Number of leafy green fields down
Oversupply issues, recent E. coli outbreak among factors for Yuma growers
The number of fields planted with lettuce and other leafy greens is down as Yuma growers tend to their first crops of the winter season, but the recent E. coli outbreak tied to Yuma romaine isn’t the only reason.
“Acreage is off a little bit on all commodities, not just romaine. We’ve gone through two seasons with our deal of being oversupplied, and we need the acreage off a little bit,” said Steve Alameda, president of the Yuma Fresh Vegetable Association.
Yuma County’s vegetable industry is worth approximately $2 billion a year and supplies 80 percent or more of the nation’s lettuce during the winter.
Its dominance of that market is expected to continue, but acres in production may be down as much as 15 percent, Alameda said, though growers generally don’t have the time to keep tabs on what everyone is doing.
Local product isn’t ex-
pected to reach the national market until November, Alameda said, but growers are optimistic that additional food-safety measures developed and adopted by the industry during the offseason will ensure there are no more foodborne illness crises, and win back the ultimate buyers of their product.
“With all of the changes we’ve done in responding to any possible reasons for our E. coli problem, we’re hoping now to get our consumers back and regain consumer confidence and go forward. But through the things that we’ve done, we’re looking forward to a good season,” he said.
Alameda said his growing operations have not cut back on the number of workers they’re hiring for the season. “I got all my people back and everybody’s working. It’s busy,” he said, but it’s possible others aren’t going to have as many farm laborers this year.
Patrick Goetz, employer engagement officer for the Yuma County offices of Arizona@Work, is organizing Yuma’s annual Community Job and Education Fair for Oct. 3, and said three agriculture companies have signed up to recruit workers, significantly down from previous years.
“Getting them is like pulling teeth,” Goetz said.
Between March and June, 210 cases of E. coli illness from 36 states reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control were traced to Yuma-grown romaine lettuce, and five patients died. National media covered the outbreak closely, including a CDC warning to consumers to not eat “any romaine lettuce grown in the Yuma, Ariz. area.”
In the meantime, vegetable production moved to its summer home in Salinas, Calif., where growers saw prices drop pretty much across the board on the national market, with many consumers either not knowing or caring about the distinction between the two growing areas.
Scott Horsfall, CEO of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement, said it’s been a tough summer for most producers, but their fortunes began to turn around in the last month.
“The markets right now have definitely rebounded a little. They’re good, but they’re not great. Nothing’s through the roof or anything. I think it’s got something to do with the transition, we are winding down in the north or will be, in the next month and a half.
“If they get into the season and demand is good,
hopefully things will work out for everybody down there. I know everyone’s a little nervous, but I’m confident that they’re going to do fine,” he said.
A federal Food and Drug Administration investigation has not pinpointed how the harmful bacteria contaminated the romaine, but the new food-safety precautions, including keeping crops farther away from livestock operations, additional testing of irrigation canal water and documenting the effect of weather conditions, are based on findings that have been released.
The FDA’s final environmental assessment report about the Yuma outbreak is expected to be released within a few weeks, and could shift the economic picture again.