Church Brothers Farms' Jason Lathos Discusses Salinas-Yuma Transition
SALINAS, CA – The annual produce migration from California down to Yuma, Arizona, is underway. AndNowUKnow checked in with Church Brothers Farms to get an idea of what this year's transition will look like for the leafy green purveyor.
“October 24th was our first day of lettuce in Huron, with Salinas lettuce finishing up by November 4,” said Jason Lathos, Manager of Commodities for Church Brothers “Yuma will also start on the 4th, setting us up for a seamless transition.”
The Church Brothers processing plant will pack up and move on November 17th, and be set up to start shipping the brand's full line from Yuma by November 21st.
Despite the smooth synchronization of the transition, the company is shoring up for some turbulence thanks to the predicted rains throughout Northern California for the upcoming weeks. Many Salinas and Santa Maria crops have been in the ground for 80 to 90 days, so the rain might throw a wrench into the quality and ability to harvest.
“History has shown that when it rains during the transition, the markets tend to go up. With local crops finishing for the season, we get an increase in West Coast demand,” Lathos explained. “Michigan celery is a great example, demand increased as they finished, right before the Thanksgiving holiday shipments.”
Church Brothers predicts that West Coast demand will increase on all crops due to the finish in local product creating a higher market. If the upcoming rain creates quality issues, markets may well be higher than anticipated.
For more information on the company's Salinas-Yuma transition, watch the short video above!
