Summer organic veggie highs and lows

The summer season is not typically overly friendly to organic vegetable grower-shippers. There are regional deals all over the country that slice into the market and often create low demand and marginal FOB prices for the year-round West Coast shippers.  

This year does not appear to be a big exception to that rule, but there have been some demand-exceeds-supply situations with very good markets as a result. Currently, the organic broccoli market (and the conventional market as well) is experiencing a lack of supply with prices topping $50 FOB coast to coast.  

Gabe Romero, Salesperson, The Nunes Company

Gabe Romero of The Nunes Company said supplies have been very light on all broccoli—both conventional and organic—so the market has been good and should remain at an elevated level at least until the end of June. He revealed that Nunes’ significant vegetable deal, in conjunction with Peri & Sons in Yerington, Nevada, is gearing up in mid-June, but the significant increase in supplies won’t occur until the end of the month. He said the market is strong ($50 per carton) and may go even higher until supplies catch up. 

Romero added that the organic celery market was performing well at the beginning of the month but good supplies from Salinas were moderating the supply/demand curve and the price had come down a bit. Romero did note that the Nevada organic deal was coming on fast and excellent quality and volume is right around the corner. 

Darrell Beyer, Founding Partner, Bluebird Mountain Organics

Darrell Beyer of Blue Mountain Organics in Reno, Nevada, agreed that the organic broccoli market was on fire, but many other organic items were experiencing the summer downturn in demand. “Kale is in the doldrums and green onions had a hiccup (of higher prices), but they are back down again. There is plenty of cilantro, parsley and spinach,” he said of the organic offering, adding that organic celery was also scarce, but he though that would be short lived. 

Michael Boskovich of Boskovich Farms in Oxnard, CA, said Boskovich does cut back significantly on its summer organic acreage, precisely due to the regional deals around the country. “We do have organic green onions, beets and celery right now…and the celery is doing very good.” 

Michael Boskovich, Organic Sales, Boskovich Farms

He agreed that the market has come off a bit but expects it to hold fairly steady through July. “It’s a planting issue,” Boskovich reported. “We had crazy weather during the planting season and now we are seeing gaps.” 

He said the bagged organic beet market has been doing well so far because many of the local deals have started a little late this season, expanding the marketing window for western shippers. 

Speaking on the situation from one East Coast grower-shipper perspective was Sean McFadden of Parker Farms, which is headquartered in Harrisonburg, VA. The company increased its organic offerings significantly this season and, fortuitously, organic broccoli is one of its main crops in that sector. But McFadden also said that unfavorable weather along the Eastern Seaboard, where it grows much of its organic production, has slowed the growth of the plants creating the gaps.  

“Kale is in the doldrums and green onions had a hiccup (of higher prices), but they are back down again. There is plenty of cilantro, parsley and spinach." - Darrell Beyer

He added that it has been a good season with regard to market price because supply is limited on many items across the board. The company’s organic broccoli production from Georgia was able to profit from the good market, but that crop is finished, and McFadden said they are just hoping that the company’s North Carolina and Virginia broccoli—both organic and conventional —kicks in quickly to take advantage of the grower-friendly pricing. He noted that East Coast-grown broccoli was selling for $50 a carton that day. 

Speaking to OPN Connect on June 17, McFadden said the next few days would see tight supplies but, by next week, Parker Farms should have solid organic supplies to sell to its core of East Coast retailers. He revealed that its major organic crops are broccoli, celery, peppers and sweet corn.