PLANT CITY, FL – It has been cold in the Sunshine State, but Wish Farms’ Owner, Gary Wishnatzki, tells me that the recent Florida freezes have actually been a good thing.

“We haven’t had any issues with the cold at all. In fact, a short dip into freezing temperatures like we had last week can actually help to keep the quality and sugars up in the berries,” Gary tells me. “Of course, our growers have freeze protections like covers and overhead irrigation prepared if the temperatures were to ever hit a hard sustained freeze. Luckily for us, that was not the case.”

That is good news for Wish Farms with berry demand ramping up for Valentine’s Day. Gary says that production started a bit behind, but it has caught up and is looking good across the board.

“Volume is currently equal to last year’s numbers and should be increasing even further through the end of the month. We are anticipating great production numbers moving forward,” Gary says.

In terms of quality, Wish Farms is seeing optimal berries. For real-time information on quality, the company is currently conducting a traceability survey through its “How’s my picking?™” consumer promotion.

“We are getting about 100 surveys a day from consumers, and it is overwhelmingly positive with very few quality issues. It is always great to hear from the consumer to know what we are doing works,” Gary adds. “We also put resources into forecasting production with bloom count models. All of this gives us good information that we can pass on to retailers.”

Check out the video below for a deeper look at the “How’s my picking?™” promotion:

Looking to the future, Gary tells me that Wish Farms has very promising varieties on the horizon and to stay tuned. 

Wish Farms