The Greensheet
Volume 29 | Issue 13 | May 24, 2013
Return to The Greensheet Home Page
The Greensheet is CAC's bi-monthly industry newsletter, designed to provide California Avocado Industry members with timely and valuable news and information, regarding meetings, industry issues, cultural management/best practices, production research, CAC's marketing program, commission operations and more.
In This Issue You'll Find:
May 29th Ribbon Cutting and Open House at the New CAC Santa Paula Field Office
Avocado Inspection Program Office Has Moved to Santa Paula
Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer Update
California Avocado Social Media Corner
Food Bloggers Experience the California Avocado’s Farm-to-Fork Journey
2013 Memorial Day Promotions
Shari’s Spring Menu Features Fresh California Avocados All Day Long
California Avocados Go To Culinary School
Market Trends
Weather
Calendar
For a listing of industry events and dates for the coming year, please visit:
http://www.californiaavocadogrowers.com/upcoming-meetings-events/
The California Avocado Commission is coming to Ventura County next week!!
Check out the meetings and events listed in this calendar section for more information on how growers and industry stakeholders can interact with CAC Staff and Board of Directors!
Wednesday, May 29, 2013, 12:30 – 3:00 p.m., CAC-Santa Paula Field Office Open House and Ribbon Cutting
CAC-Santa Paula Field Office, 705 E. Main Street, Suite A, Santa Paula, CA 93060 (see article below for additional information about this event)
Wednesday, May 29, 2013, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m., CAC Finance Committee Meeting
CAC-Santa Paula Field Office, 705 E. Main Street, Suite A, Santa Paula, CA 93060
Thursday, May 30, 2013, 8:30 a.m. – 3:15 p.m., CAC Board Meeting
Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main St., Ventura, CA 93001
May 29th Ribbon Cutting and Open House at the New CAC Santa Paula Field Office
The Commission Board has moved forward on their commitment to improve accessibility for growers in the north to CAC staff, and as of May 1st a field office has been established in Santa Paula. On Wednesday, May 29th CAC will hold a Grand Opening and Open House at the new Santa Paula office beginning at 12:30 p.m. with a Ribbon Cutting at 2:45 p.m., and area growers are encouraged to attend. Congresswoman Julia Brownley representing the 26th District of California, which encompasses a large portion of Ventura County, will participate, along with other local officials. In addition, there will be an Open House starting at 12:30 p.m. and CAC Board and staff members will be on-site to meet and greet local growers. Commission handouts and promotional materials will also be available. Please plan to join us!
705 E. Main Street, Suite A, Santa Paula, CA 93060
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Grand Opening and Open House begins at 12:30 p.m.
Ribbon Cutting – 2:45 p.m.
Avocado Inspection Program Office Has Moved to Santa Paula
The Avocado Inspection Program (AIP) office in Ventura has moved to a new location in Santa Paula. Please update your records with the new contact information outlined below.
Physical and Mailing Address:
Avocado Inspection Program
705 East Main Street, Suite A
Santa Paula, CA 93060
Telephone Number & Fax:
(805) 933-8017
Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Kathie Yniguez, Avocado Program Supervisor, at (760) 743-4712.
Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer Update
Ken Melban and Tim Spann with County Ag Commissioners
CAC has been very active in enlisting the help of other affected groups to help us in the fight against PSHB/Fusarium dieback. We have successfully secured USDA funding, which will in part fund a major outreach effort to commodities and industries who are currently affected by PSHB and could be unknowingly spreading it. These groups include nursery and landscape industries, greenwaste companies, arborists, and homeowners, among others. To assist us in this effort we are enlisting the help of other agencies. Recently, Ken Melban (Director Issues Management) and Tim Spann (Research Project Manager), met with the County Ag Commissioners from all of the avocado producing counties during their annual meeting in Visalia. They are very aware of the threat PSHB/Fusarium dieback poses to avocados and they are willing to help in any way they can. We also have met with Terry Stark, President of the California Association of Pest Control Advisors, and will be working with Terry’s agency to coordinate PSHB-specific seminars for PCAs. Lastly, Tim Spann recently attended a meeting of the California Firewood Task Force. This group already has a very active outreach program to educate the public about the risks of moving firewood and the pests that can be spread. We will be coordinating closely with the Task Force to ensure that our outreach efforts are complimentary to their existing programs, and they will be providing us with copies of their outreach materials to use in our program.
The California Avocado Commission (CAC) continues to reach engaged online users through its social channels, with a prominent presence and daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. See a collection of highlights from this season below:
Retailers (Gelson’s shown) have started to announce that California avocados are in season on their social media pages.
Facebook fans “ooh’d” and “ahhh’d” over the Commission’s twist on this traditional potato salad recipe, driving nearly 3,000 visits to the website from Facebook and an exceptional amount of “likes” comments and shares – making this post the most popular one ever!
The Commission set a course for unchartered social media territory in December 2012, populating its Instagram account with recipes, event pictures
and “behind the scenes” type updates. Instagram is a popular photo sharing social media platform that allows users to “like” and comment on shared photos. CAC’s 7,300+ followers have come organically (without advertising) over the course of the last several months.
Fans continually share their love for California avocados now that they are in season.
With the California avocado season still gaining momentum, there is much to look forward to with the crop and on social media. Stay tuned for updates – or join us by following along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram.
Food Bloggers Experience the California Avocado’s Farm-to-Fork Journey
 |
 |
On March 2, the California Avocado Commission hosted 15 influential media and bloggers on a California avocado grove and packing house tour to help them gain a better understanding of the distinctive qualities and consistent reliability of California avocados.
During the one-day tour, attendees had the opportunity to meet California avocado growers, Dan and Susan Pinkerton, and enjoy a California avocado-centric brunch, which showcased various ways to incorporate the fruit into breakfast dishes. Attendees toured the Pinkerton’s grove and were educated on every step of the California avocado growing process, including information about all of the safety measures growers take to ensure that consumers are getting the very best product possible. Following brunch, the group received a full tour of the Mission operation and were educated about how avocados make the journey from nearby farms to retail.
The one-day tour garnered 126 brand-related tweets, reaching 1,080,004 followers. Additionally, there were 11 Facebook posts, resulting in 10,442 impressions, and 13 blog posts.
2013 Memorial Day Promotions
CAC has set up several retail promotions this Memorial Day weekend to encourage purchases of California avocados at point-of-sale during this key American holiday, examples include: Bristol Farms will conduct demos sampling California avocados in all their stores; Ralphs will distribute display bins to their stores for secondary displays to help generate incremental sales of California avocados; Harmon’s in Salt Lake City will showcase the California avocado display bins in each of their stores and hand out avocado scoopers with CAC’s Wake Up to Breakfast recipe booklets to customers; and Sam’s Club will conduct California avocado demos and hand out recipes on Memorial Day in 52 select clubs throughout California, Arizona New Mexico and Texas.
This spring, Shari’s will feature fresh California avocados at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Shari’s added California avocados to their special spring menu four years ago, and customer popularity ensures its annual reprise. The day begins with the Spring Omelet showcasing fresh California avocados. At lunch and dinner, Shari’s offers two items with California avocados: Strawberry Chicken Salad and Volcano Burger. As a bonus, Shari’s is introducing a fresh made guacamole with nachos. The spring menu will be featured in 99 Shari’s locations in the Pacific Northwest from May 1-June 30, 2013. Customers will be greeted with a special menu insert packed with photos of the signature items and branded with the Hand Grown in California logo.
California Avocados Go To Culinary School
Culinary education about fresh California avocados that targets educators and students will introduce a new generation of culinary professionals to the benefits of fresh California avocados as a go-to ingredient in their menu repertoire.
On Wednesday May 8, 2013, the California Avocado Commission met with approximately 30 culinary students at the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) Culinary Arts program to demonstrate the product benefits and added value of fresh California avocados on the menu. The students then regrouped as teams for a 2-hour Avocado Culinary Competition. CAC recruited three qualified judges for the event: CCSF Chef Instructor Ronald Ng, CCSF Management Instructor Vince Paratore and Director of Product Innovation at Black Angus Steakhouse, David Bolosan.
The entries ranged from appetizers and soups to entrees and desserts, which the judges ranked on “Usage of Avocado,” “Presentation” and “Flavor.” The judges awarded six well-deserved cash prizes, including top awards to:
• First Place ($600)–Tammy Vodinih, Avocado Bisque with Crab
• Second Place ($400)–Cristiane Gilligan, “Avocado Fusion Plate”
 |
 |
California Market Trends
To view all market trend graphs, including “Avocado Volume Summary,” “Weekly Price Range” and “U.S. Avocado Supply,” please visit: http://www.californiaavocadogrowers.com/market-information/.
For the most current California Avocado volume information, click here.
For the most current California Avocado Weekly Newsline Avocado Prices, click here.
Weather: 30-Day Outlook For California’s Coastal & Valley Areas
Synopsis...Sea surface temperatures have returned to near normal along the California coast but are still colder than normal through the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutians area. A warm sea surface temperature anomaly exists along 39 - 47N in the Pacific from the Dateline east to 135W. This configuration will tend to support an active belt of westerlies, oriented in a west to east pattern, through the end of May and into early to mid June.
An area of slightly above normal sea surface temperatures (positive SSTAs) now extends westward from the south coast of Mexico and from southern California to the south. During the past week we saw mostly a dry pattern with some frosts in northern California. There was minimal drizzle from coastal eddy conditions in southern California.
Satellite images continue to confirm the dryoff of brush and grasses, especially in the elevations below 5000 feet, in the Sierra Nevadas and in most foothill and lower mountain areas of northern and central California.
In the Near-Term - Southern California Avocado Region, May 21 to June 5… We will have a cool coastal eddy pattern with a deep marine layer alternating with partly cloudy skies and gusty onshore winds from May 22 to 30. There is a chance for some light, drizzly rain briefly in the mornings, but nothing significant.
June 5 to 20.....Southern California Avocado Region... Cutoff lows should still be strong enough to induce deep marine layer and drizzle with persistent coastal eddy conditions in June. Overall, temperatures at the coast should return to near normal due to the warmer sea surface.
Seasonal Outlook/El Niño Update... (June 15 - September 20)… The latest guidance from both NOAA/CPC and Scripps ECPC show at least an intermittent return of La Niña (colder than normal sea surface) off the coast of Peru this early summer. By the late summer (August), a weak El Niño will have begun.
The Caribbean sea surface temperatures are expected to drift somewhat above normal in June, July and most of August. We will begin the transition to El Niño, and warmer than normal conditions off the west and south coasts of Mexico, with a return of sea surface temperatures to near normal in the Caribbean in late August and September. This will tend to shift the tropical activity from the Caribbean to the Pacific side of Mexico, with the possibility of a late season bloom of tropical cyclones off the south coast of Mexico. This will transport moisture north along the western portions of Mexico and Baja. Eventually, we should see some increase in moisture with thunderstorms into California and Arizona as the monsoonal pattern increases in the mid and late summer months.
Southern California Avocado Region...(June 20 - Sep 20) During June we should continue to have a dry westerly flow regime. We will transition to monsoonal southeast flow conditions in July with thunderstorms in the mountains and deserts as is normal. In Mexico, there will be support for the early development of moist east flow into the southern Mexico, above normal rainfall, and possibly some tropical cyclones in late June near the south coast of Mexico. As the season develops, we should see more of a typically active period of tropical cyclones off the south coast of Mexico, with moisture recurving north along western Mexico into southern California and Arizona. Thunderstorms may occur in avocado growing areas in late July, August and September.
As El Niño develops, more cutoff lows are possible in September off Baja and southern California. Thunderstorm activity may be more frequent at that time.
...Alan Fox, Fox Weather LLC...
Return to The Greensheet Home Page
