Heat and humidity in July and early August has resulted in quality problems for iceberg, romaine and leaf lettuce in the Salinas Valley, and caution is recommended if you are loading these items.
Markon Cooperative of Salinas reports USDA inspectors have been seeing increased quality issues, particularly in romaine lettuce out of California’s Salinas Valley. A cycle of heat spikes followed by humid, overcast mornings over the past few weeks has been stressing the product and causing internal burn and fog burn in commodity and value-added products.
Markon notes iceberg and green leaf have also exhibited some defects, but romaine has been more affected.
Weather has been more stable recently and it is believed quality will improve, but there still could some sporadic issues in the days ahead.
Pro-Act of Monterey, CA also recently noted seeing some tip and fringe burn on romaine due to the high temperatures, but supplies remains strong.
Common defects reported with iceberg include puffiness, pink discoloration and ribbing. Much of this is caused by warm temperatures in the growing regions. Mexico has had issues with rain and has caused for shortages of availability. Shipments are expected be increase as schools start again.
Belding-based BelleHarvest, Michigan’s oldest grower-owned distributor of fresh apples, has acquired Michigan Fresh Marketing, one of the leading produce sales organizations in Michigan. The addition further diversifies their offerings and accelerates the company’s growth potential.
The acquisition maximizes the respective strengths of both organizations and positions BelleHarvest to continue the growth trajectory realized after the past two years as a combined sales alliance.
BelleHarvest is now the second largest apple shipper in Michigan. The organization will continue to market under both brands, while operating from nine fresh apple packing lines. This includes the existing Michigan Fresh pre-sort line in Comstock Park, Michigan. The deal brings a robust locally grown vegetable program to BelleHarvest, which will be marketing under the well-established Michigan Fresh name.
“We are excited to formally bring our two teams to build a more comprehensive set of solutions for our customers,” according to BelleHarvest CEO, Milt Fuehrer. “This acquisition allows us to deliver a unified strengthened experience to our retail customers and grower partners.”
Founded in 1957, BelleHarvest has been the expert partner in bringing the best apples from the field to the store shelf. The acquisition brings together two dynamic teams with decades of experience delivering fresh produce throughout the country. Together, they will continue to deliver the same quality, innovation, and dedication that their current and future customers demand.
Markesan, Wisconsin — Alsum Farms & Produce grower partner, Trembling Prairie Farms Inc. is harvesting a new crop of Wisconsin Celery with shipments lasting through the first week of October.
Located in the muck soils of Green Lake County, Trembling Prairie Farms, a family farm owned and operated by John and Connie Bobek along with their four children in Markesan, is in its 10th year of growing and packing locally grown celery serving the Midwest retail and foodservice markets.
In 2012, Trembling Prairie Farms started with 3 acres of celery and now has expanded to over 45 acres. The farm starts with a Midwestern selected celery variety that grows extremely well in the Wisconsin climate. One of many advantages Trembling Prairie Farms Wisconsin Celery brings to the local market is celery at its peak freshness for a milder flavor and snappier crunch.
The process of growing celery starts in local greenhouses in late February to early April and is then transplanted in 12 different plantings. Celery planting in the muck soil begins on May 1 with the goal of the last planting to be in the ground by July 1.
Trembling Prairie Farms Wisconsin Grown Celery began distribution the week of July 19.
Global food import costs are expected to rise 12% in 2021 to a record due to surging commodity prices and robust demand during the COVID-19 crisis, the United Nations food agency said.
The world’s food import bill, including shipping costs, is projected to reach $1.715 trillion this year, from $1.530 trillion in 2020, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in its twice-yearly Food Outlook report on Thursday.
Growth in agricultural trade during the pandemic showed the inelastic nature of food consumption and the resilience of international markets, but price rises since late 2020 were raising risks for poorer import-reliant countries, the FAO said.
Its monthly food price index hit a 10-year high in May, reflecting sharp gains for cereals, vegetable oils and sugar, Reuters reports.
The FAO said a separate index of food import values, including freight costs that have also soared, reached a record in March this year, surpassing levels seen during previous food price spikes in 2006-2008 and 2010-2012.
A strong volume increase for staple food imports last year had already driven up global import costs 3% to a record.
Exceptions were beverages and fish products that are more sensitive to economic conditions and which saw demand curbed by supply chain difficulties, the FAO said.
Pandol Bros. of Delano, CA reports the central California table grape harvest has been underway since early July, with three to five percent production harvested and one percent shipped.
While there has been a gradual reduction of area planted due to changes in water regulation, production is staying stable with higher yields from the acres planted.
Production is seeing a “normal harvest flow” with the halfway mark expected sometime in September and the end either in November or December, depending on the first freeze.
Shipping will reach halfway in late September and two to four percent of the crop will be shipped in 2022.
The cost of both ocean freight rates and inland truck freight rates are reported much higher than in the past.
Trucking is seeing a lack of drivers and there is a two to four-month wait for a trained, drug-tested driver to get an appointment for a licensing test.
The world’s heaviest mango has recently been found in Colombia, weighing in at 4.24 kilograms or 9.36 pounds and was certified as an official Guinness World Records title.
Colombian farmers, Germán Orlando Novoa Barrera and Reina Maria Marroquín managed to break a record after growing the mango in Guayatá, on the San Martín farm in the Boyacá area, according to the Guinness World Records website.
The previous record was held by a mango found in the Philippines that weighed 3.435 kilograms or 7.57 pounds in 2009.
“Our goal with this Guinness World Records title is to show to the world that in Colombia we are humble, hardworking people who love the countryside and that the land that is cultivated with love produces great fruits,” Germán was reported as saying.
“It is an award and a recognition of the effort and dedication to the Guayatuno countryside, and the love for nature that our parents passed down to us,” he also was reported saying.
After being documented for the record, the family celebrated by sharing and eating the entire mango.
The family said it was delicious though they made a mold out of it to make a replica and donate it to the city to be recorded for historical purposes.
Peru is the world’s leading exporter of blueberries and volume continues to grow.
Blueberry Producers of Peru (Proarandanos) has forecasted the volume of organic blueberry exports will double during the 2021-2022 season.
Total blueberry exports are estimated to total over 200,000 tons with organic exports reaching 14,000-15,000 tons, up from 7,500 tons last season.
The Association of Exporters (ADEX) has estimated organic blueberry exports will increase 220 percent, as this projection considers shipments for last season standing at 4,000 tons.
With the estimated growth rate, Peru would export 12,800 tons. While export items don’t distinguish between organic and conventional, it is difficult to have a reliable record. The only way to have a reliable record is to gather information from each blueberry company.
According to Proarandanos, the growth in both conventional and organic blueberry exports is due to the productivity, increase in the cultivated area in which they increased by 6,178 acres, for a total of 3,707 acres now.
Peru’s blueberry harvest began in May and will conclude in March 2022, with the largest volumes being exported from August to December.
California is a big force in the U.S. onion market.
According to a report from University of California, Davis, California is the largest onion producer (including fresh and processed) in the U.S. and is the only state to produce both spring and summer-harvested onions.
In 2015, the report said California produced 31% of the nation’s total onion crop.
About 16% of California onions are spring harvested, and the state produces 42% of the nation’s spring harvested onion crop. About half of California onions are grown for the fresh market, and about half for processing, according to the report.
The proportion of spring, summer, fresh and processing onions tends to be stable, according to the report. Onions are grown throughout California.
In a recent census, the counties with the top onion acreage were Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Siskiyou, and San Joaquin, with over a third of the state’s acreage located in Fresno County, according to the report.
The high desert region of Antelope Valley in Los Angeles County and the Salinas Valley also include some fresh market onion acreage, the report said.
In 2020, truck onion shipments from California’s Central Valley totaled 339.9 million pounds, up 2% from 33 million pounds in 2019 and up 12% from 304.8 million pounds in 2015. Shipments were recorded in every month in 2020 from California’s Central Valley, with peak shipments in June, July and August.
In 2019, shipments of California’s Central Valley onion truck shipments accounted for 7.5% of total U.S. onion truck volume. That was up slightly from 7.4% in 2019 and down slightly from 7.7% of total U.S. onion truck shipments in 2015.
Truck onion shipments from California’s Imperial Valley totaled 144.9 million pounds in 2020, up 5% from 138 million pounds in 2019 and up 22% from 119.1 million pounds in 2015. May was the peak onion shipment month for California’s Imperial Valley, with shipments starting in May and ending in June.
In the season-to-date truck shipment report through May 15 this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported 66.8 million pounds shipped, down slightly from 68.1 million pounds the same time a year ago.
Imperial Valley onion shipments accounted for 3.2% of total U.S. onion truck shipments, up from 2.9% in 2019 and 3% in 2015. Southern California’s onion truck shipments in 2020 totaled 16.1 million pounds, down 43% compared with 27.9 million pounds in 2019 and down 85% from 110.5 million pounds in 2015.
Truck shipments from the region were active from January through May, with peak shipments in January. Southern California onion truck shipments accounted for 0.3% of total U.S. onion truck shipments, down from 0.6% in 2019 and lower than 2.8% in 2015, according to the USDA.
With Chilean clementines and lemons already in market, and navels and mandarins on the way, the Chilean Citrus Committee of ASOEX has released an updated season forecast.
Clementine volumes, originally expected to increase by seven percent to 55,000 tons, are now projected to jump to 59,000 tons, a 14% increase over 2020. Export volumes of lemons, navels and mandarins remain in line with the first 2021 forecast (98,000, 89,000 and 145,000 tons, respectively). With a total citrus forecast of 391,000 tons, Chile expects to ship roughly 85% of all volume to the U.S. market.
As of early July, Chile had exported 8,142 tons (519,369 boxes) of clementines, totaling 40,040 tons (2,541,962 boxes), up 11% over same time last season, with 98% of the volume being sent to the U.S. (39,392 tons; 2,500,892 boxes). Of the volume shipped to the U.S., 69% was destined for the East Coast (27,315 tons; 1,736,608 boxes) and 31% for the West Coast (12,077 tons; 764,284 boxes).
Navel shipments are steadily increasing, with the largest week of exports was expected in the 2nd week of July. Chile shipped a total of 6,595 tons of navels the previous week, with 5,534 tons (84%) destined for North America. Lemon exports have also been steady and strong, with 11,476 tons (52%) heading to North America. The first mandarin shipments were recorded in early July, with the entire volume (140 tons/8,767 boxes) destined for the U.S.
Good Chilean Citrus volume will continue through October.
Hemp is getting a lot of attention from growers in Florida.
The Sunshine state started issuing licenses for growing hemp in April 2020, and by February 2021 there were 35,000 acres registered, with $270 million in income projected for the coming year, according to WCJB News in Gainesville.
Within the next few years, hemp farming in Florida is projected to grow to about half the size of the state’s citrus industry,” writes Regan McCarthy on the website of Miami’s WFSU Public Media, part of Florida State University. “Much of that growth is driven by CBD production.”
McCarthy quotes Florida agricultural commissioner Nikki Fried, who said, “At this moment Florida has 22,078 licensed acres of hemp cultivation after just seven months.
This acreage is very similar to three of Florida’s key crops—tomatoes, watermelon, and snap peas—and is double of what the state has in production for strawberries. (Note that acreage rose from 22,078 to 35,000 in about a month.)
In many cases, hemp has replaced permanent crops in Florida, including citrus and blueberries.
“We’re talking about citrus groves that weren’t producing,” says Florida cannabis director Holly Bell, “so those are being dug up and the land is being repurposed to bring in revenue and create new jobs.”
Some blueberry growers who were struggling as a result of increased competition from Mexico have also turned to hemp.
Hemp has an enormous number of uses, such as for textiles and even for paper, but markets are limited by a lack of facilities for producing these products.
“Textiles and fiber can be made from the pith,” says Frederick Schilling, a partner in Klersun, LLC, a company that specializes in hemp-derived extracts.
“That will eventually increase once the infrastructure is built out to support those products.”
He foresees this occurring in three to five years.
Infrastructure will, in part, determine the future of the cannabis industry. So will legislation. The third factor is business acumen and integrity.
“As with any emergent industry, there were bad actors doing things that were giving the industry a bad name,” says Chris Bourne, Schilling’s partner. “Fortunately, a lot of those folks have been weeded out.”
Some analysts also believe the industry has lost much of its “wildcat” mentality and is now more comparable to mature packaged-goods companies.
