California’s cantaloupe producers are celebrating peak harvest season in the state’s most prolific production area as the Fresno County Board of Supervisors declares the first ever California Cantaloupe Week taking place July 25 through July 31.
According to a proclamation, Fresno County produces over half of the cantaloupe grown in California making Fresno the largest cantaloupe producing county in the state. The latest statistics from the Fresno County Agricultural Commissioner show that farmers in Fresno County produce nearly 250,000 tons of cantaloupe on 11,400 acres of farmland and generating over $75 million in farm gate value. The resolution was passed July 12 and presented by the County Board of Supervisors to Garret Patricio of Westside Produce, Firebaugh, and John Gilstrap, manager of the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board.
Fresno County is followed by other major producing counties including Stanislaus, Imperial, San Diego and Riverside counties. California is responsible for 75 percent of the cantaloupe sold in U.S. stores. The peak months of production in the San Joaquin Valley are July, August, September. During May and June, cantaloupes are produced in the southern desert areas of the state and a smaller second cantaloupe crop also comes from the desert production areas in October.
“Locally-grown is such a big movement among consumers today and cantaloupe lovers who live in and around Fresno may not realize they are so close to farmland and farmers who grow this delicious, sweet fruit,” said Steve Patricio, chairman of the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board and owner of Westside Produce, a major producer of cantaloupe located in Firebaugh. “We want consumers to look for locally-grown cantaloupe in their stores and to ask for it in local restaurants in support of the farmers and farm workers who work hard to deliver a safe, nutritious product. We are working with Fresno-area restaurants and retailers to feature California cantaloupe during California Cantaloupe Week and for the rest of our season.
“While Fresno is the heart of cantaloupe production, consumers around the nation are likely seeing California cantaloupe in their stores during this peak production period,” continued Patricio.
Patricio added that in 2012, the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board voted in a mandatory food safety program. This food safety program includes a set of safety standards to which all California cantaloupe producers are committed in their mission to provide all California cantaloupe consumers with the highest level of safety and quality.
Consumers can visit www.californiacantaloupes.com find more information about California cantaloupe including recipes and videos on how to clean, cut and store cantaloupe as well as more details on harvest and production of cantaloupe and details about the mandatory food safety program that must be followed by all California cantaloupe producers.
Source: California Cantaloupe Advisory Board
