Due to the COVID-19 crisis, Sun Valley Group decided to consolidate operations and discontinue growing at their Pleasant Valley division in Oxnard, California. This was announced yesterday by owner Lande DeVries who said that it was a very hard decision made after much thought.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented devastation in the floral industry and has also affected our company in many ways. These extraordinary conditions have necessitated us to look at ways to find a sustainable path forward", he said in his announcement.
The Oxnard team members were notified of the decision on May 13th and have been offered the option for continued employment at thier Arcata location.
DeVries explains that many of the crops grown in Oxnard will continue to be grown at the Baja farm which they have been working with for the last 8 years. "Key crops like Waltz Delphinium, Butterfly Ranunculus and others will continue to be grown in Oxnard exclusively for Sun Valley by contract growers."
The Oxnard warehouse will stay in operation as a cross dock facility for flowers from Arcata, Baja, and other Oxnard contract growers.
“PV Console” will continue operations consolidating flowers from the West Coast for distribution to supermarket chains.
"We believe this decision will help fortify Sun Valley’s focus on core crops like Tulips, Lilies and Iris grown in Arcata, while enhancing our floral offering with products from Southern California and Baja."
In his announcement, DeVries also thanks all team members. "From the bottom of our hearts we thank all our team members at the Oxnard location for their dedication to the company for all these years."
For more information:
The Sun Valley Group
3160 Upper Bay Road
Arcata, CA 95521-9690
T: 800-747-0396
F: 707-826-8708
www.thesunvalleygroup.com