New season and a new crop.

 As a farmer, it is always the excitement of what might come, how nice and sweet your crop is, how good the market is, and most importantly maybe it will rain. These are the good and bad of farming, but like most jobs, a lot of it is out of your control. We have just received our first rain after a very dry past season, so we are optimistic and we are enjoying the snowcapped Sierras.

This past year gave us one of the shortest crop volume years in recent history.  Most citrus varieties other than lemons were short which presented many challenges to both the growers and the retailers.  Luckily the fruit was strong and we were able to supply our customers throughout the year.

This year’s navel and mandarin crops are better. Navels are up 15% to 20% over last year with excellent quality and flavor.  We began harvest earlier than past years due to the higher-than-normal sugar content.  The flavor profile is also excellent this year due to a very good sugar to acid ratio.

We have been harvesting and shipping navels for over 4 weeks with very good market acceptance and reorders.  We are looking, as always, to a good navel season.

Blossoms

 Spring has sprung and blossoms abound.  As you can see from the pictures, we are experiencing a large bloom this year.  This could signal a large crop if the oranges that develop stick on the trees.  After a season that saw navel production off by 30% and mandarin production off by 60%, we may be expecting a bumper crop for next year and the bloom we are now expering may confirm this.  Mother nature always has her say, so a warmer than normal spring or summer could cut this crop back down, but in the mean time, the blossom smell in the air is amazing, and at times, a bit overpowering to those of us who live in our groves.

Topping and Hedging

Critics Choice award promo

For the past two years, Sunkist Growers has been the red carpet sponsor for the Critics Choice awards in Hollywood.  As part of the program, Sam Rubin, the red carpet host and TV personality in Los Angeles helps showcase different Sunkist varieties.  This year Sam Rubin visited one of our farms and filmed a promo with Mark's daughter, Melissa Burchett, who discussed the health benefits and great flavors of varieities we grow.

Not a normal season, but are they ever?

As we finish up January, we thought we would provide a look at our season so far.  From a rainy December to the driest January in history, the weather always keeps us guessing.  Our current snowpack is normal, but if we do not get more rainfall, we could be facing another drought year.  We went all through last year with very little water from our dams and if those dams are not replenished by rain, and more importantly snow, this could be a very tough growing season ahead.

We are half way through our cold season when we have to be cautious of cold weather, but thus far, we have only had very minor cold nights where we are only having to protect our lemons and mandarins as they freeze easier than oranges.  The cold weather is actually very good for all tree crops, as it helps set better crops and keeps the fruit in good condition, and this has been the case so far this season.

The crop on mandarins and oranges is off by about 50% and 25% respectively.  Lemons are over last year with about 15% more fruit.  This lighter crop and a new packinghouse on line this year has greatly eased the stress levels from last year.  Our new packing facility in Reedley has come on line better than any of us could have imagined.  This house was designed for export fruit where gentle treatment and high brix detection are necessary and it is doing both very well.  If you missed the video, check the past blogs for an updated video of oranges running across the line.

Our employees are surviving the pandemic and we are seeing fewer sick days due to covid by far compared to last season.  It is starting to feel closer to normal.  Take care and remember to eat an orange a day to help keep covid away.