Posts Tagged “Ohio vegetable shipments”
Despite some extremely dry growing conditions this spring and early summer, Ohio vegetable growers say it helps grow the best quality vegetables.
Buurma Farms Inc. of Willard, OH has a selection of over two dozen vegetables, most of which became available in late June.
Two items introduced about three seasons ago were napa cabbage and bok choy. Both continue to experience an increase in volume.
During June Buurma Farms was introducing items ranging from radishes to dill, cilantro, lettuces, green onions, parsleys, zucchini, cabbage yellow squash and cucumbers.
The last volume item was sweet corn, which started the third week of July.
The 127-year-old family-owned company serves retail, foodservice and wholesale customers primarily east of the Mississippi and has a priority to make fast, overnight deliveries.
Family owned Holthouse Farms of Ohio Inc., base in Willard has a full line of vegetables year-round.
The company’s lead items include dry vegetables such as bell peppers, cucumbers, squashes, eggplant and green beans, and a full line of chili peppers.
The company has been expanding its organic vegetables over the past five years including cucumbers, bell peppers, zucchini squash and yellow squash, which are available from May into fall.
In the late 1980s the company began offering vegetables year-round from Mexico, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey and Michigan, as well as Ohio.
Wiers Farm Inc. of Willard has a diverse lineup of products grown, packed and shipped in Ohio.
Dry vegetables include bell peppers, slicer cucumbers, pickles, summer squashes, eggplant, specialty and hot peppers, and sweet corn. Wet vegetables include lettuces, greens and herbs.
The operation harvests over 30 different vegetable commodities.
The firm’s Ohio location acts as a consolidation and cross-dock facility for its other growing locations in Georgia, Florida and Mexico.
It is now shipping a full lineup of dry vegetables and a limited lineup of wet vegetables 52 weeks a year, to customers across the Midwest and East Coast.
The fifth-generation family-owned company was established in 1896 and serves retail, foodservice and wholesale customers.
Ohio farmers grow over 200 types of produce, ranging from grapes to peaches and apples on the fruit side, to tomatoes, sweet corn, squash and pumpkins in the vegetable family. The leading crops are corn and soybeans.
The USDA reports the state has 14.9 million acres of farmland. Food and agriculture make up the top industry, with 44% of the state considered prime farmland. In Ohio, there are around 80,000 farms, 99% of them owned by families, most of them in the Northwest section of the state.
Buurma Farms grows a variety of vegetables, including radish and beets, at its farms in Willard, Ohio, and Gregory, Michigan. About half of its produce comes from each state.
The company reports a very diversified business with no one product standing out. Buurma grows 30 different items, making it easier to fill a truck. They refer to it as one-stop shopping and it’s a niche that helps the company move product.
This year, the weather has been good and production now on schedule for harvesting and shipping.
Buurma sells most of its produce within a 400-mile radius of Ohio but does cover most of the East Coast.
D.R. Walcher Farms in North Fairfield specializes in bell peppers, cucumbers, summer squash, eggplant, winter squashes and fall ornamentals.
The operation sizes, grades and markets its produce. About 40% goes to large grocery chains, either directly or through wholesale brokers; another 40% is for foodservice, mostly to distributors who slice and dice it; and the remaining 20% goes to the commission market, which sells to restaurants and mom-and-pop stores.
One-third to half of the produce grown by D.R. Walcher remains in the Midwest, particularly Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, although does ship further east of the Mississippi.
The farm packs and ships vegetables from its own fields, as well as from other local contracted growers in six states. Then, the produce is all sent out under the D.R. Walcher name.
Summer vegetable shipments in Ohio are off to a good start, according to Buurma Farms of Williard, OH.
The vegetable shipper started loading trucks in late May, led by radishes, turnips, mustard greens, collard, kale and cilantro. In early June the company added in red lettuce, green lettuce, escarole and endive, romaine and Boston lettuce to its shipping list.
Acreage is similar to last season.
With the harvest is on schedule, it is shaping up as a pretty much normal year.
In July, there will be an increase of cucumbers, sweet corn and peppers, among other items.
Ohio vegetable shipments will continue into November.
Buurma Farms is located in the north central part of Ohio between Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo.
The grower ships to customers east of the Mississippi River from Boston down to Miami and as far west as St. Louis and Memphis.
In addition, Buurma Farms can ship produce overnight to about two-thirds of the population of the U.S.
Cool and rainy weather held back Ohio vegetable shipments at the start of the season in early June as the season got underway with radishes, mustard greens, turnip greens and cilantro, and by late June lettuce was added.
Weirs Farm Inc. of Willard, OH reports green onion loadings got underway by the end of June and yellow squash, zuchinni and cucumbers were launched in early July. Hot peppers will start up in August.
In early June, Buurma Farms of Williard, OH was shipping radishes, turnips, mustard greens, cilantro, parsley and soon was followed by green leaf, red leaf, romaine, endive, escarole and boston lettuce. Curly parsely and baby dill started June 10th and green onions and beets got undeway in the last half of June.
Cucumbers and zucchini started in early July.
Buurma Farms will have supplies well into October or early November, depending upon when the first good frost occurs.
Wholesaler DNO Produce of Columbus, OH sells bulk wholesale and value-added fresh local produce to retail and foodservice companies. Besides vegetables the wholesaler handles a lot of Ohio apples and this past season sold storage apples up until early May, which is a lot longer than normal.
New varieties like the EverCrisp have helped extend the Ohio apple season.
2018 acreage
USDA statistics from 2018 showed sweet corn as the top Ohio vegetable crop, with 9,800 acres, followed by tomatoes (5,500 acres), pumpkins (4,000 acres), cucumbers (1,900 acres) and bell peppers (1,500 acres).
2017 acreage
The 2017 Census of Agriculture notes open-field vegetable acreage — both fresh and processing — in Ohio in 2017 totaled 35,298 acres, about the same as 35,553 acres in 2012, but down from 47,014 acres in 2007.
Fresh market open-field vegetable acreage in 2017 totaled 25,966 in 2017, down from 27,061 acres in 2012 and off sharply from 33,333 acres in 2007.
2017 vegetable acreage, compared with 2012:
> Fresh market asparagus: 152 acres in 2017, up from 69 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market snap beans: 2,637 acres in 2017, up from 2,305 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market beets: 172 acres in 2017 (no data for 2012);
> Fresh market broccoli: 92 acres in 2017, up from 56 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market cabbage: 1,459 acres in 2017, up from 69 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market cantaloupe: 406 acres in 2017, down from 444 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market carrots: 108 in 2017, up from 23 acres in 2012;
> Combined fresh and processed cauliflower: 78 acres in 2017, up from 16 acres in 2012;
> Fresh celery: 7 acres in 2017, up from 1 acres in 2012;
> Combined fresh and processed collard greens: 181 acres in 2017, down from 183 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market cucumbers: 598 in 2017, up from 300 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market daikon: 28 acres in 2017, up from 1 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market eggplant: 109 acres in 2017 (no data for 2012);
> Fresh market escarole and endive: 55 acres in 2017 (no data for 2012);
> Fresh market garlic: 90 acres in 2017 (no data for 2012);
> Fresh market herbs: 458 acres in 2017, up from 261 acres n 2012;
> Fresh market honeydew: 10 acres in 2017, up from 2 acres in 2012;
> Fresh and processed kale: 271 acres in 2017, up from 107 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market lettuce: 429 acres in 2017, up from 306 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market head lettuce: 122 acres in 2017, up from 28 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market leaf lettuce: 299 acres in 2017, up from 220 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market romaine lettuce: 105 acres in 2017, up from 66 acres in 2012;
> Combined fresh and processed mustard greens: 221 acres in 2017 (no data for 2012);
> Fresh market dry onions: 110 acres in 2017, down from 254 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market green onions: 249 acres in 2017, down from 260 acres in 2012;
> Combined fresh and processed parsley: 238 acres in 2017, down from 241 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market Chinese peas: 14 acres in 2017, up from 10 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market green peas; 44 acres in 2017, up from 32 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market bell peppers: 856 acres in 2017, up from 772 in 2012;
> Fresh market chile peppers: 360 acres in 2017, up from 255 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market potatoes: 957 acres in 2017, down from 986 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market pumpkins: 857 acres in 2017, down from 947 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market radishes: 598 acres in 2017, up from 433 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market rhubarb: 32 acres in 2017 (no data for 2012);
> Fresh market spinach: 41 acres in 2017, up from 28 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market squash 1,552 acres in 2017, up from 1,046 acres in 2012;
> Fresh market sweet corn: 7,777 acres in 2017, down from 9,521 in 2012;
> Fresh market sweet potatoes: 36 acres in 2017 (no data for 2012);
> Fresh market tomatoes: 1,010 acres in 2017, down from 1,839 acres in 2012;,
> Combined fresh and processed turnips: 76 acres in 2017, up from 25 acres; and
> Fresh market watermelons: 361 acres in 2017, compared with 338 acres in 2012.
Another normal volume shipping season is seen for Ohio vegetables, while a double digit decline is seen for Northwest cherries. Meanwhile, Arkansas produce shipments get underway in July.
Ohio Vegetable Shipments
Michael Farms of Urbana, Ohio will begin shipping cabbage and green beans in by late June, sweet corn in mid-July and potatoes in early August.
Holthouse Farms of Willard, Ohio has been shipping radishes and cilantro since late May, lettuces since early June, and just started squash. Chili peppers will come on in early July. The company also ships bell peppers and eggplant and will have hard squash in the fall.
Buurma Farms of Willard, Ohio has been loading radishes since Memorial Day, and has since added mustard greens, collard greens, kale, dill, cilantro and other items. The company has just started shipping red leaf, green leaf and romaine.
NatureFresh Farms of Leamington, Ontario starts shipping from its Delta, Ohio, greenhouse at the end of September and goes through the beginning of July 2019.
NatureFresh grows beefsteak, cherry, grape, roma and cocktail tomatoes, as well as tomatoes on the vine.
Northwest Cherry Shipments
The crop estimate for Northwest cherries is for 22.6 million 20-pound cartons, down 15 percent from a year ago.
In 2017 there were shipments of 26.5 million cartons. An average crop size is 22 million boxes.
Stemilt Growers Inc. of Wenatchee, WA picked its first cherries about a week ago.
California is wrapping up cherry shipments and the crop will be down significantly from last year — about 3 million boxes compared to a record 9.6 million boxes last year. Normal is about 6 million boxes.
Arkansas Produce Shipments
H.C. Schmieding Produce Co. LLC of Springdale, AR expects to start watermelon shipments around the 4th of July and go through the first week of August. The company expects to have light volumes of corn the first week of July, running through the end of the month.
Gem Tomato & Vegetable Sales of Boca Raton, FL is now shipping Arkansas tomatoes and will continue for another month.
Arkansas has roughly 1,200 acres of watermelons, 800 acres of tomatoes.
Despite a crazy growing season due to weather factors, Ohio vegetable shipments started a few weeks ago. If anything, some replantings of crops could mean heavier than normal loadings later in the season.
Green bean shipments will start anytime now. Sweet corn loading get underway in mid-July and like green beans, will run into October. Cabbage kicked off about a week ago and will run into November. Potato diggings will start in August and ship from storage into March.
A number of items got underway between mid-May and mid-June, so you can expect good volumes of radishes, cilantro, variety lettuce, collard, turnip, mustard, kale, green onions and parsley continuing through September.
Coming on soon in July will be beets, zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers, lasting through September. August will bring peak volumes of sweet corn, peppers, celery, carrots and fall squash. Also, shipments have started with leafy vegetables, root crops and summer squashes tomatoes and eggplant, following in late July. All of these items should be available into mid-October.
Harvest of soft squash begins in late June, and bell and hot peppers, eggplant and cucumbers will follow in early July, with hard squash in late August. Hard squash and pumpkin shipments, as well as gourds wrap up Ohio fresh vegetable shipments starting in late August.
Some of the major Ohio vegetable shippers include Buurma Farms, Inc.; Wiers Farms Inc.; and Holthouse Farms, all based at Willard, OH. There also is Onion Boy, Shelby, OH (onions that start in late July}, as well as Doug Walcher Farms of Northfield and Micheal Farms of Urbana.
The leading agricultural products in Ohio are soybeans, grain, corn, and greenhouse and nursery, which account for over one-half of Ohio’s total agricultural production. Wheat and hay are also important. But vegetables also play an important role with shipments covering nearly half of the United States and parts of Canada.
Ohio vegetable shipments have gotten an early start, while Ontario vegetables are building in volume. Eastern peach loadings remain steady.
Vegetable shipments out of Ohio got underway a week to 10 days early this year. For example, Buurma Farms of Williard, OH started with radishes mid-May, and dill, cilantro and turnip and mustard greens by the end of the month. Beets, lettuces, parsley, sweet corn, green onions and celery were to following in short order
Ohio radish loadings started in mid-May and continue to mid-November, with other commodities starting in June and winding down in October. For example, sweet corn, celery and peppers likely will start in mid- to late July and go to the first frost.
Ohio sweet corn and many other vegetables are shipped to destinations in the Midwest, East and South.
In late June, shipments begin for cabbage and green beans and the second week of July for corn.
Ontario Vegetable Shipments
Canada’s Ontario province vegetable shipments are now coming on and will be in full shipping mode in July. While asparagus loading have been occurring since early May, items such as zucchini starts in late June and sweet corn will be available the first half of July. Other items range from eggplant, to red and green peppers, colored potatoes and cluster tomatoes.
Eastern Peach Shipments
South Carolina peach shipments are good and will remain so approaching the 4th of July. Loadings are expected to decrease some after the holiday, but then pick back up the second half of July. Steady shipments are seen through August, before the season winds down in early September.
Georgia peach shipments remain strong, with a season similar to that of South Carolina. Georgia is reporting its finest crop in at least a decade.
Georgia peach shipments – grossing about $2600 to New York City.
Peruvian Avocado Imports
Peru should export about 100 million pounds of hass avocados to the U.S. this season — about the same as a year ago.
However, expect more fruit next season due to newly planted trees starting to bear fruit in 2017. Exports to the U.S. and other parts of the world will increase by 20 percent. About 25 percent of Peru’s avocado exports are destined for the U.S.
Ohio has more than the Bengals, Browns and Buckeyes. This time of year it becomes an important player in shipping vegetables.
Ohio Vegetable Shipments
The state got underway with radishes mid-May, and dill, cilantro and turnip and mustard greens by the end of the month. Following shortly after that were beets, lettuces, parsley, sweet corn, green onions and celery.
Ohio radish shipments continue from mid-May to mid-November, with other commodities starting in June and winding down in October.
Then you have sweet corn, celery and peppers, which should get underway in mid- to late July and last until the first frost.
Ohio experienced its hottest May since 1988 — which was a drought year. Some daytime highs were in the 90s, although the 80s were more typical. The heat helped bring the vegetable crops on earlier and grow faster.
Here are a few of the major shippers of Ohio vegetables:
Bettinger Farms Inc., Swanton, OH
Wiers Farm Inc. and Dutch Maid Produce, Willard, OH.
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH.
Buurma Farms, Willard, OH