Melon growers ready to meet holiday demand

BY CHRISTINE SOUZA

AgAlert

California watermelons, cantaloupes, honeydew melons and mixed melons will arrive in grocery stores in time for Independence Day, a key marketing window that melon growers and shippers strive to meet each season.

“It’s critical for growers to get melons, especially watermelons, to retailers in time for the Fourth of July,” said Bryan Van Groningen of Van Groningen and Sons, a Manteca-based watermelon grower, packer and shipper. “A lot of the demand for watermelons in the summer comes from family consumption and people having parties and picnics.”

Van Groningen, whose family grows and ships seeded, seedless and miniature watermelons to retailers in California and other states, said crews began harvesting watermelons last week near Manteca.

The melon season has shifted to the San Joaquin Valley, as harvest ends in the Southern California desert, the Imperial Valley and Yuma, Arizona. Harvest in the San Joaquin Valley is expected to continue through October and resume in the desert from October through December.

In mid-March, when planting typically begins in the San Joaquin Valley, Van Groningen said wet weather and soggy field conditions interrupted soil preparation and delayed planting.

“This year we had to wait until the third week of March to plant because the weather was too wet and too cold,” he said. “Because of that delay, we were only able to plant about two-thirds of our acres for the early marketing period, so our volume will probably decrease a little bit.”

With the end-of-season melon market not usually as lucrative, Van Groningen said he was concerned he would not be able to supply the volume of watermelons he had originally anticipated for June and July. With watermelon supply currently limited, he noted, “the price and demand are very good.”

“I’m a little worried about the August-September market, but we’ll see what happens,” he said, adding that he hoped the market would remain strong in July. “August is when demand starts to slow down because there are more watermelons available.”

Van Groningen said the family produces about 100 million pounds of watermelons a year, and about 80 percent of its watermelons are shipped to retailers in California, with additional volume distributed to Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Utah and Colorado. He said he expects a producer price of $450 to $500 per ton, which he said is about average for watermelons.

Although figures are not yet available for the San Joaquin Valley watermelon crop, prices for the Southern California desert region are lower than last year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service.

As of mid-June, a box of 45 seedless watermelons was selling for $154 to $189, while a box of 60 watermelons was selling for $105 to $155. That’s down slightly from the 2023 price, according to the USDA.

Joe Colace, a Brawley-based farmer with Five Crowns Marketing, which grows, packs and ships watermelons, cantaloupes, honeydew melons and specialty melon varieties, said he expects to finish harvesting melons in the Imperial Valley in about a week.

“There’s just a little bit of oversupply here in the desert, but it’s been a very good year in terms of quality,” Colace said. “Our sugar levels, or soluble solids, seem to be above average.”

When harvest began in the desert region in early May, Colace said, many melon and honeydew melon growers reported smaller sizes and lower production due to wind and below-average temperatures through late February and into April. He noted that he “saw the size and production pick up by mid-June.”

“One thing about cooler than normal temperatures: Quality generally tends to be a little better because the plant isn’t under as much stress,” he said.

Colace said he was excited about two new specialty melons, Picasso and Picasso Sunrise, available from late May to early July. The Japanese-origin Picasso variety is a white-fleshed melon with a high sugar content. Picasso Sunrise has similar characteristics but with salmon-colored flesh. Colace said he worked with seed company breeders to develop the new varieties, which are exclusive to Five Crowns Marketing.

“We’re trying to develop varieties that tick all the boxes that are essential for products that are delivered to stores, and Picasso and Picasso Sunrise, right now, tick all of those boxes,” Colace said.

In the Imperial Valley, Colace relies 100 percent on water from the Colorado River. “It doesn’t seem like water is abundant, but it’s available, which has taken pressure off all the growing areas involved,” he said.

Growers across the region agree that the costs of growing, packing and shipping melon crops have increased.

That’s the case for Stanislaus County farmer Matt Maring, a partner in T&M Farms, a Patterson-based company that grows watermelons, cantaloupes, honeydew melons and mixed varieties of melons. He estimates the cost of growing watermelons is about $4,000 per acre, while growing and packing can cost about $12,000 per acre.

“If you don’t have historical sales and relationships with chain stores, you’re crazy to go out and plant and pray for a market,” he said.

Maring said he expects to harvest melons from early July through November. The western region has had good growing conditions this spring with mild temperatures, Maring said, noting he hasn’t seen any pest or disease problems. Additionally, the region has had more water this year.

Most of the water Maring needs comes from the federal Central Valley Project, which received 40 percent of its requested supply this year. The number of acres planted this year is not based on water availability but on demand from the company that markets its crop.

As the season progresses, Maring said there could be a surplus of melons on the market. “That’s certainly what’s happening,” he said.

Because of his location, Maring said it’s not always easy to get melons to customers before July 4. But he said he’s been impressed with the quality of the melons this year, adding that their flavor is “ridiculously good.”

“I do a lot of shopping at home,” he said, “and when stores have six pallets of watermelons at the front door for $6 or $7 each, it creates interest.”

— Courtesy of California Farm Bureau Federation