When shopping for fresh produce this spring or summer, there’s a good chance buyers will find it in California’s Santa Maria growing area.
Growers in the Santa Maria Valley produce a wide variety of produce commodities on about 50,000 acres of rich, fertile soil in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, according to Claire Wineman, president of the Santa Maria-based Grower Shipper Association of Santa Barbara & San Luis Obispo Counties.
April through September is the region’s prime growing season.
“The Santa Maria growing region offers a variety of exceptional fresh produce and is an important supplier of fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the United States and beyond,” Wineman said.
Strawberries, wine grapes, broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce are the top five items produced there. As the spring season gets underway, grower-shippers are ramping up production of their bestselling fruits and vegetables.
Babé Farms in Santa Maria is featuring its Pink Rhone Little Gem lettuce, characterized by “a sweet crunch, mild buttery flavor and glossy texture,” said Matt Hiltner, marketing manager. Pink Rhone was launched last summer and “interest exceeded all expectations,” he said.
The company also added a new sales representative, Sarah Grizzle, a recent graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Grizzle will serve as a liaison between the sales team and customers.
This spring and summer, Babé Farms is shipping a vibrant mix of specialty vegetables, including colorful root veggies, baby head lettuces, its signature Blonde Frisée, romanesco cauliflower, fennel, celery root and more, Hiltner said.
“With the wide variety of packs, sizes and colors we offer, Babé Farms typically grows and ships over 60 unique items at any given time,” he said.
The company is pleased with the quality and sizing of its specialty vegetables so far this season.
“The consistency has been excellent, and with warmer weather on the horizon, we expect continued improvement across the board,” Hiltner said.
Babé Farms, which ships year-round, expects to have an increase in volume this year as the company focuses on deepening relationships with customers through more in-person visits, sales training and a stronger presence at trade shows, he said.
Santa Maria-based Pacific Coast Produce will have good volume of conventional and organic soft squash, including green Italian, yellow straightneck and Mexican gray squash from May through November, said Derrick Doud, vice president. In mid-June, the company will kick off its chili pepper program, which will run through December.
Pacific Coast Produce ships broccoli, celery and cauliflower year-round.
“Quality from here on out should be excellent across the board,” Doud said in late March. “We had very good growing conditions.”
Gold Coast Packing Inc. in Santa Maria will continue to ship its cornerstone items such as broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, spinach, cilantro, Brussels sprouts and other value-added vegetables, said Monica Cordero, director of sales.
“The growing conditions have been optimal to set us up for a great transition back to Santa Maria,” she said. “Quality is expected to be great.”
The company’s Santa Maria harvest is now underway and will continue until the deal returns to the desert.
Besides conventional produce, many Santa Maria growers offer a selection of organically grown items. Pacific Coast Produce offers organic versions of its soft squash, Doud said.
The majority of Babé Farm’s crops are conventionally grown, Hiltner said, but the company also offers organic bunched green and lacinato kale.
Gold Coast Packing offers organic broccoli florets, cauliflower florets and spinach, Cordero said.
“Organic sales have been steady with slightly more interest in organic,” she said.
