Blizzard Back East Froze Out County’s Produce Shipments

The blizzard that hammered the East Coast last week also caught Ventura County farmers in its grip, freezing some shipments of produce to eastern states.

Trucks carrying strawberries, onions and avocados were stuck on snowy interstates, unable to reach grocery stores and restaurants from Boston to Washington, D.C., local growers said.

Some growers responded by temporarily holding off on shipments to the Northeast and selling more of their produce in the West.

New West Fruit Corp., which represents several strawberry growers in the Oxnard area, sold most of its strawberries west of Denver rather than ship the fragile fruit into a blizzard, said New West salesman Anthony Gallino.

“We knew there was trouble back there, so we didn’t even try,” he said. “You’re just shooting yourself in the foot.”

The East’s snow and freezing rain contrasted with California’s unusually warm and dry January, which has produced abundant strawberry and orange crops.

“With the gorgeous growing weather here, it just complicated things,” said Don Hobson, sales manager for Oxnard-based Boskovich Farms, which at this time of year sells green onions, radishes and strawberries to the East Coast.

“Everything’s coming on, everything’s growing, and then you can’t ship anything back East,” he said.

For most shipping companies, the delays lasted just a few days, and their produce is once again flowing across the country. The blizzard did, however, temporarily lower their prices as the local supply of fruits and vegetables exceeded their demand.

Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, said Eastern storms can have a serious effect here.

“Although we’re 3,500 miles apart, we’re tied economically,” he said. “People see those TV images of the snow, and they think that doesn’t affect us here in Ventura County, but it does.”