Produce & Row Crop Intelligence: Oxnard Berry Farms to Close, Rice Season Review, Lettuce Goes South
November 11, 2026
Produce & Row Crop Intelligence from MyAgLife arrives every Wednesday with field intelligence for California vegetable, berry and row-crop growers and their crop consultants. Subscribe free to get it by email.
A quiet week in the fields, so this issue is shorter. The lettuce deal is heading south: Salinas-Watsonville iceberg shipments fell from 162,000 to 66,000 hundredweight in three weeks, and USDA expects the first Imperial and Coachella price reports the week of Nov 15.2 In Oxnard, a Driscoll’s grower plans to close six strawberry farms in January.1 On the row-crop side, UC’s rice specialist says a late-planted crop came off in a dry October, with yield and quality still unsettled,4 while California cotton harvest has slipped behind its five-year pace.5
This week in numbers
- −59%: Salinas-Watsonville iceberg shipments, weeks ending Oct 17 to Oct 312
- 455K: Acres of California rice planted in 2026 (average about 500,000)4
- 60%: California cotton harvested by Nov 8 (66% average)5
Vegetables and berries: Strawberries, Cilantro and Bok Choy
1. Oxnard strawberries: SoCal Berry Growers plans to close six Ventura County farms in January
New this week · FreshPlaza (from the New York Post), Nov 4, 2026; Ventura County
SoCal Berry Growers told the Oxnard City Council it plans to close six strawberry farms in Ventura County between Jan 11 and Jan 25, 2027, affecting about 572 employees, most of them harvest workers. All six grow strawberries for Driscoll’s. The United Farm Workers disputes the closures and alleges they follow the workers’ July vote to unionize, which a state board upheld; the company has not commented publicly.1
The report sets the closures against rising costs and flat sales: Ventura County strawberry wholesale revenue was $808 million in 2025, with losses of about 1% of revenue.1 The fall crop is already thin. USDA says rain and wet fields curtailed the Oxnard harvest, with shipments of 73,000 hundredweight in the week ending Oct 31, too few to establish a market.2 For consultants, six ranches going idle or changing hands means field histories, pest records and soil plans for those blocks may pass to new operators or stop.
Next step: Over the next two months, consultants serving these ranches or their neighbors can confirm who will farm each block after January and make sure field histories, pest records and soil test results go to whoever takes over.
Source: FreshPlaza
2. San Joaquin Valley cilantro and bok choy: UCCE trials find a nitrogen bump from a bacterial biostimulant, not a sure yield gain
Research to apply · UCCE Stanislaus County, Nov 4, 2026; northern San Joaquin Valley (one-season trials near Tracy and Modesto)
UCCE vegetable advisor Zheng Wang tested a biostimulant of nitrogen-fixing bacteria (Azospirillum, Azotobacter and Bacillus) in two 2026 field trials. In cilantro near Tracy (seeded May 4, harvested June 22), the middle of three rates gave the top yield, 3.2 tons per acre, and the most canopy, 55% against 42% for the untreated control at 39 days; the highest rate did no better than the lowest. In bok choy near Modesto, treated plots held 15 to 20 more pounds of nitrogen per acre than the control at harvest, but higher rates brought no clear yield advantage.3
Wang lists the limits: the cilantro was grown through early-summer heat and yielded well below the UC average, the grower’s fertilizer program was unknown, and these are single-season, small-plot results. For nitrogen planning on leafy vegetables and herbs, the trials point to an uptake effect worth watching rather than a proven return.3
Next step: Read the full newsletter and its caveats before winter planning. If clients ask about biological nitrogen inputs, these single-season results are a starting point for the conversation, not proof of a yield gain.
Source: UCCE Stanislaus, Vegetable Views Fall 2026
Pesticide-use note: Current California labels, permit conditions and county requirements govern pesticide use. Verify them before making or changing a recommendation.
Row crops: Rice, Cotton and Wheat
3. Sacramento Valley rice: late planting, a dry October harvest, and yield and quality still in question
New this week · UC Rice Blog (Bruce Linquist), Nov 10, 2026; Sacramento Valley
In his 2026 review (written Oct 21, posted Nov 10), UC Davis rice specialist Bruce Linquist says May rain pushed 50% planting to May 19, about a week late, and held planted area to 455,000 acres (USDA), against an average near 500,000. A mild summer turned unseasonably warm during September grainfill, then October stayed mostly dry, and USDA had 80% of the crop harvested by Oct 18.4
Disease was light: little bakanae, minimal blast and smut, and normal aggregate sheath spot and stem rot. Many fields carried heavy grass weeds, especially Walter’s barnyardgrass, but only one new weedy rice field was confirmed. The first armyworm flight hit some fields hard; the August flight was small. Yield reports are mixed, with some later plantings down about 5%, and Linquist flags possible quality losses from the heat.4
Next step: Before fields are worked this winter, map where Walter’s barnyardgrass escaped and where armyworm damage showed, and compare milling and quality results as they come in, so 2027 plans start from this season’s records.
Source: UC Rice Blog
4. California cotton and wheat: cotton harvest slips behind average at 60% as wheat planting holds pace
Recent update · USDA NASS Crop Progress, Nov 9, 2026; statewide
California cotton was 60% harvested by Nov 8, up 5 points in a week but behind the 2021–2025 average of 66%. Winter wheat was 45% planted (46% average) and 20% emerged (20% average), with 80% of the crop rated good and 5% excellent. Statewide topsoil moisture was 80% adequate, 5% short and 15% very short.5
With 40% of the cotton still to pick in mid-November, more open bolls stand in the field as the season turns, which raises the stakes for lint quality and narrows the window for postharvest field work. Wheat is on pace and in good shape so far.5
Next step: This week, list cotton fields still unpicked and how far each has opened, and check stands in emerged wheat so thin fields are flagged early.
Source: USDA NASS Crop Progress
Salinas-to-Yuma handoff
Iceberg lettuce shipments, weeks ending Oct 17, Oct 24 and Oct 31, in 100,000-pound units; AMS’s outlook covers Nov 1 to 14 (“U” = unavailable).2
| Salinas-Watsonville | 162-88-66; AMS expects movement to decrease seasonally |
| Santa Maria | 49-58-45; movement expected about the same |
| Central San Joaquin Valley | 61-160-167; movement expected to increase seasonally |
| Western Arizona (Yuma) | U-U-7; movement expected to increase seasonally |
| Imperial and Coachella valleys | U-U-U; “The first F.O.B. report is expected to be issued the week of November 15” |
Salinas is winding down and the Central San Joaquin Valley is carrying the bridge, with Yuma just starting and the Imperial and Coachella valleys due to post their first prices the week of Nov 15.2
Shipping-point price board: Shipping-Point Prices and Harvest Progress
USDA AMS, prices Nov 2; NASS, week ending Nov 8 · Salinas-Watsonville, Santa Maria, statewide
In AMS’s newest weekly trends report (Nov 3; the Nov 10 edition was not yet posted when this issue was built), Salinas lettuce prices were much lower as volume shrank, while rain-short strawberries and cauliflower moved much higher. Each direction compares Nov 2 with Oct 26. A shipping-point quote is not a grower return.2
| Iceberg lettuce Salinas-Watsonville · 24s film lined |
Mostly $47.90–48.95; prices much lower.2 |
| Romaine Salinas-Watsonville · 24s |
Mostly $55.95–60.90; prices much lower.2 |
| Strawberries Santa Maria and Salinas-Watsonville · 8 1-lb flats |
Mostly $26.00–28.00, organic $32.00–34.00; prices much higher. Oxnard too light to quote.2 |
| Cauliflower Salinas-Watsonville · white 12s |
Mostly $30.45–33.90; prices much higher.2 |
| Cotton and wheat California · NASS, week ending Nov 8 |
Cotton 60% harvested (66% average); winter wheat 45% planted (46% average).5 |
Recall watch
Nov 4 FDA and CDC declared over the Salmonella Bovismorbificans outbreak linked to broccoli sprouts and microgreens grown from a broccoli seed lot imported from New Zealand: 34 ill in six states (ID, MN, MT, OR, UT, WA), 3 hospitalized. Recalled seeds were sold nationwide online. FDA notice
Nov 4 FDA closed its investigation of the Cyclospora outbreak linked to parsley (ref. 1392), adjusting the count from 241 to 175 cases; the other illnesses became a separate outbreak (ref. 1396) with no confirmed food source. FDA outbreak table
No new FDA recalls of fresh vegetables, leafy greens, herbs, sprouts, melons or berries in FDA’s recall feed for Nov 3 to Nov 10 (checked Nov 10).
From MyAgLife
CDFA sets December 14 deadline for 2027 FREP pre-proposals
MyAgLife Newsroom · November 10, 2026
CDFA’s Fertilizer Research and Education Program funds research, demonstrations and outreach on nutrient and irrigation management, including crop-specific gaps in that knowledge. Pre-proposals for 2027 are due Dec 14; a fit for advisers and growers with nitrogen questions like those in item 02.8
Coming week watchlist
This week Oxnard celery: USDA expects the district’s first f.o.b. price report the week of Nov 8.2
Week of Nov 15 Imperial and Coachella valleys iceberg, romaine, broccoli and cauliflower, plus Yuma broccoli and cauliflower: first f.o.b. reports expected.2
Nov 16 California cotton and wheat: next NASS Crop Progress shows whether cotton harvest closes the gap to average.5
Week of Nov 22 Desert spinach and Chinese cabbage (Imperial, Coachella, Palo Verde, Arizona): first f.o.b. reports expected.2
Rules, comment deadlines and agency actions are in Tuesday’s Reg Watch
Your next moves
Watch for the first Imperial and Coachella f.o.b. reports for iceberg and romaine the week of Nov 15, from the Salinas-to-Yuma handoff. USDA AMS
Read Bruce Linquist’s 2026 rice season review this week, from item 03, before winter planning for weedy-grass and armyworm fields. UC Rice Blog
Apply by Dec 14 for CDFA’s 2027 FREP grant pre-proposals on nutrient and irrigation management, from the MyAgLife box. MyAgLife
Editorial suggestions for field review, never a pesticide or product recommendation. In California only a licensed PCA can make a written pesticide recommendation.
What are you seeing?
Email info@jcsmarketinginc.com and tell us your crop, county and biggest field question.
We may take it up in a future edition.
Editorial note: Source findings are summarized above. The “Next step” passages are MyAgLife editorial suggestions for field review, not source-issued prescriptions. This report does not award CE credit.
Sources
- FreshPlaza (from the New York Post), “California strawberry grower to close six farms, lay off 572 workers,” Nov 4, 2026.
- USDA AMS Specialty Crops Market News, “National Shipping Point Trends,” Nov 3, 2026 (prices for Nov 2; shipments for weeks ending Oct 17, 24 and 31). Also MyMarketNews report 1662.
- Zheng Wang, UCCE Stanislaus County, “2026 Biostimulant Trial Update on Cilantro and Bok Choy,” Vegetable Views, Fall 2026, posted Nov 4, 2026.
- Bruce Linquist, UC Rice Blog, “2026 year in review,” Nov 10, 2026.
- USDA NASS, “Crop Progress,” Nov 9, 2026 (week ending Nov 8).
- FDA, “Outbreak Investigation of Salmonella: Sprouts (September 2026),” update of Nov 4, 2026.
- FDA, “Investigations of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks,” current as of Nov 4, 2026.
- MyAgLife Newsroom, “CDFA sets December 14 deadline for 2027 FREP pre-proposals,” Nov 10, 2026.
- Photos: item 04 cotton boll by John P. Brooks, USDA Agricultural Research Service.