Avocado farmers see smaller crop amid high prices

Kevin Hecteman

Special to the Village News

A big jump in prices early in the season helped lead to a smaller haul, tonnage wise, for California avocado farmers this year.

So did a shortage of precipitation, said Will Pidduck, who grows avocados and lemons in Ventura County.

“Our crop was a moderately sized crop,” Pidduck said. “It would have been a lot better if we would have had a decent amount of rainfall, which helps us size our fruit.”

“That being said, the prices were good,” he added. “They stayed relatively good – in some cases, great – for a lot of the season, and avocados really saved...