Strong Organic Veg Market Heading Toward Transition

As organic vegetable production finishes up its summer season and heads toward the fall/winter transition in warmer climates, there has been some strengthening of the FOB prices, with several items in the “hot market” category.

“Green onions continue to enjoy an exciting market, and the broccoli market is on fire,” said Darrell Beyer of Bluebird Mountain Organics in Reno, Nevada.

Darrell Beyer, Bluebird Mountain Organics

The organic FOB market on celery and spinach is also strong, and the kale market is decent, according to Beyer. Rain on the East Coast over the last couple of weeks has brought some local organic deals to a standstill, creating good demand once again for West Coast production.

According to the longtime organic produce salesman, production of several organic crops is in the process of transitioning to California’s Ventura County. The fall deal looks very promising as he anticipates good demand will allow the strong markets to persist. “It looks like we are going to have some good markets through Thanksgiving,” he said.

“Green onions continue to enjoy an exciting market, and the broccoli market is on fire.” - Darrell Beyer

Organic spinach from Oxnard (Ventura County) during the first week of October is very limited, with the FOB in the $40-$60 range—if you can secure any product. “It will come off a bit when the volume kicks in, but I expect it to be a good market for a while," Beyer said.

Organic broccoli is currently in the $36-$40 range, Beyer said, and should hold for at least the next month as Oxnard supplies won’t be voluminous until late October. Organic celery is in the same boat.

“It’s a tight celery market—$32-$35," Beyer said. "My celery deal is not going to start until the last week of October.”

The fall transition period is setting up to be fairly strong with potential gaps as growers complete the transition to their winter vegetable regions, which stretch from Ventura County through the California and Arizona deserts and down to Mexico.

Casey Mills, director of commodity management for Braga Fresh Family Farms in Soledad, California, agreed that strong markets and tight supplies are on tap during the fall transition period.

Casey Mills, Director of Commodity Management, Braga Fresh Family Farms

“As we head into fall, we are seeing crop growth slow down significantly with the onset of cooler weather,” Mills said. “In addition, locally grown programs across the country are slowly coming to an end, which will lead to increased demand for us as we head into October.”

Demand exceeds supply in a handful of organic commodities, Mills said, including broccoli, red and green leaf lettuce, green onions, and sweet baby broccoli.

“We anticipate organic celery and organic iceberg to follow suit in the coming weeks,” he said, adding that the organic veg market does look as if it will remain strong through at least October and November. “We are already seeing overall demand pick up and anticipate that trend to continue.”

“As we head into fall, we are seeing crop growth slow down significantly with the onset of cooler weather. In addition, locally grown programs across the country are slowly coming to an end, which will lead to increased demand for us as we head into October.” - Casey Mills

Mills said the company’s field personnel are still walking its winter desert fields and evaluating initial plantings to determine start dates. “We will have more information as we get a little bit closer to that date, but everything does look to be on time for now,” he said this week, adding that the weather over the next few weeks will determine how crops progress. Braga typically transitions to the desert around the second week in November for a majority of its customers.

Michael Boskovich of Boskovich Farms in Oxnard, California, agreed that the organic green onion market remains very strong, with an increase in the supply situation not expected until mid-October. Boskovich is currently harvesting its green onions in Mexico and transporting them to Oxnard to be packed. He reported a tight market with sales in the $40s not uncommon.

Michael Boskovich, Boskovich Farms

Boskovich’s organic fall deal will get underway in Oxnard in a couple of weeks with green onions, celery, broccoli, green and blue kale, and red and yellow chard.