Bill Martin of Haul Produce with trucker Irwin Groff in Tampa, FL, March 2009.
The trucking industry lost one of its finest last Friday, June 21st, with the passing of Irwin L. Groff, 78, of Lititz, PA, although he spent most of his life living in New Holland. He passed away following a lengthy illness at Brethren Village.
Irvie was a dear friend of mine and one of the best long haul truckers to ever own a big rig. I often referred to him as Mr. Chairman, because he served as chairman of the non-profit Independent Truckers Association for several years and I had the honor of serving on the board with him.
Irvie was an independent trucker for 46 years, retiring in 2006. He had driven over 5 million millions. I want to say they were accident free, but it seems there was a minor accident at one time along the way.
He was an owner operator, but I remember him more as an independent trucker, because he was truly independent. Not only did he have his own operating authority allowing him to work directly with shippers, but he was a business man.
I first met Irvie in 1980 at a trucking convention. Over the following years we attended many truck shows and conventions together. He knew equipment inside and out and I learned so much from him.
Irvie kept detailed records of his operating costs and how much net profit was there. He had a formula for doing it and never operated a year in the red.
Irvie was a smart, caring, loving decent human being and devoted family man. He was a mentor to younger drivers.
Irvie taught Sunday School for 26 years, was a member of Transport for Christ, and managed the Chicken BBQ for the Brethern Disaster Relief auction for several years. He also enjoyed customizing Smith-Miller toy trucks in his retirement.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, June 26 at 10 am at Conestoga Church of the Brethren, 141 E. Main St., Leola, PA. Interment will be in the Bareville Cemetery. Viewing will be held on Tuesday from 6-8 pm and on Wednesday from 9-10 am at the Church. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Transport for Christ, www.transportforchrist.org. To send the family online condolences visit us at www.groffeckenroth.com. Arrangements by Groff-High Funeral Home, New Holland.
Deepest sympathies to his wife Joyce and other family members. RIP Irvie. You will be missed.
Northwest cherry shipments are off to a good start and excellent volume is expected leading up to the Fourth of July and beyond.
Around 2.5 million cartons had been picked as of June 19. Northwest cherry shipments this season are forecast to fall in the 20 million to 23 million cartons range. Cherry picking got underway around June 8th, a little later than last year.
“Our cherries ripened up a few days earlier than expected as the weather has really been favorable this spring,” said Steve Castleman, vice president for sales for CMI Orchards of Wenatchee, WA. “Lots of sunshine and warm temperatures have brought the color and sugars up and we’re looking at a superior harvest with sweet, vibrant and high-quality fruit for the duration of the season.”
Tim Welsh, a general manager for Columbia Fruit Packers (one of four grower/packer companies that owns CMI Orchards) said in the release the Washington cherry crop has seen very little wind, and that has resulted in very clean fruit.
Welsh said in the release that sizing will be mixed with a range of small to extra large at the beginning of the season.
“As the season progresses, our cherries continue to get larger and larger, and by July we should see a lot more large fruit than typical,” he said in the release. Welsh said there will be “huge” promotable volume between the end of June and the end of July.
Harvest for CMI is officially underway for the company’s very first crop of Skylar Rae cherries, according to the release.
“They are big, bright, blushing and sweet as can be,” Shane Marston, sales manager for CMI, said in the release.
CMI joined forces with Stemilt this year to grow and market Skylar Rae cherries, according to the release. The variety, originally discovered by the Toftness family in Washington, are available in a 1-pound clamshell or pouch bag, and supply is limited, according to the release.
Northwest cherries, apples and pears, grossing about $6300 to New York City.
Specialty products are now the focus of Flavor Tree Fruit Co. LLC of Hanford, CA and no one item seems bigger than its Verry Cherry plum – a high-brix fruit cross between various cherry and plum varieties.
Flavor Tree expects to begin harvesting Verry Cherries this year in about the third week of June, with shipments extending into August.
This year’s volume is projected to grow by over 100 percent compared to 2018, totaling about 500,000 boxes this year.
The Verry Cherry is described as being juicy like a plum and having the size of a small plum. On the cherry side, it is painted as sweet with a nice cherry flavor.
Flavor Tree also exports the Verry Cherry to China, which amounted to about 40,000 boxes in 2018, despite facing tariffs of 50 percent.
The company has rights to almost all Verry Cherries grown, with about 450 acres in production, mostly grown in the Hanford area.
Two E. coli outbreak investigations linked to romaine lettuce in 2018 took its toll in overall lettuce per capita availability. One of those probes led to a six-day hiatus of all romaine sales helping lead to a plunge of 20 percent, according to a new report.
Dragged sharply by lower lettuce availability, the latest per capita numbers on fresh vegetables reveal a reduction of 8 percent in 2018 compared with 2017.
Not counting potatoes and melons, the USDA reported 2018 fresh per capita vegetable availability was 144.81 pounds, down from 157.45 pounds a year ago.
The biggest fresh vegetable per capita declines from 2017-18, by percentage, were:
Squash: 4.43 pounds, down 22 percent.
Head lettuce: 12.33 pounds, down 19 percent;
Leaf lettuce: 12.29 pounds, down 19 percent;
Onions: 20.39 pounds, down 19 percent; and
Broccoli: 5.93 pounds, down 17 percent.
With the decline in availability — what growers have shipped — and consumer reluctance to purchase romaine the wake of the E. coli outbreaks, romaine sales were down 18 percent by value and 17 percent by volume in 2018, according to IRI/Fresh Look Marketing,
Compared with 2017, the USDA said the top 5 gains in per capita availability for 2018, by percentage, were:
Carrots: 8.53 pounds, up 16 percent;
Asparagus: 1.76 pounds, up 9 percent;
Snap beans: 1.68 pounds, up 8 percent;
Cucumbers: 7.99 pounds, up 8 percent; and
Celery: 4.98 pounds, up 5 percent.
The change in per capita consumption over the last decade shows winners and losers in a bigger context. Total fresh vegetable per capita availability in 2018 of 144.81 pounds is 1 percent higher than 2008.
Compared with 2008, the fresh vegetables with the biggest gains in per capita availability in 2018, by percentage, compared to 2008, were:
Southern greens: 2.89 pounds (2018), up 64 percent;
Cauliflower: 2.44 pounds (2018), up 55 percent;
Asparagus: 1.76 pounds (2018), up 48 percent;
Cucumber: 7.99 pounds (2018), up 25 percent; and
Bell peppers: 11.16 pounds (2018), up 18 percent.
Biggest reductions in per capita availability over 10 years, from 2008 to 2018, according to the USDA, were:
Watsonville, CA – California Giant has been building their year-round berry shipments over the past several years in response to customer demand for increased volume of all four berry types. This year the company reports a milestone with fresh blueberries.
The company expects the summer blueberry crop to begin just in time for July holiday promotions both in retail and foodservice. Availability of fresh California Giant organic and conventional blueberries will continue throughout the summer and into the fall when the season moves to Mexico & South America. Again, the company has developed long term relationships with farming partners in those regions as well enabling a smooth transition from one region to another allowing promotions to continue.
Due to higher demand over the past 5 years, fresh California Giant blueberry volume has increased each year by anywhere from 15 to 30 percent.
However, summer volume from the Pacific Northwest in 2019 will increase by 45 percent over just last year. The conventional program will increase by 25 percent over last year, and the organic blueberry volume is expected to increase by 90 percent over 2018. The significant increase in California Giant brand blueberries is due to efforts in building grower partnerships, specifically in Oregon, allowing the company to ship most of their summer blueberries domestically reducing food miles.
California Giant is looking forward to this new program addition as the company will provide good volume of both conventional and organic blueberries now on a year-round basis.
“We have worked together at California Giant to develop long term partnerships with our blueberry farming partners and are excited to see these relationships come together to benefit both of us. We look forward to sharing details with our trading partners about our expended blueberry program and the volume we will bring to the table with both conventional and organic fruit just in time for summer,” says Markus Duran, North American Blueberry Operations Manager.
LOS ANGELES, CA — Butterfly, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm specializing in the food sector, recently announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Bolthouse Farms from Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) for $510 million in cash, subject to customary purchase price adjustments.
Founded
in 1915 and based in Bakersfield, CA and Santa Monica, CA, Bolthouse Farms is a
vertically integrated food and beverage company focused on developing,
manufacturing and marketing proprietary, high value-added natural, healthy
products. The company has leading market positions in fresh carrots and
refrigerated premium beverages in the U.S., along with a strong and growing
presence in refrigerated salad dressings. Bolthouse Farms benefits from access
to over 65,000 acres of premium growing land, nationwide fresh distribution
capabilities, and a state-of-the-art carrot and beverage processing facility.
The company has approximately 2,200 employees and operates facilities in
Bakersfield, California, Hodgkins, Illinois, Wheatley, Ontario and Prosser,
Washington.
Bolthouse
Farms is Butterfly’s fourth investment within its “seed to fork” approach to
investing in food across agriculture, aquaculture, food and beverage products,
food distribution and foodservice. Going forward, Butterfly Operating Partner
Jeff Dunn will assume the role of CEO of Bolthouse Farms, where he previously
served as President and CEO from 2008 until 2012, when it was acquired by
Campbell Soup Company. He continued leading the business for Campbell Soup
Company from 2012 until his departure from the company in 2016.
“We
are thrilled to partner with a vertically-integrated produce and fresh food
leader with a history as rich as Bolthouse Farms, and we believe the company’s
future is very bright especially given the continued rise of plant-based food
in the diet of today’s consumer,” said Butterfly Co-Founder Adam Waglay.
“We
are proud to support Bolthouse Farms in further bolstering its strong
positioning within fresh carrots and chilled premium beverages, and are excited
to back a group of seasoned operators as passionate about produce as Jeff and
his team to lead what is already a strong organization,” said Dustin Beck,
Butterfly’s other Co-Founder.
“Bolthouse
Farms holds a special place in the produce industry and my team and I are
deeply committed to strengthening and broadening Bolthouse Farms’ unique
legacy,” said Mr. Dunn. “We can’t wait to get started.”
The
closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary
closing conditions and is expected to occur in summer 2019.
Butterfly
was advised by Kirkland & Ellis on legal matters in connection with the
transaction. Campbell Soup Company was advised by Centerview Partners, Goldman
Sachs and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
About
Butterfly:
Butterfly
Equity (“Butterfly”) is a Los Angeles, California based private
equity firm specializing in the food sector, spanning the entire food value
chain from “seed to fork” via four target verticals: agriculture
& aquaculture, food & beverage products, food distribution and
foodservice. Butterfly aims to generate attractive investment returns through
deep industry specialization, a unique approach to sourcing transactions, and
leveraging an operations-focused and technology-driven approach to value
creation. For additional information about Butterfly, please visit its website
at www.butterflyequity.com.
DALLAS — Feeding America®, Feeding Texas and the Collaborative for Fresh Produce (Collaborative) have announced an exciting partnership to address hunger and food waste in the Southwest and develop a regional model that can be scaled nationally.
Beginning June 14, 2019, Feeding
America, through a grant to Feeding Texas, which launched the Collaborative in
2018, will become the newest investor in the Collaborative for Fresh Produce. Feeding
America’s investment will support the Collaborative as it hones a sustainable
model to partner with commercial farmers and food banks to efficiently collect
and distribute donations of imperfect and surplus produce to hungry families in
Texas and across the Southwest region.
“At Feeding America, we are
regularly searching for innovative approaches to solve hunger and ensure that
more people have access to fresh produce, crucial for a healthy lifestyle,”
said Anne Swanson, vice president of fresh produce sourcing at Feeding America.
“We believe strongly in the potential of the Collaborative for Fresh Produce
and, as a result, are very pleased to provide significant funding and resources
to Feeding Texas to support the Collaborative’s great work.”
The Collaborative for Fresh
Produce was founded because one in eight Americans struggles with hunger yet an
estimated 20 billion pounds of edible fresh produce are wasted each year. To
tackle this issue, the Collaborative uses state-of-the-art technology and
optimizes supplychain logistics to offer growers, shippers and wholesalers an
outlet to address large-scale quantities of surplus produce and to provide a
low-cost option to food banks as they source fresh produce for their
communities. The Collaborative funds its
operations through the generosity of its donors in addition to a 1 cent per
pound processing fee paid by food banks.
In fiscal year 2019, the
Collaborative for Fresh Produce anticipates distributing approximately 60
million pounds of fresh produce donated by more than 65 growers and shippers,
mainly located in Texas. This produce
will then be accessed by more than 25 food banks in a six-state region:
Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. These food banks supply thousands of
non-profit agencies and pantries serving millions of people struggling with
hunger in their communities.
“We’re so pleased that Feeding
America has recognized the Collaborative’s pioneering work and wants to take a
leadership role in developing a national model for our country’s agricultural
community and its nationwide network of food banks,” said Lyda Hill, of Lyda
Hill Philanthropies and the founding funder of the Collaborative for Fresh
Produce. “Our goal from the outset was to work in tandem with food banks across
the nation to create a scalable model, and Feeding America is ideally
positioned to do just that.”
To avoid confusion with donors
and food banks, the Collaborative for Fresh Produce, in partnership with
Feeding America, will now take a supporting rather than a leading role in
developing a national model and will continue to operate with a focus on the
recovery of Texasgrown produce. Feeding Texas, the statewide network of Feeding
America food banks in Texas, will support the Collaborative in developing the
model and be its liaison to Feeding America.
“Feeding Texas was very honored
to have piloted this program in Texas before spinning it off to become the
Collaborative for Fresh Produce,” said Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas. “We
are committed to sustaining the long-term health of the organization and are
now proud to shepherd it into this growth phase.”
Due to these changes, Simon
Powell, president and CEO, and Jim Farley, CFO, of the
Collaborative for Fresh Produce
will step down from the day-to-day leadership and operations. Beginning June 14th, Dale Long,
currently the Collaborative’s executive vice president of sourcing will become
interim executive director. Rhonda Sanders, CEO of the Arkansas Foodbank and
board member of the Collaborative, will lead the transition efforts.
“We are delighted to see this
effort gather this critical support from Feeding America,” said Jim
Bildner, CEO of Draper Richards
Kaplan Foundation and chairman of the board of the Collaborative. “In addition, we would like to thank Simon
and Jim who have been so instrumental in the formation of the Collaborative
during this first year. Their dedication and passion to solve hunger and
address food waste is to be applauded and we are extremely grateful for their
service.”
To learn more about how to donate
fresh produce to the Collaborative, contact Dale Long at dale@cfproduce.org or 469-858-6190,
or to make a financial contribution contact Celia Cole at ccole@feedingtexas.org or
512-527-3624.
# # #
About Feeding America
Feeding
America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States.
Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs,
Feeding America provides meals to more than 46 million people each year.
Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food
security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of
hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry.
Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending
hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger.
Visit www.feedingamerica.org,
find us onFacebookor
follow us onTwitter.
About Feeding Texas
Feeding Texas (www.feedingtexas.org) is the statewide network of food banks.
Its mission is to lead a unified effort for a hunger-free Texas. Feeding Texas
works collaboratively to ensure adequate nutritious food for communities in
Texas, improve the health and financial stability of the people served, and
engage all stakeholders in advocating for hunger solutions in support of this
mission.
About Collaborative for Fresh Produce
Founded in 2018, the
Collaborative for Fresh Produce is a non-profit organization that is partnering
with commercial farmers and food banks to fight hunger by fighting food
waste. Through the use of
state-of-the-art technology and optimized supply-chain logistics, the Collaborative
created a sustainable model to efficiently collect and distribute donations of
imperfect and surplus produce that can be accessed by our nation’s food banks
and the hungry families they serve.
Founding funders include Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Draper Richards
Kaplan Foundation and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. For more
information, go to www.cfproduce.orgor e-mail FreshProduce@cfproduce.org.
Arkansas isn’t known for its fresh produce shipments, but over the years it has had a significant volume of tomatoes for a few weeks starting in July. Some fresh items are declining while others are seeing gains in acreage.
During the past 15 years sweet potato shipments have increase, while tomato and watermelon volume is down Overall, there are mixed trends for Arkansas produce shipments including vegetables, fruits and melons.
The sweet potato gets underway about September 1st, with curing taking about 4 to 6 weeks. Shipments will then start lasting until the new crop is ready in 2020.
The USDA Census shows fresh vegetable acreage in Arkansas totaled 9,500 acres in 2017, up from 7,806 in 2012 and 8,782 in 2007.
The census notes Arkansas total sweet potato fresh market acreage was estimated at 3,492 acres in 2017, up from 2,757 acres in 2007.
Arkansas sweet potatoes grown for processing totaled 1,106 acres in 2017, up from 369 acres in 2007. During the same period, the census exposed Arkansas fresh tomato acreage dropped from 1,101 acres in 2007 to 952 acres in 2017, a drop of 14 percent.
For example, Harrod & Hensley Tomato Co. of, Hermitage, Ark., which grows fresh tomatoes in south central Arkansas reports the state’s tomato acreage could be down 40 percent this year. A factor in the decline is more market pressure from hothouse volume in Mexico provide increased competition for field grown tomatoes.
Tomato loadings got underway about a week ago and will continue until round July 20th.
USDA statistics reveal Arkansas watermelon acreage was fairly stable the past five years, but has been sliding over the longer term. Watermelon shipments will occur from early July into the last half of August.
With 1,822 acres harvested in 2017, Arkansas watermelon acreage fell steadily from 1,880 acres in 2012, 2,059 acres in 2007, 2,267 acres in 2002 and 2,770 in 1997.
Arkansas fresh vegetable acreage in 2017, with percent change compared with 2012:
Snap beans: 107 acres harvested in 2017, up 73 percent from 2012;
Cantaloupes: 56 acres in 2017, down 53 percent from 2012.
Cucumbers: 115 acres in 2017, up 15 percent from 2012;
Lettuce: 30 acres in 2017, up 76 percent from 2012;
Leaf lettuce: 21 acres in 2017, up 75 percent from 2012;
Mustard greens: 68 acres in 2017, up 89 percent from 2012;
Okra: 74 acres in 2017, up 155 percent from 2012;
Southern peas: 260 acres in 2017, down 58 percent from 2007; and
Pumpkins: 363 acres in 2017, down 15 percent from 2012.
Fruits and Nuts
Arkansas apple volume has declined, shipments for the state’s grapes and pecans has risen in the past 5 years.
The Ag Census show non-citrus fruit bearing acreage totaled 1,542 acres in 2017, up 8 percent from 1,429 acres in 2012 but off 33 percent from 2007.
Bearing and non-bearing acres of apples totaled 283 acres in 2017, off 4 percent from 296 in 2012 and sharply down from 1,048 acres in 1997.
Bearing and non-bearing acreage of grapes totaled 956 acres in 2017, up 4 percent from 2012 and 28 percent higher than 2007.
For peaches, the 2017 Census of Agriculture reported 669 acres in 2017, down 1 percent from 2012 and off a whopping 75 percent from 2,816 acres in 1997.
The Census of Agriculture reports pecans are expanding in Arkansas. For 2017, bearing and non-bearing acreage of pecans reached 15,736 acres, up 36 percent from 11,591 acres in 2012 and 71 percent higher than 9,185 acres in 1997.
Blackberry acreage in Arkansas was reported at 501 acres in 2017, up 4 percent from 480 acres in 2012. Blueberry acreage in 2017 totaled 356 acres in 2017; no comparisons were available for previous years.
While New Jersey produce shipments start in May with items ranging from asparagus to greens, some root vegetables, spring onions and strawberries, volume increases with a longer list of items moving into June, July, August and September, which are the peak shipping months.
Jersey has had a good growing season for fresh produce and now two of its largest volume makers, blueberries and peaches, are coming on.
Nationally, New Jersey is one of the top 10 shippers of blueberries, peaches, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, apples, spinach, squash and asparagus.
Peach Shipments
New Jersey peach shipments, which start in late June, occur primarily from July through September. The Garden State has about 80 orchards comprising about 5,000 acres with production values at about $30 million annually. Most commercial orchards are in Southern Jersey.
New Jersey is the 4th largest peach shipping state in the U.S., with about 55 orchards on 5,000 acres, producing 22,000-25,000 tons.
Sunny Valley International has been marketing peaches and blueberries since 1995, representing the Jersey Fruit Cooperative, which produces over l million cases of blueberries, yellow peaches, white peaches and nectarines a year. Peaches used to be the main crop, but\the co-op has shifted mostly to blueberries, while the peach industry is consolidating into fewer growers, but bigger growers.
Sunny Valley’s growers produce about 1.2 million boxes, or 30 million pounds, of peaches — the majority yellow peaches. Volume for peaches is expected to be about 10 percent more this year. Sunny Valley will be shipping peaches from July to mid September.
Blueberry Shipments
From June 11 to July 31, New Jersey blueberries shipments have just started from what some refer to as the “blueberry capital of the world,” Hammonton, NJ, with loadings continuing through July.
Sunny Valley’s 11 blueberry growers are reporting great growing conditions. In a normal season, the company ships about 1 million cases, or about 9 million pounds, of blueberries.
Consalo Family Farms of Vineland, NJ has announced an additional 50 acres for growing and packing capabilities from 8 million to 9.5 million pounds during the New Jersey blueberry season.
Vegetable Shipments
New Jersey sweet corn and tomato loadings start the third week of June, with volume coming on by the Fourth of July.
MCLEAN, Va. — Gladstone Land Corporation (NASDAQ: LAND) (“Gladstone Land” or the “Company”) announced that it has acquired approximately 930 gross acres of farmland in Chowchilla, California, for approximately $28.6 million. The farm consists of 852 planted acres of pistachio trees in their 11th leaf. In connection with the acquisition, the Company also entered into a 10-year, triple-net lease with The Specialty Crop Company, Inc., reported to be one of the top nut growers in the world and the largest grower of fresh and dried figs in the world.
“We are delighted to add another large pistachio orchard to our growing number of farms,” said Bill Reiman, Managing Director of Gladstone Land. “This acquisition was driven by one of our strong tenant relationships. There are many opportunities for us to grow our farmland assets by teaming up with great producers, and this acquisition is a prime example of that. This orchard is just coming into peak production, and we expect many years of great production.”
“Pistachios are an exciting growth area for us,” said David Gladstone, President and CEO of Gladstone Land. “This orchard is located in an area with attributes conducive for growing pistachios, such as optimal climate conditions and good access to water. Our tenant, The Specialty Crop Company, is an ideal partner for us as we continue to add farmland growing specialty crops to our farmland holdings. And like most of our tenant-farmers, they are growing foods that are considered to be healthy.”
About Gladstone Land Corporation: Gladstone Land is a publicly-traded real estate investment trust that invests in and owns U.S. farmland and farm-related properties located in certain major agricultural markets across the U.S., which it leases to third-party farmers. The Company reports the current fair value of its farmland on a quarterly basis; as of December 31, 2018, its estimated net asset value was $12.88 per share. Gladstone Land currently owns 87 farms, comprised of 74,828 acres in 10 different states across the U.S., valued at approximately $649 million. Its acreage is predominantly concentrated in locations where its tenants are able to grow fresh produce annual row crops, such as berries and vegetables, which are generally planted and harvested annually; as well as permanent crops, such as almonds, blueberries, and pistachios, which are planted every 10 to 20-plus years and harvested annually. The Company may also acquire property related to farming, such as cooling facilities, processing buildings, packaging facilities, and distribution centers. Gladstone Land pays monthly distributions to its stockholders and has paid 74 consecutive monthly cash distributions on its common stock since its initial public offering in January 2013. The current per-share distribution rate on its common stock is $0.0445 per month, or $0.534 per year.
