Good Things Come in Bunches in Holtville

Bugs Bunny isn’t the only one who believes carrots are good for you. The latest word comes from a host of scientists and health professionals who have expounded at length on the root’s nutritional benefits.

An average carrot contains only 40 calories, has no cholesterol, yet offers 330% of the daily USDA requirement for Vitamin A. Beta carotene, the plant pigment that gives a carrot its orange color, has even been linked to cancer prevention.

Luckily, carrots are among the world’s most common root vegetables and are a staple of supermarket shelves everywhere.

One of the reasons for the carrot’s year-round availability lies at San Diego’s back door, in the Imperial Valley. From the desert town of Holtville, the self-proclaimed carrot capital of the world, come close to 90% of the carrots consumed in the United States. Indeed, Holtville has been holding an annual carrot festival every February since 1948 to celebrate the fact. Many growers in the area supply large distribution companies such as Dole.

Salico Inc., owned by Niaz Mohamed, is one of the valley’s largest producers of lettuce and sweet onions, among other vegetables, and is a major supplier of carrots.

“The Imperial Valley is the second-most important growing area, after the San Joaquin Valley,” said Martin Mohamed, controller of Salico and a third-generation member of this farming family. “We seek to fill the ‘winter window,’ ” he said, referring to the mild climate that pushes the Imperial Valley’s production to the national forefront in the winter months.

Mike Yurosek & Son, a company based in Bakersfield since 1939, operates the only carrot packing house in Holtville. At the peak of the season, the company processes about 1,680 tons of carrots a day, according to manager Dale Kniffen, who said 15,000 acres of carrots were grown in the Imperial Valley this year. The company distributes its carrots coast to coast under the Bunny-Luv label.

With 400 acres of carrots, Ed McGrew of Magco Inc. is among the mid-size producers in the Imperial Valley.

“Soil type is important, and the area around Holtville has a very soft, mellow type of soil which is ideal for carrots,” he said. McGrew, a lifelong Holtville resident, considers this year’s crop to be of excellent quality, although the harvest was late because of mid-winter rains.

The rains also caused North County farmer Richard Borevitz, who owns the Gourmet Gardens farm stand in San Marcos, to experience a lull in production. He expects his next crop to be ready in about a month.

Borevitz likes to experiment with seed varieties. He raises Emperator and Chantenay varieties, as well as finger carrots. In a few weeks, Borevitz expects to have little round carrots and baby carrots, “with nice orange color and a skin so tender you don’t have to peel them.”

Carrot producer Alan Bornt’s grandfather migrated from New York to the Imperial Valley more than 50 years ago. Bornt takes after his grandfather in his love for this sun-parched land where the thermometer hovers around 100F from May to October. Past the rows of carrot tops swaying in the warm desert breeze, nothing but a narrow stretch of water--the All American Canal--separates the Bornts’ organic fields from Mexico.

Bornt Family Farms used to specialize in alfalfa, but Bornt had always wanted to try his hand at producing vegetables, and four years ago he decided to go into the carrot business. He is active in the organic farming movement and says it is cheaper in the long run to apply organic methods.

Weeding has to be done by hand, a process that entails a major portion of the grower’s expenses.

“I spend over $1,000 an acre to weed these fields,” Bornt said, surveying his recently dug-up fields. A few hundred feet ahead, a huge carrot digger plowed through the rows of carrots, automatically uprooting, shaking and dumping a cascade of orange roots into an adjoining bin. “Each bin holds about 25 tons,” Bornt said.

All of the Bornts’ production is bound for the wholesale market, most of it to be sold fresh nationwide, some of it entering in the preparation of processed foods and some going into juice. A small portion is sold in bunches, tops attached.

Gathering an armload of foot-long carrots left lying atop the overturned rows after the picking operations, Bornt shook them free of the rich, dark soil and placed them carefully in the back of his pickup.

“You have to try a glass of fresh carrot juice,” he said, heading for the welcome coolness of his office. Inside the trailer, he pressed one carrot, then another into an electric juicer. To this novice carrot juice drinker, the thick, bright orange juice tasted as sweet as honey.

“Carrot juice is full of enzymes and all sorts of nutrients,” Bornt said, “but you have to drink it within three to four hours or it will lose most of its nutritional properties.”

When buying carrots, look for smooth, firm and well-shaped ones, bright orange to orange-red in color. Green shoots sprouting from trimmed carrots or yellowed tips may be a sign of age. To store, remove leafy tops or stems, rinse, drain and refrigerate in plastic bags.

Mike Yurosek & Son Inc., 369 Walnut, Holtville, CA 92250. (619) 356-4605. Wholesale only. Peeled baby carrots, under Bunny Luv label, at Von’s, about $1.99 for a 2-pound bag.

Salico Inc. 896 K St., Brawley, CA. 92227. (619) 344-8900. Wholesale only.

Magco Inc., 1758 Melloland Road, Holtville, CA. 92250. (619) 356-2938. Wholesale only.

Gourmet Gardens farm stand, 2050 Sycamore, San Marcos, CA 92069. (619) 744-5064. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday. Carrots $1 a bunch.

Alan Bornt, Bornt Family Farms, Certified Organic Produce, 2307 E. Highway 98, Holtville, CA 92250. (619) 356-233. Wholesale only.