Coachella kicks off artichoke season
Ocean Mist Farms, a Castroville, Calif.-based grower and marketer of fresh artichokes, says its Oxnard winter crop artichoke program is in full production. As the Coachella season begins, Ocean Mist is eyeing strong volumes to meet customer demand through the holiday season and into the new year, according to a news release.
“The quality of these artichokes coming out of Oxnard looks exceptional and volumes are strong,” Rick Bravo, vice president of sales and marketing, said in the release. “After the weather challenges from last year which contributed to a lighter December harvest, this is a great opportunity for retailers to generate some strong year-over-year performance to close out Q4 of 2023.”
Migrating its growing operations in the fall each year, Ocean Mist Farms has four winter growing regions, with its main winter crop operation in Coachella. The company says it takes a scientific approach to what crops are grown when and where, as it migrates operations north to south. This ensures the year-round availability of virtually all of its product line, the release said.
“We have the quality and promotable volumes to support customer demand through the holiday season,” Ben Wilson, commodity manager for Ocean Mist, said in the release. “This is the perfect opportunity for ads and promotions that will generate buzz and excitement in produce departments and get artichokes in carts. Consumers will be left feeling like the holidays came early this year.”
Ocean Mist says Coachella is a strategic differentiator for the company’s artichoke business.
“The sandy soil is the real game-changer for us,” Ocean Mist’s Coachella Vice President of Production Jeff Percy said in the release. “The higher sand content in the soil makes for lighter material that allows us to work faster and still be able to harvest after heavy rains.
“Because the land in the Coachella Valley hasn’t been as heavily farmed as some other growing regions, it has less insect and disease pressure,” Percy continued. “We’ve also been using drip and sprinkler irrigation for over 20 years now, which means we’re utilizing the ground water more effectively. It also means we can farm virtually every square inch of the fields without the need for water basins.”
