It is nearly July and that means summer Michigan produce shipments are building in volume. Blueberries and vegetables are expected to have normal volume, although most crops are starting one to two weeks later than last season due to cold and excessive rain last spring.
Both Leitz Farms LLC of Sodus, MI and Naturipe Farms in Grand Junction, Mich report they will be shipping blueberries July through the end of September, with the best volume occurring in July and August.
Buurma Farms of Gregory, MI reports a beautiful crop of vegetables. The company started June with radishes, while mustard greens, collards, kale and cilantro will arrive by June 10 and beets by the end of June.
Mike Pirrone Produce of Capac, MI started about a week ago with collards and kale, zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers. Eggplant and peppers will get underway in the last part of July.
Grape tomatoes loadings will start in mid-July, leading into roma and round tomatoes. Cucumbers and tomatoes will be shipped until the middle of October.
Miedeman & Sons of Byron, MI has just started loadings of cabbage. The operation also grows sweet corn, cabbage, bok choy, napa, celery, cabbage and winter squash. Bok Choy starts after the 4th of July, with squash coming on around Labor Day.
Van Solkema Produce of Georgia based in Bryon, MI will have cabbage, corn, celery, radishes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, squash, eggplant, chilies and blueberries. The company is just starting with cabbage and leafy greens, as well as romaine and red leaf lettuce. Zucchini and yellow squash are just starting harvest, while tunnel cucumbers and celery are expected by July 10th. Peppers will follow the third week of July.
South Carolina produce shipments are underway in light volume and North Carolina isn’t far behind.
Grower Network of Lake Park, GA markets fresh produce from the Carolinas and notes shipments usually peak in mid-June for South Carolina and mid-July for North Carolina with volume increasing 3 to 5 percent, which is typical,
In 2019, North Carolina produced 2.2 billion pounds of sweet potatoes, 37.5 million pounds of blueberries, 185 million pounds of cucumbers, 190 million pounds of watermelon, 61 million pounds of bell peppers, 64 million pounds of summer squash, and almost 80 million pounds of pumpkins, according to the USDA.
In 2019, South Carolina produced 127.5 million pounds of peaches, 161.3 million pounds of watermelon, according to the USDA statistics service.
Titan Farms of Ridge Spring, SC is the premier grower, packer and shipper of over 2.4 million boxes of fresh peaches and vegetables annually. Peak loadings of Titan peaches are occurring from June 15 to July 12.
South Carolin’s strawberry shipments have finished and now the state’s top-producing crops for late spring and summer: blueberries, peaches, melons, leafy greens, tomatoes and green onions are getting underway,
South Carolina peach shipments have been ongoing for over a month and loadings should last through August.
L&M Cos., Raleigh, N.C., will have increase shipments for summer because of more volume at its North Carolina and New Jersey farms. Squash loadings started in late May.
The shipper began moving South Carolina cucumbers nearly two weeks agos and will start shipping yellow potatoes around June 20 and North Carolina watermelons July 5.
L&M has vegetable farms in Florida, Georgia and New Jersey to offer product for longer windows of time, before and after the Carolina seasons.
Coosaw Farms, Fairfax, S.C., ships over 2 million pounds of conventional and organic blueberries a year, and this year shouldn’t be different,
Watermelon is the other big crop for Coosaw Farms. Along with the larger-sizing crop from Florida, watermelons grown in South Carolina should be shipping through July.
Jackson Farming Co. of Autryville, N.C., is planting more sweet potato acreage for the upcoming season. The company’s first harvest on seedless and seeded watermelons is estimated for the last week of June, with seedless through the end of September and seeded through mid-August. Cantaloupe should run mid-June to mid-August, and honeydews the first week of July through the first week to middle of August.
Pumpkins at the company’s Edenton, Ennice, Sparta and Autryville farms will be planted in July with harvest from September through mid-October.
Gotham Green, Brooklyn, N.Y., is opening a 30,000-square-foot hydroponic greenhouse in the Denver area to supply retailers in seven states.
The Aurora, Colo., facility is adjacent to Stanley Marketplace, a food hall/urban market, and an abandoned runway at the former Denver Stapleton Airport.
It’s the eighth greenhouse for the company, bringing its production capacity to nearly 35 million heads a year, according to a news release. Gotham Greens products will be available in 30 states.
The Aurora facility will supply retailers including Whole Foods Markets, Choice Markets and Alfalfa’s, and products include two new lettuce varieties, Crispy Green Leaf and Rocky Mountain Crunch. Gotham Greens also plans to work with restaurants and other foodservice operators as they open again, according to the release.
“Given the current pressures on our country’s food system, one thing is clear: the importance of strengthening our national food supply through decentralized, regional supply chains,” Viraj Puri, co-founder and CEO of Gotham Greens, said in the release. “Our business model has enabled us to remain nimble during these unprecedented times and continue to deliver fresh, locally-grown produce to customers and our communities.”
Beyond lettuces, the company grows basil and has branded dressings and dips. Gotham Greens dressings are available at Whole Foods nationwide.
“Although we never envisioned our Denver greenhouse opening and national salad dressing rollout happening during a global pandemic, we’re proud to be providing people across the country with healthy, fresh food options they can get excited about,” Puri said. “With the rise of cooking at home, we’re seeing consumers get creative and enjoy our dressings in a variety of different ways – as a savory dip, tangy marinate or freshly tossed with salad greens.”
California garlic shipments are just getting started and strong demand is expected to continue as consumers do more home cooking and seek to boost immunity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christopher Ranch of Gilroy, CA is now shipping with its early garlic, which is the heirloom garlic variety, Lerg, that is slightly milder than the company’s late garlic proprietary heirloom, the Monviso variety.
This year’s California garlic shipments could hit about 100 million pounds, with 15 million pounds of early garlic and 85 million of late garlic.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic and closure of foodservice outlets in March, Christopher Ranch’s garlic shipments were split pretty evenly between foodservice and retail.
The company reports its peeled garlic for foodservice shipments basically went to zero the week of the first shelter-in-place. It required major adjustments as business suddenly included mostly retailers. Still, demand was described as “stratospheric.”
While Christopher Ranch had planned to carry 100 percent U.S.-grown garlic for the 2019-20 marketing season, increased demand in recent months required the grower/shipper to import about a third of its garlic mostly from Mexico and Argentina.
I Love Produce of Kelton, PA reports strong shipments during the COVID-19 pandemic for people seeking to boost immunity and cook at home. The company imports Chinese garlic and ginger.
The company report during the months of January and February roughly when China was shut down (because of COVID-19), that is when that spike in demand started. China is now shipping garlic at close to normal levels.
I Love Produce sees with new crop supply of garlic on tap from California, Spain and China, expanding supplies may take some of the pressure off tight supplies.
ATHENS, Ga., May 19, 2020 — Carrier Transicold has launched its innovative Vector™ 8611MT multi-temperature trailer refrigeration unit.
Designed for trailers split lengthwise with a center dividing wall, the unit creates two refrigerated compartments without requiring a remote evaporator. refrigeration, fire, security and building automation technologies. tremendous interest from grocery distribution and food service operations that deliver mixed loads and can most benefit from its design,” said Patrick McDonald, product manager, trailer products, Carrier Transicold.
“The all-electric architecture of Carrier Transicold’s Vector platform enables the Vector 8611MT unit to independently manage both zones more simply and efficiently than mechanically interconnected competitive dual-discharge systems.”
Introduced in limited-production in 2019, the Vector 8611MT unit incorporates dual evaporators and fans into a single unit for two-zone cooling, with side-by-side compartments for perishable and frozen goods. By eliminating the need for a remote evaporator, installation is simplified.
The Vector 8611MT unit, like others in the platform family, uses E-Drive™ technology, in which the diesel engine runs a 21 kVA generator that powers the all electric refrigeration system. Vector units have the advantage of built-in electric standby capability, so when parked for loading, unloading or staging, they can be operated via a separate power source, providing full refrigeration capacity while eliminating refrigeration unit engine noise, emissions and fuel consumption.
Vector unit architecture eliminates most refrigerant valves and significantly reduces the number of braze joints and potential refrigerant leak points compared to mechanically interconnected competitive models. Uniquely, the Vector 8611MT unit has independent air control, optimizing airflow and pulldown to both zones.
If heating is required, the unit offers consistent electric heat, rather than hot gas heat. This reduces system complexity and enables the unit to shut down the compressor and other refrigeration components during heating, resulting in fuel savings.
The unit provides 55,000 BTU of cooling per hour at a setpoint of 35 degrees Fahrenheit and excels at freezing temperatures. For customers wishing to add a third refrigerated compartment, the system is pre-configured to enable easy installation of a remote evaporator from Carrier Transicold’s line of full-width, half-width, single- and dual-discharge smart evaporators.
The Vector 8611MT unit complements Carrier Transicold’s traditional multi temperature refrigeration unit, the Vector 8600MT model, giving customers a wide range of multi-temperature configuration options. To determine the right Vector multi temperature solution for your application, turn to the experts in Carrier Transicold’s North America dealer network.
About Carrier Transicold Carrier Transicold helps improve transport and shipping of temperaturecontrolled cargoes with a complete line of equipment and services for refrigerated transport and cold chain visibility. For 50 years, Carrier Transicold has been an industry leader, providing customers around the world with advanced, energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable container refrigeration systems and generator sets, direct-drive and diesel truck units, and trailer refrigeration systems. Carrier Transicold is a part of Carrier, a leading global provider of innovative HVAC, refrigeration, fire, security and building automation technologies. For more information, visit www.transicold.carrier.com. Follow Carrier on Twitter: @SmartColdChain, on Facebook at Carrier Transicold Truck Trailer US and LinkedIn at Carrier Transicold Truck Trailer Refrigeration.
California pear shipments will be getting off to a normal start in early July, after two years of late harvest starts,
Greene and Hemly of Courland, CA report Bartletts in California’s River District will start the season.
Growers are preparing for the season with an uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and safety of employees is factoring into preparation decisions.
“We employ 450 people in our farms and packinghouse,” Chiles Wilson, owner of Rivermaid Trading Co., Lodi, CA., said in a press release by the California Pear Bureau. “We want to make sure we can give them their jobs back this year. It’s not just about us as farmers but all the people we employ and their families.”
The California Pear Advisory Board is focusing on flavor, particularly on the effects of ethylene blocker 1-MCP, commonly used in storing different fruit to halt the ripening process.
Despite a drought in Mexico, and a forecast of a 45 percent drop in citrus production, total exports to the U.S. are expected to see a minimum drop in 2020.
While an ongoing and significant drought continue, navel orange exports to the U.S. should be down only 3 percent. Most of the decline affects valencia oranges destined for the juice market.
Mexican orange production is on 847,000 acres, but the USDA reports high tree mortality is expected due to prolonged high temperatures and lack of rain. Producers in Veracruz report widespread replanting of orange trees is underway.
Orange yields are down by about 30 percent, while the 2019-20 harvest of 2.53 million metric tons is 45 percent lower than a previous estimate and one of the lowest projected harvests since the early 1990s.
There are also concerns without increased government support, citrus greening disease could become a more serious problem throughout the country. Most Mexican fresh oranges shipped to the U.S. are navel oranges from Sonora, and the USDA projects 2019-20 fresh exports to the U.S. will reach 60,000 metric tons, down 3 percent from 2018-19.
Lime Exports
Mexico is the world’s second-largest producer of limes, with production in the states of Michoacán, Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Tamaulipas.
While drought has hurt lemon and lime production, the damage has not been as severe as suffered by oranges.
Nearly all lime exports go to the U.S. Mexican exports of lemons and limes to the U.S. are forecast at 755,000 metric tons for 2019-20, unchanged from 2018-19.
Consumers are changing some of the ways they are buying and how they are navigating stores amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The information comes from a 2,000-person survey by Category Partners.
A little over 50 percent of respondents said they are purchasing more frozen foods and center-store items due to coronavirus, while roughly 40 percent said they are buying more fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, fresh meat and dairy for the same reason. On the flip side, roughly 20 percent said they were buying less fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh meat.
Overall, the vast majority of consumers appear to be buying the same amount of fresh produce and meat or more amid the coronavirus crisis, according to Category Partners.
The firm found that shoppers 45 and younger in particular tend to be buying more fresh produce and other fresh items.
“This increase in food purchases among younger consumers makes sense,” Cara Ammon, senior vice president of research and market intel for Category Partners, said in a news release. “Many are now working from home, or unfortunately are at home due to furlough, and many may have children home from school.
“Families have gone from eating lunches and even breakfasts at work and school and eating many dinners on the run to eating all of their meals at home,” Ammon said. “That makes a huge difference in their grocery purchases.”
The firm’s survey also indicated a shift toward packaged items, with 46 percent of respondents saying they are buying more packaged items and 25 of respondents saying they are avoiding loose items. More than 40% report avoiding self-service items like products from salad bars or soup bars, and 35 percent say they are avoiding products requiring store staff to handle the food.
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Thirty-six percent of respondents noted they are using self-checkout more often.
“Consumers have made significant changes to just about every aspect of their grocery shopping behavior,” Ammon said. “It will be interesting to see how many of these changes continue once the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Some of these shopping behaviors may be here to stay.”
She noted that determining what consumers want at grocery retail will continue to be a moving target but that it is one worth pursuing.
“The lockdowns will end, the health crisis will abate, and consumers will have in-store and restaurant options once again,” Ammon said. “The larger economic pressures will linger a bit longer. The value to retailers and suppliers in being prepared to understand and offer solutions these consumers seek and need cannot be understated.”
A mostly good growing season has New Jersey vegetable shipments pretty much on track.
Among the items being transported to market are tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash and all coming along and a large variety of greens.
As May came to a close and June got underway, growers were finishing up asparagus and strawberries while still harvesting leafy greens, spinach and herbs. Squash, beans and cucumbers start in June and continue into July, when growers start with volumes of sweet corn, tomatoes, peaches, eggplant and peppers, among other specialty crops.
Among New Jersey’s biggest specialty crops are blueberries, peppers, peaches, asparagus, cranberries, squash and spinach.
In 2019, the state harvested:
9,300 acres of (not wild) blueberries, yielding 5,090 pounds per acre for a total of 47.3 million pounds and $85.3 million value;
3,500 acres of bell peppers, yielding 33,600 pounds per acre to produce 117.6 million pounds, worth $45.9 million;
3,900 acres of peaches year, yielding 10,000 pounds an acre to produce 39 million pounds and a $25.7 million value;
2,000 acres of asparagus, yielding 3,584 pounds per acre, for a production of 7.2 million pounds, valued at $16.3 million;
2,700 acres of cranberries, yielding 196 barrels per acre for a production of 529,000 barrels and $14.5 million value;
3,200 acres of squash, yielding 10,080 pounds per acre for a total of 32.3 million pounds and a $13.7 million value; and
1,900 acres of spinach, yielding 13,440 per acre for a total of 25.5 million pounds and a $6.7 million value.
In June 2019 alone, New Jersey shipped 17.8 million pounds of blueberries, compared to 16.4 million pounds in June 2018, according to USDA.
Peaches came next by weight, followed by nectarines and cranberries.
Peach loadings should start about July 1, with an excellent crop expected.
Consalo Family Farms of Egg Harbor City, N.J., which also has a farm in Hammonton, a sales company, also has farm partnerships nationwide.
The company will be shipping blueberries are through July. The company also sales company, Freshwave Fruit and Produce in Vineland, N.J.
Meanwhile, Consalo Family Farms began harvesting cooking greens and herbs May 1 and romaine and leaf lettuce May 8.
The fifth generation company, founded in 1898, also has partnerships elsewhere. It has cooling and packing facilities in Cedarville, a distribution center in Vineland, N.J., and a fleet of trucks to deliver the products to retail stores.
The Nardellis’ New Jersey season starts with asparagus in mid-April, continuing all the way through to summer dry items, such as peppers, cucumbers and squash, and then back to wet items such as lettuces and greens until Thanksgiving.
In June, the company will have a lot of wet greens, as well as romaine, red leaf, green leaf, Boston, endive, escarole, many cooking greens, parsley and cilantro.
Cabbages — green, red, savoy, napa, bok choy — have just started. In mid-June, there will be green and yellow squash, then cucumbers. By the end of June and early July, Nardelli Bros. will be shipping peppers and three flavors of corn.
BROWARD COUNTY, FL – Broward County’s Port Everglades is advancing $1.6 billion in infrastructure improvements that are underway and expected to be completed in the next five years.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is certainly impacting this year’s bottom line, but we are fortunate that Port Everglades’ diversified business sectors of cargo, cruise and petroleum can address a dip in one business sector and be balanced out with stability in other revenue-generating business sectors. As a result, Port Everglades has a history of financial success and has budgeted for several sizeable construction projects that are moving forward at a rapid pace with little disruption from the virus,” said Port Everglades’ Glenn Wiltshire, Acting Chief Executive & Port Director.
Containerized CargoUnderway is a $471 million berth expansion, the largest infrastructure project in the Port’s history. The Southport Turning Notch Extension will add new cargo berths by lengthening the Port’s existing turn-around area from 900 feet to 2,400 feet. Part of this effort includes installing crane rail infrastructure for new Super Post-Panamax container gantry cranes.
Three Super Post-Panamax container-handling gantry cranes, valued at $41 million, are currently being manufactured in China by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. Inc. (ZPMC) and expected to be in service by the end of 2020. The Port has an option to purchase three additional cranes within five years. The cranes are reportedly the largest low-profile container gantry cranes ever designed and built.
Deepening & Widening ChannelsThe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the preconstruction engineering and design phase of deepening the Port’s navigation channels from 42 feet to 48-50 feet and widening narrower sections of the channel for safe vessel passage.
In February 2020, this project received $29.1 million in funding under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers FY 2020 Work Plan. The funding will be used to build a new facility at U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Lauderdale so the Intracoastal Waterway can be widened by 250 feet. Currently, this chokepoint in the channel puts operating restriction on large Neo-Panamax cargo ships, which affects their ability to transit past docked cruise ships. The Coast Guard Station reconfiguration is the first phase of the larger dredging project.
Cruise Parking GaragePort Everglades is building a new parking garage to serve Cruise Terminals 2 and 4. The new 1,818-space garage is currently under construction, with a Fall 2020 completion date. It will feature an air-conditioned bridge with moving walkways to deliver guests to Terminal 2, Princess Cruises’ prototype Ocean Medallion terminal. The Northport Garage, where passengers now park, will be dedicated to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center.
International Logistics CenterA new logistics center is being constructed at the Port through a public-private partnership with nationally recognized commercial developer CenterPoint Properties. The Port Everglades International Logistics Center, constructed on 16.657 acres of Port property, will be divided into two buildings with the southernmost building (±145,000 SF) scheduled to be completed by June 2020, and the northernmost building (±156,000 SF) slated for September 2020. The project will contain warehouse, refrigerated warehouse, office space, and cross-docking facilities, which will enhance the services available to shippers using Port Everglades. A portion of the logistics center will be activated as a Foreign-Trade Zone.
Petroleum Slip ImprovementsPort Everglades and its petroleum industry partners are expanding Slip 1 to allow larger tankers to dock and offload more cargo per ship at a faster rate. The project will create measurable efficiencies and economies of scale. Dovetailing with the relocation and upsizing of private industry’s loading arms and manifold, equipped with updated valves and elevated piping, Port Everglades will invest $90-100 million in seawall, fenders, mooring bollards, and roadway, extending the facility’s life by up to 75 years.
About Port Everglades’ GrowthPort Everglades’ growth is guided by a carefully researched comprehensive Master/Vision Plan that maps out capital improvements and operational efficiencies over the next five-, 10- and 20-year horizons. Today’s infrastructure projects, some of which are described here, resulted from the original Master/Vision Plan adopted 12 years ago. The Port updates the Plan every 2-5 years to consider market trends, new technology, community development and environmental initiatives. The Plan is a roadmap that has steered Port Everglades to becoming the third largest cruise port in the world, one of the nation’s largest containerized cargo ports and South Florida’s main hub for gasoline and jet fuel.
The Port Everglades Department is a self-supporting Enterprise Fund of Broward County, Florida government with operating revenues of almost $170.7 million in Fiscal Year 2019 (October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019). It does not rely on local tax dollars for operations. The total value of economic activity related to Port Everglades is nearly $33 billion. More than 219,000 Florida jobs are impacted by the Port, including 13,037 people who work for companies that provide direct services to Port Everglades. For more information on Port Everglades, visit porteverglades.net or e-mail PortEverglades@broward.org.
