Market Notes
January 8, 2026
BABY GREEN SCENE REMAINS LEAN
Thirty mile per hour wind gusts and near freezing temps in Yuma continue to damage many of the baby greens we depend on. Fields are either being disked for replant or be rejected at the processing facility. Combine that with the planting gap from the heavy rains prior and you have a good recipe for a shortage. This has affected products on both the conventional and the organic side. Products include baby and teen spinach, baby arugula, and baby kale. We have been allocating for the past few weeks, but we have been informed that new fields harvest by weeks end look good and show no damage. Hope fully this will clear things up and the dust will literally settle.
SPROUTS STILL OUT
This market remains high even after the holidays. As it was explained to us while the retail demand may have sullied, the food service demand remains strong and is growing. Brussels Sprouts are on many national chain menus, including the ever expanding burger market. Cooler temps may help the baby greens, but the sprouts like the heat, so it’s slow-growing. Product from Mexico should help fill the pipeline, but that’s about two weeks away. We are seeing some early Mexican product loading in LA, and those prices are lower, but really, could this price have gone up anymore?
PURPLE POSSIBILITY
Here is an odd one shot opportunity of a very rare product. While purple potatoes have been very finnicky this year, we have a limited quantity of a beautiful by-product. We have about ten-thousand pounds of oversized, jumbo purple fingerlings available. That’s about four totes or two-hundred fifty-pound cases. Price is negotiable, but the grower is interested in moving them, so make an offer. Pick up is FOB Oregon or your choice of consolidation in the San Francisco or Los Angeles markets. We can also make arrangements for east coast delivery.
NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – WHO AM I ???
I have travelled for thousands of years, first cherished in South Asia as a sacred dye, medicine and kitchen staple. I’m the bright rhizome form the ginger family, slowly selected and spread along ancient trade routes. Merchants carried me to Asia, the Middle East, and beyond, where my color became as famous as my flavor. I am earthy, warm, and slightly peppery, and there’s nothing I like more than a good “bloom” in hot oil or ghee to wake me up. I add light everywhere I go. See me stirred into curries, dals, soups, stews, condiments, and rice where my sunshine yellow abounds. I play beautifully with black pepper, cumin, coriander, ginger and garlic. You will often spot me hanging with coconut milk, lentils, chickpeas, cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, and leafy greens. Added to marinades that are massaged into chicken, lamb, and tofu. I make roasted vegetables shine, especially when combined with yogurt or citrus. I get whisked into dressings, mixed into dough, and in the summer, I even get into the smoothies to add color and a gentle bite. For a cozy wintertime drink, warm me up with milk, honey and spice. Nutritionally, I am low in calories, but I am packed with plant compounds that make me special. I offer antioxidants and in the mineral department I offer small amounts of manganese, iron, and potassium. If you want my brightest shine, pair me with a little fat and black pepper. Be warned, you might need sunglasses for this. It’s what I do.
The answer to the last produce quiz (12-18-2025) was …. CHESTNUTS…. Congrats to all winners
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