Nestled in the heart of California’s fertile agricultural landscape lies the vibrant Salinas Valley, renowned as the “Salad Bowl of the World.”
With its rich soil and favorable climate, this verdant region yields a bounty of fresh produce that not only graces tables across the nation, but also plays a pivotal role in shaping the global food market.
Castroville, Calif.-based Ocean Mist Farms thrives amid the fields of the Salinas Valley, cultivating an array of crops that benefit from the region’s ideal climate and soil conditions.
“Ocean Mist Farms grows nearly 30 fresh vegetable items, with our largest crop being artichokes, but we are also major growers of iceberg and leaf lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower, celery and Brussels sprouts,” Mark Munger, senior director of marketing, told The Packer.
For Salinas, Calif.-based Nature’s Reward, a fourth-generation grower, packer and shipper, the company said it finds benefit in owning its land.
This ownership allows us to plan stable plantings and volumes well in advance, said Estefania Luquin-Estrada, sales and marketing for Nature’s Reward.
“In the Salinas Valley, we are currently growing iceberg lettuce, broccoli, white, purple, orange, green and Romanesco cauliflower, romaine, romaine hearts, green leaf, red leaf, butter leaf, strawberries, endive and escarole,” she said.
Optimal weather conditions
“The rain has been on our side this year,” Munger said. “The storms were nicely spread out and worked to our advantage.”
Most of Ocean Mist Farms’ vegetable items are up slightly in volume, with artichokes now going into spring peak and purple artichoke season winding down, he said.
“Brussels sprouts are producing well with exceptional quality and in plentiful supply offering promotable volumes,” Munger said.
To handle the changing weather in the Salinas Valley, Nature’s Reward has experienced field supervisors who consistently monitor the fields to check on quality, Luquin-Estrada said.
“We also keep a constant tab on the weather patterns. With years of experience in the industry, we recognize the unpredictability of weather and prioritize transparency with our customers,” Luquin-Estrada said.
Sustainability and food safety
“In 2021, the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California created the INSV/Soil-Borne Diseases industry task force, bringing together the industry and research communities to identify factors contributing to pest and disease risks,” said Christopher Valadez, president and CEO of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California.
The task force’s strategies for reducing risks — which have included pest and disease prevalence and severity regionwide tracking, facilitation of plant pathogen diagnostics, guidance for research trials and development of funding to boost research efforts — serve as a focused home for developing actions that seek to improve crop protection outcomes, Valadez said.
“These efforts remain ongoing,” he said.
Ocean Mist Farms makes a concerted effort to take care of its land in all the communities and regions that it grows in, said Bobby Bellew, director of farming for Ocean Mist Farms.
“We continually test the soil to make sure we are only giving the plants the necessary nutrients to grow our quality vegetables, but also to ensure we are not over-saturating the plants and soil unnecessarily,” he said. “We employ the use of automation via mechanical weeders and ‘bug vacs’ to help control weed and bug populations, when possible, to avoid or minimize spraying for certain weeds and pests.
“We regularly plant cover crops which not only adds nutrients back to the soil, but also protects the valuable topsoil from wind erosion,” Bellew added.
Nature’s Reward has made a commitment to the environment and sustainable farming practices.
“We prioritize sustainable farming practices to ensure both the quality of our crops and the success of our farms,” Luquin-Estrada said.
Examples include using drip irrigation which allows the company to only use only the required amounts of water to help with conservation and reduce both fertilizer and pesticides.
“We focus on soil health with crop rotation which helps remove pests and disease cycles,” Luquin-Estrada said. “We also built a natural bee habitat to increase the population of local bees though our primary crops do not require pollination. These are just a few examples of the many sustainable practices we implement.”
Labor challenges
The Grower-Shipper Association of Central California says it has a focus on crisis management and action to support its members in the Salinas Valley.
“Under the guidance of its board of directors, the association prioritizes issues and opportunities to support its membership by evaluating how and where it can best positively
impact the economic viability of its membership while likewise determining where and to what extent it can employ actions that are likely to return a helpful result or outcome,” Valadez said.
The association has adopted initiatives in partnership with its employer-member base.
“From 2020-21, these included among the most extensive ag-focused housing, testing, and voluntary vaccination services programs to address communicable disease risks,” Valadez said.
In response to local crises, the association obtained an emergency grant to provide medical checkups and cover the cost of replacement medication for those unable to return home due to the Pajaro Levee breach and the devastating flooding, he said.
“Since 2022, the association has continued to partner with UC Davis and its SAFE program to support our members with ongoing efforts to provide wide-ranging health services for employees and local communities, where possible,” Valadez said.
The association continues to partner with allied trade organizations on federal and state policy efforts to address labor availability, he said.
Ocean Mist Farms has faced challenges in retaining experienced labor in the past decade. As its current labor force retires, domestic workers are becoming less attracted to intense physical labor, said Serafin Ruiz, director of harvesting for Ocean Mist Farms.
“Despite these challenges, Ocean Mist Farms has actively sought competitive ways to retain and attract good employees,” Ruiz said. “Our most significant success is having a good Harvesting Management Team and exceptional veteran growers.”
Good field management is one of the factors that contributes to retained labor for Ocean Mist Farms, Munger said.
For Nature’s Reward, its approach to addressing labor challenges and opportunities in the Salinas Valley is rooted in its ownership of Hilltown Packing, its harvesting company, Luquin-Estrada said.
“Many of our crews have long-term employees who are dedicated and loyal, just as we are to them,” she said.
Nature’s Reward is keen on providing excellent training and safety, upholding workers’ rights and treating all the crews with fairness, she said.
“We do our best to provide a supportive workplace to encourage recruitment and retention for our company,” Luquin-Estrada said.
Achievements and promotions
To help celebrate its centennial anniversary this year, Ocean Mist Farms created new petal inserts, hang tags and labels for the spring artichoke crop that will carry its centennial message, Munger said.
The petal inserts will have a QR code directing consumers to a web page detailing the company’s legacy and farming history.
“We also have new artichoke display bins and POS for retailers to promote our spring artichoke crop,” Munger said.
One notable achievement at Nature’s Reward has been the implementation of advanced technology, such as drones, on its farms, Luquin-Estrada said.
“For instance, we use these drones for pesticide spraying, which not only speeds up the process but also enhances worker safety,” she said. “Using our drones has allowed us to reallocate labor to other departments, optimizing workforce utilization and improving our overall company operations.”
In addition to the advanced technology, the company is always partaking in seed trials, said Luquin-Estrada, adding that these trials aim to enhance yields while minimizing input requirements.
“There are numerous strategies we implement at Nature’s Reward with the goal of positively impacting the business,” she said.
