{"id":122,"date":"2025-10-31T13:27:40","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T13:27:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taylorboysproduce.com\/blog\/?p=122"},"modified":"2025-10-31T13:27:40","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T13:27:40","slug":"the-lettuce-squeeze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taylorboysproduce.com\/blog\/the-lettuce-squeeze\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lettuce Squeeze"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The Lettuce Squeeze: Why Salinas Is Short, What Quality Looks Like, and When Yuma Takes Over<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If lettuce has been tight and more expensive on your orders lately, you\u2019re not imagining it. As of October 31, 2025, the Salinas Valley is winding down for the season with lower yields and notable quality defects, while shippers stage the annual move to the desert. Here\u2019s what\u2019s going on\u2014and what to expect next.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why supplies are short right now<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>End-of-season disease pressure (INSV).<\/strong>\u00a0The Impatiens necrotic spot virus\u2014spread by thrips\u2014has been the leading cause of supply cuts in late-season Salinas lettuce, reducing yields and pushing markets higher. Reports this month cite INSV as the primary driver of shortages.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Heat\/hail\/rain swings reduced pack-outs.<\/strong>\u00a0Heat spells, hailstorms, and rain events this season added stress, setting up more defects and lower salable volume as fields mature. That\u2019s contributed to a quicker seasonal fade in Salinas.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Seasonal transition timing.<\/strong>\u00a0October always brings a hand-off: Salinas declines before the desert (Huron\/Imperial\/Yuma) is fully online, creating a temporary supply gap.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What buyers see on quality<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Expect variability lot-to-lot. Inspectors and market reports have flagged:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Lighter weights &amp; \u201cpuffy\u201d heads<\/strong>\u00a0(iceberg), plus\u00a0<strong>misshapen heads<\/strong>\u00a0and overall smaller profile.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tip burn\/internal burn, dehydration\/wilting, growth cracks<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>insect pressure<\/strong>, and\u00a0<strong>discoloration\/pinking<\/strong>\u00a0on ribs and butts.<br \/>\nThese issues trace back to late-season weather stress and INSV pressure in Salinas. Tight supplies have also left some shippers\u00a0<strong>sold out<\/strong>\u00a0on certain days.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>When does Yuma start\u2014and when will it feel better?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Bridge step (Huron, CA):<\/strong>\u00a0Huron kicked off in October to help cover the gap. However, demand still exceeds supply so this has not provided relief for most items.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Yuma, AZ start:<\/strong>\u00a0Industry updates indicate\u00a0<strong>Yuma starts harvesting the week of November 10<\/strong>, with processors\/cross-docks not shipping out until the following\u00a0<strong>week of November 17<\/strong>. Plan on a\u00a0<strong>staggered ramp<\/strong>\u00a0through late November as fields come into steady volume.<\/li>\n<li><strong>General rule of thumb:<\/strong>\u00a0The desert season runs\u00a0<strong>November\u2013April<\/strong>, supplying most of the nation\u2019s leafy greens through winter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Practical buyer tips (right now)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Be open<\/strong>\u00a0to accepting\u00a0<strong>substituted items\u00a0<\/strong>(e.g., swap shredded iceberg with whole iceberg, romaine heads with romaine filets, or spring mix instead of salad mix).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Include customer preference in orders\u00a0<\/strong>by requesting customers order lettuce even when it is a normal sandwich topping or ingredient.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Check in product at time of delivery,\u00a0<\/strong>refusing substitute products at time of delivery. Credits will not be issued for items included in shortages.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Expect markets to stay elevated<\/strong>\u00a0until the Yuma ramp stabilizes late November; improvement should follow as fields hit stride\u2014weather permitting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Other effected items:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Strawberries<\/strong>\u00a0are experiencing quality issues due to weather conditions<\/li>\n<li><strong>Broccoli\u00a0<\/strong>is grown with lettuce products and is subject to the same issues but currently we have been able to meet demand. This could change in the coming weeks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.taylorboysproduce.com\/about-us\">Taylor Boys Produce<\/a> provides the fresh farm produce to many of the areas restaurants, cafeteria&#8217;s combined with next level customer service.<\/p>\n<p>Stay connected with us on our social media channels. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/taylorboysproduceinc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/taylorboysproduce\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/taylor-boys-produce\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If lettuce has been tight and more expensive on your orders lately, you\u2019re not imagining it. As of October 31, 2025, the Salinas Valley is winding down for the season with lower yields and notable quality defects, while shippers stage the annual move to the desert. Here\u2019s what\u2019s going on\u2014and what to expect next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":125,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[23,22,13],"class_list":["post-122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-lettuce-shortage","tag-salinas-lettuce","tag-taylor-boys-produce","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Lettuce Squeeze - Taylor Boys Produce<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If lettuce has been tight and more expensive on your orders lately, you\u2019re not imagining it. 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