Page 26 - CFAN_Jun2014

You six weeks
got . It’s such a
brief don’t really
window. If you
don’t
nail it you
right, get a
second chance
.

“You got six weeks. It’s such a wet. December’s temperatures averaged 68.5

brief window. If you don’t really degrees, making it the ith warmest since 1890,
nail it right, you don’t get a second when they started keeping records. he warmest

chance,” he explains. “Mother December, in 1931, had an average temperature

nature’s always got the last laugh.”
of 72.3 degrees. May’s rainfall totaled 8.54
Growers with early fruit fared inches, making it the fourth wettest since 1890;

best. “Fortunately, we kind of the wettest year was 1979, when 17.64 inches
guessed on the right side,” Sumner were logged. Weather data also shows seven fair

adds. “he guys who were able
days in January, with 13 cloudy and 11 partly
to harvest in that window did extremely well.” cloudy. he number of cloudy days may have
continued from page 24
Sumner believes the grower beneits when contributed to problems, reports Calfee, general
marketers like West Lake Produce represent manager of Ferris Farms Inc. in Floral City.
more people are becoming in tune with that,” he

various growing regions, because they represent Dr. Jef Williamson, an extension specialist explains.

more berries and share information.
for blueberries at the University of Florida/ Blueberry harvests are diicult to forecast,
he Bartow-based Clear Springs Farms Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/ which is part of the challenge. “We just don’t

had a good year, and still was picking in early IFAS) in Gainsville, agrees most of the season’s have enough history with our varieties to
June. “We’ve continued to pick long ater problems were weather related. “Weather is
know what we’re going to produce every year,”

most of the companies
key,” he says, adding the late start
Braswell explains.
have quit, mostly because
hat can make timing tricky for marketers

we don’t have a Georgia
trying to unload Florida fruit before competitors
deal,” explains Braswell,
glut the market. his year prices were dropping

the farm’s manager. “We
with no fruit in the market. “hat never made

don’t need to worry about
any sense,” Braswell says. “Usually when you
marketing Georgia fruit.”
have a low volume you have high prices.”

he 400-acre farm does
Promotional prices set up in advance had
its own marketing, and
to be honored, although the anticipated glut

will take in additional
of fruit did not materialize. “he timing of
Florida fruit next year,
the promotions was horrible,” says Braswell,

he adds.
who owns the Auburndale-based Berry Care
consulting and caretaking irm. “Growers have
BLUE FACTOR:
to address this problem.”
WEATHER
National Weather
At Winter Haven’s West Lake Produce, they
like to give growers a price at the dock so they
Service preliminary
data for Tampa Bay
know the price they’re getting beforehand, says
salesman Matt Sumner. Getting it right is a
shows December was
unusually warm. May was unusually
matter of knowing the industry and “a lot of
luck,” he says.

continued on page 28

26 | CFAN
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