaller size with fruit peaking on 88’s and 113’s.  The fruit has a very good eating quality and there has been no regreening.  

Sunkist revenue tops $1 billion — Gillette elected Chairman

Sunkist Growers revenues topped $1 billion in 2010 for the 10th time in 20 years, Sunkist president Russell Hanlin said at the citrus marketing cooperative’s meeting in California.

More than 800 growers attended the 117th annual meeting Feb. 23 at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, according to a news release.

Hanlin attributed the revenue results to improved coordination between Sunkist’s sales and production wings.

“We were faced with, and successfully overcame, many difficulties imposed by the weak global economy,” Hanlin said in the release. “We ended the year strong and financially stable … more efficient and well-positioned for continued success.”

Mark Gillette, Dinuba, Calif., was elected to his first term as chairman of the Sunkist board. He succeeds Nick Bozick, president of at Richard Bagdasarian Inc., Mecca, Calif., who served five consecutive terms — the maximum under Sunkist bylaws, according to the release.

Mark Gillette, a fourth generation citrus grower, is president of the Sunkist-affiliated Gillette Citrus Inc., a vertically integrated company that grows, packs and ships fresh citrus. He grows Navel, Cara Cara, and Moro oranges; Mandarins; Lemons and Valencia oranges in Fresno and Tulare counties.

 After Mr. Gillette earned his Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, he joined the Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporation before establishing Gillette Citrus Inc. in partnership with his father, Dean and brother, Jay and Grandfather Earl in 1983. 

Mr. Gillette has served on the Sunkist Board of Directors since 1999 and was elected as a Vice Chair of the Executive Committee for the five of those years. He is also a long-time board member and past Vice-Chairman of Fruit Growers Supply Company, a manufacturing and supply cooperative which provides services for grower-members of Sunkist.

Other board choices include vice chairmen William Chaney, Sun City, Ariz.; Gerald Denni, Strathmore, Calif.; and James Finch, Ojai, Calif. Chaney, a lemon and specialty citrus grower, is president of Marlin Packing Co. and three other firms under the Marlin name. Denni is general manager of Golden Valley Citrus and co-owner of Mittman-Denni Citrus Management, which oversees more than 1,800 acres of California citrus.

Finch was elected to the Sunkist board in 2004 from the Saticoy Fruit Exchange. He grows lemons, oranges and avocados in Ventura County.

Twenty-seven board members were elected or reelected.

Peak flavor

If you have not tried navels this year or you are waiting for them to ripen, now is the time to buy.  The navels are at their peak flavor and will be through spring time.  There is a bumper crop and the the price is right to make navels part of all your family's meals.  Navels are an easy side dish for all meals and one of the easiest ways to serve them is to just peel and slice into cubes.  They are sweet and juicy and do not have seeds.  Kids love them and you can feel good about providing a healthy alternative.

Cara Caras are also at their peak.  Cara caras are pink flesh navels and have less acid than a navel.  A fun recipe is to mix the pink colored fruit with the orange navel for a great looking dish the tastes great.

 

To learn more about both these varieties, please go to the Company info section and look up varieties.

Not so perfect weather

We should never complain about rain, but we are about to start.  Due to the recent rains we have not been able to get into the fields since last Thursday.  We have received over 4 inches from this current series of storms and they are not finished.  Hopefully we will get a break and be able to resume harvest in the next few days.  Stay tuned....

Perfect Weather

This year’s crop is high in sugar but has lagged behind on color and the recent cool nights can only help.

We have been fortunate with our cool late November weather.  Although some forecasters showed projections in the mid 20’s, Mother nature cooperated and gave us nice temperatures in the low 30’s to a few high 20 degree nights.  This is perfect weather to harden off the trees and fruit and to help bring on color. 

We have two main tools to fight off cold weather: water and wind machines.  Wind machines are 32 foot towers with 17 to 19 foot propellers that are driven by large engines or have 75 to 100 hp electric motors.  These machines stir up the warmer air and blow it down through the orchards to help raise the temperature.  Depending on that night’s inversion layer, we can increase the temperature up by 2 to 4 degrees.  There is typically one machine for every 10 acres. On a typical freeze night, wind machines will be started when the temperature drops below 30 degrees (sooner for mandarins and lemons) and the machines will be shut off in the morning as the temperature rises back to safe levels.  Most machines are started by hand however many of the newer machines start automatically by thermostat.

 Water is also a very good tool to help avert cold temperatures.  The water is pumped from the wells and comes out of the ground from 50 to 60 degrees.  The water heats the air as it freezes and helps hold the heat in the ground longer. The wells must be started before the temperature dips below freezing, as the hoses that carry the water to the trees will freeze and not allow the water to make it across the orchard. 

Let us hope for a cool but not cold winter and a successful season.