Getting started

The Canadian lettuce deal is always slow starting, since most receivers are still suffering from Stockholm syndrome with their California suppliers.  Although most west coast shippers are good people, they don't hesitate to hold customers hostage when they are ready to transition to local suppliers.  They will offer sales, whine about "relationships" or even play the weather card and threaten (albeit very nicely) to short them if the weather damages the local deal.  Some even drink the year round Kool-Aid and exclusively handle western product.  But east coast growers get better every year and in most cases can keep their product flowing even in a bad year.  Here, for instance we have had a long, cold and wet spring, but we have very nice romaine and iceberg being harvested earlier than usual.  It is frustrating when you know your produce is better than the competition and you still cannot sell unless you are willing to take much less than they are getting.  But as transportation makes up more and more of the cost of produce, the local deals will expand and the season will get longer and longer.  I can hear the squeals from Salinas already.