MARKET REPORT - SEPT. 2, 2015

Well, nailed we were!

If you read the market report from Friday, or not, either way, we said, “because the West Coast especially is about to get nailed with a type of weather system that is far from usual.”  Well, nailed we were and although winds weren’t much stronger than you would get in a good thunderstorm, with rare gusts over 90 kmh, the storm went on for hours.  Tens of thousands of trees came down and more than half of the entire Lower Mainland was without power.   90% of the trees that came down were cottonwoods, which obviously had become quite brittle after having virtually no rain for many months.  If this storm had happened in December with no leaves on the trees, the impact would have been far lower.   What we also had was copious rains with some areas receiving 100cm or more, which was more than needed, but we usually don’t get that kind of rain in August. The downside impact as you can imagine is that a lot of Fraser Valley ground crops were affected, especially spinach and butter lettuce, which is now covered in rain-splashed mud, and lettuces which were already suffering from the heat will now will develop heart rot and hollow core from too much water. Unfortunately, you will see a few more California items on the list because of this.  While talking about weather, so many Interior ground crops that came on a month early from the prolonged hot spell earlier in the summer are ending quickly.  Unless farmers did succession plantings on zucchini, cucumber etc., their only plantings are now burning out, with no backup.On the fruit side of things – BC peaches are going to wind down soon – a couple of weeks and the stone-fruit party will end except for the latest plums.  It has been a remarkable year in many ways for cherry, apricot, nectarine and peach growers.  Granted, there are always problems, and insects took their toll, but it is the first year in many when supply has matched demand, with no big shortages, no weather disasters and no gluts that provoked any price slashing.  For the first in many years, most growers are acknowledging that they had a pretty great year.  That’s always good news.Melons and grapes continue to move quickly, and with warmer weather about to return, production should stay strong for many weeks.The vegetable market is going through a bit of a shake-up, and California prices continue spendy on the staples, despite no major weather issues – just a supply / demand situation.  We have lots of listings of local greens, but for some of those items, there isn’t a lot of depth. Expect to see higher prices and limited selection on local cukes, zucchini, corn and other heat lovers – plants are burning out, and the weather has cooled off considerably, but there is still solid tomato production on all fronts.