What’s in a name? For Salinas Valley, it means rich soil and verdant fields. Yet this famous region—where significant quantities of leafy greens, strawberries, grapes, broccoli, cauliflower, and much more are produced—is not immune to challenges.
Situated along the Salinas River and less than 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean, Salinas holds a rich history of agriculture and growth. In the late 1800s, irrigation came to the valley and for the next three decades, sugar beets were the dominant crop, later giving way to lettuce, or what was then “green gold.” The agricultural boom in the 1930s and ’40s drew beleaguered Dust Bowl workers from around the country, as well as Mexican workers through the Bracero program. Over the ensuing 60 years, Salinas continued to grow, but not without pains such as worker strikes in the ’70s, water pollution and an earthquake in the ’80s, floods in the ’90s, and a deadly E. coli outbreak in spinach in 2006.
Today, the Salad Bowl continues to be a top producer of fresh vegetables despite ongoing challenges that include drought and labor shortages.
Commodities in the Valley
Salinas is particularly well suited to growing greens and other vegetables. “We are so close to the ocean that when the rest of the nation is experiencing heat, we have cool evenings from ocean fog that allow us to grow certain kinds of produce,” explains Joe Kaslin, VP of sales and marketing at grower-shipper Bengard Ranch, Inc., which specializes in lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, and green onions, as well as parsley and cilantro.
Although the Valley is known as the Salad Bowl and acreage was once dominated by lettuce and other leafy greens, Salinas growers now produce more strawberries than iceberg lettuce. A variety of leafy greens are still high on the production list, but other top commodities include grapes, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, raspberries, Brussels sprouts, and artichokes.
“Strawberries took over iceberg lettuce last year, followed by broccoli, cauliflower, and then celery,” comments Ron Fuqua, Jr., president of Salinas-based distributor A & R Fresh, LLC, who believes the increased berry output is likely fueled by the ongoing consumer trend to eat healthier.
Bill Armstrong, owner of Armstrong Marketing, which handles both fruit and vegetables, believes the high level of antioxidants in strawberries is driving the trend, with growers like Driscoll’s touting these health benefits.
What’s in a name? For Salinas Valley, it means rich soil and verdant fields. Yet this famous region—where significant quantities of leafy greens, strawberries, grapes, broccoli, cauliflower, and much more are produced—is not immune to challenges.
Situated along the Salinas River and less than 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean, Salinas holds a rich history of agriculture and growth. In the late 1800s, irrigation came to the valley and for the next three decades, sugar beets were the dominant crop, later giving way to lettuce, or what was then “green gold.” The agricultural boom in the 1930s and ’40s drew beleaguered Dust Bowl workers from around the country, as well as Mexican workers through the Bracero program. Over the ensuing 60 years, Salinas continued to grow, but not without pains such as worker strikes in the ’70s, water pollution and an earthquake in the ’80s, floods in the ’90s, and a deadly E. coli outbreak in spinach in 2006.
Today, the Salad Bowl continues to be a top producer of fresh vegetables despite ongoing challenges that include drought and labor shortages.
Commodities in the Valley
Salinas is particularly well suited to growing greens and other vegetables. “We are so close to the ocean that when the rest of the nation is experiencing heat, we have cool evenings from ocean fog that allow us to grow certain kinds of produce,” explains Joe Kaslin, VP of sales and marketing at grower-shipper Bengard Ranch, Inc., which specializes in lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, and green onions, as well as parsley and cilantro.
Although the Valley is known as the Salad Bowl and acreage was once dominated by lettuce and other leafy greens, Salinas growers now produce more strawberries than iceberg lettuce. A variety of leafy greens are still high on the production list, but other top commodities include grapes, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, raspberries, Brussels sprouts, and artichokes.
“Strawberries took over iceberg lettuce last year, followed by broccoli, cauliflower, and then celery,” comments Ron Fuqua, Jr., president of Salinas-based distributor A & R Fresh, LLC, who believes the increased berry output is likely fueled by the ongoing consumer trend to eat healthier.
Bill Armstrong, owner of Armstrong Marketing, which handles both fruit and vegetables, believes the high level of antioxidants in strawberries is driving the trend, with growers like Driscoll’s touting these health benefits.
Another commodity trend, also spurred by the eat-healthy mantra, is a steady increase in growing organics. “Organics are huge in the consumer market,” asserts Ken Balestrieri, president of K. Balestrieri Company, Inc. “People are turning towards organics because they recognize the safety, and want a food source that doesn’t have the applications [pesticides] used in monoculture products.”
Bengard’s Kaslin admits, “We’re not into organics yet,” but says the company is “looking at it seriously. The demand appears to be increasing, and chain stores say that business is growing, while most everything else is about the same.”
Even with increasing demand, starting organic production requires a significant investment. Growers cannot label crops as ‘organic’ until the third year of production, and only after using organic seeds, no commercial pesticides, with clearly delineated lots, restrictions on composting, and a host of other requirements. Organic farms are also subject to rigid inspections and tend to be more labor-intensive, yet despite the steep requirements, market demand is creating opportunity for more production.
Similar to Kaslin’s remarks, Green Star Produce Marketing’s vice president Joe Sherer says, “We haven’t grown organic yet, but that could be around the corner. The need is there, and more and more farmers are getting into it.”
Water, or the Lack Thereof
Probably the greatest current issue for Salinas farmers is the ongoing drought and dropping water table. In mid-February the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) declared 55 California counties as primary natural disaster areas, due to losses caused by drought. This included Monterey and surrounding areas like the San Joaquin Valley, which relies on surface water from reservoirs and aqueducts. Salinas is at least fortunate to be fed mainly by wells. Rain, of course, is always hoped for—and though torrential downpours arrived in February, they were to the north, and did not reach the Valley.
To combat the shortfall, growers are putting a variety of measures in place from drip irrigation to sensors on plants and meters on wells to track water usage. Another worry is possible contamination of the water sources growers do have. “The aquifers here are struggling and more and more wells are going to get salt water intrusion,” Armstrong predicts. “Some farmers are spending upwards of $2 million to dig their wells deeper.”
As a generational farmer, Armstrong says when he was a kid, wells were dug at 180 feet and accessed plenty of water. As the years have gone by and both population and farming increased, wells deepened to 440 feet, and today, some are drilling down in excess of 1,700 feet. “One of the real struggles is the infrastructure the state has for holding water,” he explains. “There’s a tug-of-war over rebuilding dams and dredging canals. It’s a capacity problem—in December we had 4.5 inches of rain, but most of that ran off into the ocean.”
The problem is particularly troubling for the central and southern portions of the state. Green Star’s Sherer said he has heard of growers in Southern California cutting back their crops by a quarter of what they normally grow.
“It’s a problem,” agrees Balestrieri, “and things have to change. Farmers are going to have to change their growing techniques and the amount of acreage they grow until we get more water. In the San Joaquin Valley some people are not farming and selling their water rights because they can make more money that way.”
A solution under consideration for years is desalination—converting seawater to fresh water. Armstrong said discussions about desalination plants are gaining traction and “if it becomes a reality, it could take some pressure off the water situation.” Balestrieri, however, believes desalination is still too far off to be a near-term solution, and its primary purpose would be to supply domestic water, not farm water.
As farmers have experienced throughout history, the ultimate fate of the next yield is in the hands of Mother Nature. “We did have a little shot of water a couple months ago, and that helped, but we’re nowhere near being out of the woods yet,” Kaslin says. “We need rain to replenish the aquifers.”
Labor Shortage
Next to water, labor is another enduring challenge for Salinas growers. Changes in immigration laws, better paying jobs in hospitality and foodservice, and a less motivated workforce than in decades past all contribute to the shortage.
Even established growers contend with competition in the local market. “Industrywide, labor is a concern,” confirms Kaslin. “As a company, we’re okay because we have had our employees for years, but we still have to keep up with the competition. There’s cannibalism in the labor market as workers leave farms to go pick seasonal grapes to get paid more. Overall, there’s more work than there is workforce.”
Armstrong believes one solution could be the revitalization of the “Bracero,” or a similar program. Started in the 1940s, Bracero enabled Mexican nationals to come to California for seasonal harvests then return home. The program ended in 1964 in part after a bus accident carrying workers killed 32 and injured 25, and the attention prompted criticism that the Mexican workers were depriving Americans of jobs, though Armstrong says few Americans want to work the field.
Part of the resistance is probably the nature of the work. “It is hard work and not a lot of people want to do it,” Kaslin observes. “You have to lift 50-pound cartons of lettuce and 60-pound cartons of celery all day.”
Not all growers, however, have been adversely affected. “I wouldn’t say labor has impacted our planted acreage,” comments Gina Nucci, director of health culinary innovation at Mann Packing Company, Inc., “but we definitely have had to apply early for our visas,” she notes. “On the other hand, the increase in minimum wage will probably impact us the most as it increases our overall costs and hinders margins.”
Labor shortages can also impact delivery. “We’re hearing there are times when growers are unable, or it takes longer, to get pallets of produce to customers,” Balestrieri says. “Some of the specialty items can take more than 24 hours because of labor issues,” he notes, “and that means there needs to be good communication with customers around expectations.”
Port Issues
Distributors and brokers not only move Salinas-grown produce throughout the state, region, and country, but ship overseas as well. Many suppliers also meet market demand with imports from Mexico, Europe, and Asia. Unfortunately, long simmering disputes between the Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union caused significant congestion and stoppages at 29 West Coast ports.
All of the tension and congestion, of course, wreaked havoc with perishables dealers who could not ship or receive product and consequently, give customers solid delivery dates. Not to mention perishables sitting at the docks with nowhere to go.
Loretta Yim, in sales at Yes Produce, a Los Angeles-based distributor and importer specializing in mushrooms and Asian vegetables, confirms some suppliers were in a bind and the unrest certainly took its toll. “Many of our shipments from overseas are arriving at least five to ten days late,” she explains. “Without predictability or a schedule of availability, some of our buyers are looking elsewhere for their product.”
To make matters worse, Yim contends, “due to the delays, we experienced spoilage. We looked into other options, such as shipping to San Francisco or sourcing from local growers, but the situation was very challenging. We experienced on-and-off delays since last summer.”
The same situation was reportedly affecting citrus shippers, many of whom were forced to truck their loads to ports outside the Los Angeles and Long Beach area, to get them on boats for export.
Shipping & Trucking
In addition to labor, trucks, especially refrigerated rigs, continue to be in limited supply. Enforcing California Air Resources Board (CARB) compliance continues to increase, while carriers are finding the necessary modifications to be expensive. “With all the rules and regulations now, we have carriers we’ve worked with for 30 years that can’t come into California anymore,” says Travis Lee, in dispatch and sales for Dawn Transportation, Inc., a truck broker.
“Fuel costs aren’t as much of an issue currently, but CARB is limiting the amount of trucks that can deliver from California, and as a result, the rates go up during high season.” Lee estimates rates have risen about 10 percent annually over the last several years, and “the cost has to be paid somewhere, and usually ends up on the consumer’s plate.”
Final Thoughts
Even with the ongoing challenges of drought, and labor and truck short- ages, the Salinas Valley is still the nation’s foremost producer of leafy greens, broccoli, and cauliflower, and a new leader in strawberry production. Peppered with a long history of obstacles and successful yields, America’s Salad Bowl promises to overcome and continue its tradition of delivering some of the best produce in the country.
