Lettuce prices likely to rise again amid California flooding, experts say

Lettuce costs are prone to rise subsequent month and will keep excessive into the summer season, agriculture specialists say, as flooding in a key California farming space turns into the newest instance of maximum climate’s impact on the meals chain.

The Salinas Valley, the place an unlimited quantity of lettuce and different produce eaten in North America is grown yearly, has seen extreme rain and storms because the starting of the 12 months, stated John Bishop, nationwide purchaser for produce distributor Fresh Start Foods.

All that further water has flooded fields and delayed planting, Bishop stated, inflicting a whole lot of hundreds of {dollars} in crop injury.

“It’s been very concerning,” he stated.

Tens of hundreds of acres of farmland have flooded in Salinas because the starting of the 12 months, Mark Shaw, vice-president of operations for California-based Markon Cooperative stated in an e-mail. Below-average temperatures are including to farmers’ struggles, he added.

Salinas is identical area the place illness struck lettuce crops final fall, creating extreme shortages and persistently excessive costs in iceberg and Romaine lettuce that caught the eye of Canadian shoppers at grocery shops. It was a state of affairs Bishop stated he is by no means skilled in his a few years within the produce business.

Every November, manufacturing of lettuce and another greens shifts to hotter desert areas, notably in Yuma, Ariz. in addition to California’s Imperial Valley. But the second week of April is when most manufacturing strikes again to Salinas, stated Bishop — and this spring, the area will not be prepared.

“Basically, we are setting up for another demand-exceeds-supply market driving up prices as we experienced last October, November and December,” stated Shaw, who anticipates 4 to 6 weeks of restricted provide.

But Bishop anticipates a “significant gap” might even final till July.

The agriculture business is used to getting inventive as a way to take care of wild climate, stated Ron Lemaire, president of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association. Right now, farmers in California are deploying each instrument they must mitigate the consequences of the rain, he stated, however there’ll nonetheless be much less manufacturing within the coming months, which often sends costs larger.

Weather is the largest issue affecting produce costs, adopted by transportation prices, stated Rich Donsky, co-owner of Ontario-based distributor Mister Produce.

So it is no shock that the farming business is investing extra in controlled-environment agriculture, equivalent to greenhouses and vertical farms, stated Bishop.

For instance, Fresh Start’s guardian firm Gordon Food Service has partnered with indoor farming firm Square Roots, constructing indoor farms in places throughout the U.S. together with at GFS distribution centres.

“We believe that it is the future of agriculture, and it’s the future of our food supply,” stated Bishop.

The business has not too long ago seen extra curiosity in year-round manufacturing in Canada, too, as local weather change makes points like excessive climate and drought extra prevalent, stated Sylvain Charlebois, a Dalhousie University professor and director of the varsity’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab.

Bishop anticipates the push to develop extra produce in Canada will proceed.

“Where we get our food from, and how it gets to us, all contributes to the cost of what we’re buying. So it only makes sense to find ways to be able to produce products on a local basis,” he stated.

The greenhouse business will not ever substitute outside rising, stated Lemaire, however he believes it could fill in gaps within the provide chain.

“It is part of the solution, but it’s not the full solution,” he stated.

Major meals firms are making investments in Canadian-grown produce, stated Charlebois, equivalent to McCain Foods, which has invested tens of millions in vertical farming firm GoodLeaf Farms.

California-based berry large Driscoll’s has not too long ago partnered with Canadian farmers to develop some berries north of the border, he stated.

And in 2020, Wendy’s introduced it will use Alberta greenhouse-grown lettuce in all its salads and sandwiches.

Vertical farming has been getting a variety of consideration (and capital) not too long ago, however Lemaire stated he thinks the business mannequin wants additional improvement. Donsky, too, thinks there’s potential in vertical farming however extra technological development is required.

Charlebois expects funding in native produce to proceed within the coming years.

“I think there is an awakening … of how vulnerable we are, especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables. And not just during the winter months, but all year round.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first printed March 27, 2023.