Produce season finder

What the result means

For the state and month you pick, the panel lists produce items whose usual harvest or marketing window includes that month. Items marked Peak are in their most active window, when the bulk of the crop is harvested and shipped. The small bar under each item shows its whole year: bright for peak months, darker for the rest of its season.

The map shades each state by how many items are in season that month. Darker states have more going on.

How it's compiled

There's no formula; it's a lookup. We took the usual harvesting dates (and, for fruits, the marketing dates, which include sales from storage) for each crop and state in two USDA NASS handbooks and converted each window into months:

In season = any month that overlaps the usual begin-to-end window

Peak = any month that overlaps the most active window

When a state lists several seasons or areas for the same crop, the months are combined.

Assumptions and limits

• Usual dates, not this year's. The handbooks describe normal seasons and exclude unusually early or late ones.
• Harvest is close to shipping for perishables. NASS notes that for perishable crops, harvest and marketing are nearly the same period. For storage crops, shipping runs after harvest ends.
• Fresh market only. Processing crops (headed for canneries and freezers) are left out where the handbooks separate them.
• Coverage. The handbooks don't cover every crop or state, and some items that ship heavily from storage are thin in the data.
• Imports. Produce crossing from Mexico at Nogales, Arizona and South Texas isn't in these tables, though it's a big part of winter reefer freight in those regions. USDA's truck rate report covers those crossings as origins.

How to use it before accepting a load

1. Look at the delivery state and month. If produce is peaking there, a reload is more likely, and a lower rate into that market can still make sense.
2. Look ahead a few weeks. Use the month buttons to see which regions are coming on so you can position before trucks get tight.
3. Pair it with rates. Check USDA's truck rate report for truck availability in that shipping area, and our refrigerated freight guide for what produce shippers expect at the dock.
4. Vet the broker. Produce brokers vary a lot; our guide to reefer freight brokers covers what to check.

For how we plan produce loads around these windows, see produce load dispatch. Or let our reefer dispatchers keep your truck pointed at the regions that are shipping: apply here.