The future looks bright for California’s lemon crop as consumption increases and consumers discover the health benefits and versatility of the fruit, grower-shippers say.
AgriTalk Host Chip Flory brings in Jim Wiesemeyer to cover news from Washington, Greg Henderson and Pamela Riemenschneider cover online produce shopping, and Rhonda Brooks previews Farm Journal's Yield Tour.
As with other citrus production this year, mandarin volume out of California is expected to be down, growers say. But the category continues to explode in sales, often at the expense of navel oranges.
California is forecasting 70 million cartons of navel oranges in 2017-18, of which 68 million will come out of the Central Valley, according to the latest estimate from the California Department of Food and Agriculture.