Author Archive
By National Kay Day
New York, NY— What began as a grassroots effort to celebrate the nutritional benefits of kale as a trending superfood, has grown into a worldwide movement. This year marks the fourth annual National Kay Day, which was held recently.
Spearheaded by Co-Founders Dr. Drew Ramsey & Chef Jennifer Iserloh, authors of the bestselling book 50 Shades of Kale, the movement began in 2013 when Ramsey and Iserloh, along with a dedicated army of kale lovers, hosted the first event in October and reached hundreds of thousands of consumers gaining millions of impressions for kale.
In fact, this year’s kale army has grown into quite a military operation with all DeCA military commissaries throughout the U.S. promoted kale October 3-9, 2016. In addition to the weeklong promotion, all 144 commissaries had special signage and in-store events that included demos and recipes of kale smoothies, stir-fry and salads.
In recent years, kale’s popularity has grown in both supermarkets and on restaurant menus. In fact, Whole Foods Market now buys and sells more kale than all other greens combined and other retailers have reported triple digit sales increases. This growing interest in kale has growers and manufacturers excited about the opportunity to promote not just kale, but all leafy greens. While some say that kale’s day has passed, others know that what no longer appears as trending has moved to the mainstream when it’s become easy to find kale at places like Chick-Fil-A and McDonalds.
This year’s celebrations will focus on building online communities through social media, in-market events and school participation. Facilitated by an advertising grant from Google, National Kale Day will be actively promoting it’s free downloadable e-cookbook featuring nearly two dozen kale recipes, and the $1000 cool cash kale giveaway. In addition to online events, including an evening Twitter party, health care provider Eskenazi Health in Indianapolis, IN will feature a variety of events including giving away over 4000 bunches of kale throughout the community.
In addition, to consumer events, National Kale Day has touched 10 countries, multiple health care institutions, retailers, restaurants and and schools with some of the largest school districts in the country including New York Public Schools planning to serve up kale. Dr. Ramsey remarked, “I have been a proponent of brain foods like kale for years, and there is nothing more exciting than seeing the potential to reach kids early on in their lives and teach them about healthy foods in a fun way.”
By Organics Unlimited
SAN DIEGO – The GROW Fund, a nonprofit program developed by Organics Unlimited, partnered with Produce for Kids to encourage families to take a pledge to pack healthier lunch items during the back-to-school season. For each pledge, GROW by Organics Unlimited and other sponsor brands collectively donated $1 to Feeding America to provide meals for families in need.
Through its Power Your Lunchbox campaign, Produce for Kids collected 21,674 pledges, surpassing its goal of 20,000. Thanks to the campaign sponsors’ donations, Produce for Kids was able to donate enough funds to Feeding America to provide 238,414 meals.
“As a company that grows and sells organic bananas, we provide healthier eating options for individuals and families,” said Mayra Velazquez de León, president of Organics Unlimited and GROW. “We are proud to partner with Produce for Kids and take part in the Power Your Lunchbox campaign, giving our support to children’s health initiatives.”
This is the third year Organics Unlimited has partnered with Produce for Kids, a company that encourages families to eat healthier by providing recipes, expert advice and tips from other parents. The campaign encourages families, teachers and dietitians to take the pledge to eat a healthier lunch.
The Power Your Lunchbox campaign took place from August 8 to September 23, 2016. The campaign consisted of promotion through social media, parent and food bloggers, e-newsletters, media placements and a NatureFresh Greenhouse Tour visiting 36 grocery stores and nine schools to create awareness and encourage people to sign the pledge. The campaign had a total reach of 145 million impressions.
Organics Unlimited participated directly to the campaign through social media outreach, including a Twitter party promoting healthy recipes and facts. The #PowerYourLunchbox Twitter Party on August 17 gave an opportunity for the organization and sponsors to interact with parents and inform them of healthy lunches and lifestyles. During the Twitter Party, there were over 3,761 tweets and more than 14 million impressions. Organics Unlimited alone earned 2,500 impressions.
“We created the GROW Fund to enrich the lives of our farming communities through various education and health programs,” said Velazquez de León. “Although that is what the GROW Fund strives towards, we think that it is equally important to promote a healthier lifestyle towards people in the United States. We believe growing organic bananas is better for the environment, employees and is the healthier option for consumers.”
GROW shares information about eating and environmental sustainability on Facebook and Twitter. GROW also provides healthy recipes for families and retailers on the Organics Unlimited website.
About Organics Unlimited
Organics Unlimited is a San Diego-based distributor of organic tropical fruit from Mexico and South America, providing its traditional label as well as the GROW label. Its fruits are USDA certified organic for the U.S. and Canada through Organic Certifiers. For more information on Organics Unlimited and GROW, visit OrganicsUnlimited.com, or call 619.710.0658. Check out the latest blog post from Organics Unlimited, or find Organics Unlimited on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
While California desert shipments may not be exactly enormous, vegetable loadings are now taking place out of California’s Coachella Valley and the nearby Imperial Valley.
Green bean and bell pepper loadings have been increasing lately as the California winter desert vegetable shipments gear up. Grower-shippers in the state’s Coachella and Imperial valleys expect adequate volume with mixed vegetables and leafy greens.
Cauliflower shipments will be on a bit of a roller coaster ride bringing back memories of volatility of that crop last summer when it was coming out of Salinas.
Coachella’s Prime Time International was cranking up its green bean loadings prior to Thanksgiving, while its green pepper shipments got started in October. Green peppers are now being joined by red peppers. Green bell pepper production in the California desert was already well underway as November began, but red bells were just kicking off November 1st.
In the Imperial Valley, Coastline Family Farms at Brawley has just started harvest of mixed vegetables, with head lettuce kicking off around December 5th. Starting last week was Pacific International Marketing with conventional spinach in Brawley and El Centro, CA, with organic lettuce and conventional broccoli just now getting underway.
Desert artichoke loadings will begin in late November from Ocean Mist Farms, which is headquartered in Castroville, CA. Shipments should continue into the second week of March. The shipper now grows over 30 vegetables in the desert and has doubled its brussels sprouts acreage. Ocean Mist also for the first time will ship Coachella Valley-grown head lettuce to supplement its production in Yuma, AZ. The company started shipping romaine hearts, leafy greens and broccoli in mid November, with cauliflower getting underway right after Thanksgiving.
California’s Imperial Valley and nearby Yuma, AZ – shipments of head, romaine and leaf lettuce, as well as broccoli, cantaloupe and honeydew – grossing about $4900 to Atlanta.
A colossal cucumber has been grown by 72-year-old, Knoxville, MD native, Butch Taulton, whose 43-inch monstrosity has just broken the Guinness World Record for longest cucumber.
Much to the chagrin of professional growers across the world, the record-breaking retiree grew the cuke right on his three-acre home garden with seeds he bought at his local Home Depot. Taulton’s 43-inch triumph has unseated former holder of the longest cuke title, Ian Neale of Wales in the United Kingdom, who presented his veg in September of 2011, according to The World Record Academy.
“I just kept watering it and it kept growing,” Taulton told the Record Academy. “The packet of seeds from Home Depot said they would grow between 32 to 36 inches long—they weren’t supposed to get this big.”
It looks like Taulton won’t exactly be enjoying the fruits of his labor, however. Taulton says although the “exotic cucumber” variety is “sweet, tender, and tasty,” he doesn’t have the time it would take to consume the entire giant. The grower spends much of his time since retiring from road construction just growing his garden and tending to his goats.
by Hass Avocado Board
MISSION VIEJO, California – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed new guidance for the use of the nutrient content claim “healthy” on food labeling, and fresh avocados meet the criteria. Long touted for the range of health and wellness benefits associated with them, avocados can finally bear the claim that sums it all up: avocados are healthy.
While 90% of consumers report that they purchase avocados based on the nutritional benefits they provide, 21% still say that the fat content in avocados is a barrier to purchase, despite the fact that the latest science demonstrates that the type of fat, rather than the total amount, is more important to good health.
The term “healthy” on food labels is regulated by the FDA and reserved for foods low in fat among other restrictions. The past definition, which was established more than 20 years ago, focused on total fat content per serving. The new proposed guidance from FDA gives consideration to the breakdown between good (unsaturated) and bad (saturated) fats in light of new evidence and dietary recommendations in the recently published 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). Avocados contain 8 g of fat per 50 g serving, over 75% of which are naturally good fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats). Avocados comply with the new FDA guidance because they have a fat profile of predominantly naturally good monounsaturated fats.
“With the pervasiveness of many chronic diseases in the US population, consumers are thinking about the ways to make healthy food choices for themselves and their families” said Emiliano Escobedo, Executive Director of the Hass Avocado Board (HAB). “We applaud the FDA for its efforts in updating the guidance on what makes a food healthy, and recognizing that good fats play an important role in healthy diets.”
For industry, this means fresh avocados can start to use the term “healthy” in marketing and communications as well as packaging and point-of-sale materials. HAB is updating its messages and materials to include the claim.
Avocados are a healthy fruit that provide a good source of fiber and folate per 50 g serving (one-third of a medium avocado), and nearly 20 vitamins, minerals and beneficial plant compounds that can enhance the nutrient quality of the diet. A healthy fruit, avocados are virtually the only fruit that contain monounsaturated fat, and they are sodium, cholesterol and trans-fat free. To learn more about the naturally good fats in avocados, the latest avocado nutrition research and fresh avocado recipes, visit LoveOneToday.com/goodfats.
As we plow right into the holiday shipping season, here’s a look at loading opportunities from South Texas and Mexico to the Red River Valley.
Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas fruit shipments began in early October with grapefruit, but volume has been increasing leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday. A significant increase in loadings is expected after Thanksgiving and leveling off to more steady shipments through January.
South Texas orange shipment also got going in October and were in full swing with the arrival of November. However, Texas orange shipments only account for about 25 percent of the total citrus volume.
Mexican avocado Imports
Mexican Avocado Imports are Increasing through South Texas and big volumes are seen again through the winter months. During the 2016-17 shipping season, Mexican avocado shipments should hit about 2 billion pounds, similar to a year ago.
Lower Rio Grande Valley citrus, plus crossings from Mexico of tropical fruits and vegetables – grossing about $2600 to Chicago; $4100 to New York City.
Red River Valley Potato shipments
Red potato shipments from the Red River Valley, the nation’s largest red potato producer, will be down more than one-third from last year’s big crop, and 20 percent less than the five-year average. There were thousands of acreage lost to excessive rains ranging from Grand Forks, ND to the Canadian border.
It is estimated only 64,000 out of 80,000 planted potato acres in North Dakota will be harvested. One potato production forecast is at 19.8 million hundredweight (cwt.), down 28 percent from last year. However, another forecast believes an additional 4 million cwt. has been lost. Most of the acres lost were in northeast North Dakota on non-irrigated land. The state’s processing crop which yields much higher was largely unaffected by heavy rains.
Whichever estimate turns out to be more accurate, red potato volume from the Red River Valley will be far less than 2015-16 when 27.6 million cwt. of potatoes were shipped.
Red River Valley potatoes – grossing about $1700 to Chicago; $2600 to Dallas.
The shipping outlook for North Carolina sweet potatoes has improved substantially in recent weeks, while steady movement continues from California grapes.
Heavy rain from Hurricane Matthew in October dropped torrential rains and flooding on North Carolina sweet potato fields with more than half of the crop still in the ground, concerns for high that volume shipments might be drastically affected. However, the covington variety — the state’s major variety — proved to hold up well to excess water. The crop is now virtually harvested and growers are claiming North Carolina sweet potatoes will be available year-round as usual.
In 2015, North Carolina shipped about 16.48 million 40-pound cartons of sweet potatoes. November is the top shipping month with over 12 percent of the total crop being moved. This compares with 8 percent in October and 9 percent in December.
Now instead of a 40 or 50 percent loss of sweet potatoes from the hurricane, estimates are now in the 10 to 15 percent range for North Carolina sweet potatoes in the state. Overall the crop is expected to be about the same if not a little more than last season. Helping offset losses is an increase in acreage from last year.
Eastern North Carolina is shipping about 300 truck loads of sweet potatoes a week.
North Carolina sweet potatoes from the Benson area – grossing about $1000 to Atlanta; $1300 to Philadelphia and Chicago; $1950 to Miami; and $2300 to Boston (with spot rates possibly increasing).
California Grape Shipments
With more California table grapes remaining to be shipped than a year ago, loading opportunities should be good through the holidays.
California grape inventories through October were 14 percent above the same time a year ago. Total supplies of California grapes were 11.94 million boxes on Oct. 31st, up from 10.48 million boxes a year ago, but down from 12.3 million boxes two years ago.
California’s July grape crop was estimated at a near-record 117.06 million boxes, up from 109.6 million boxes in 2015.
Grape shipments from California’s Kern District were running at about 2.4 million (19-pound) boxes per week in early November, while shipments from the state’s San Joaquin Valley were reported at 450,000 boxes per week.
Kern District grape shipments – grossing about $4100 to Chicago; $5900 to Baltimore.
PORT HUENEME, CA. — Over 100,000 tons of additional fresh fruits and vegetables should be arriving at the Port of Hueneme annually as SeaLand has designated the facility as a new port call.
SeaLand, the Intra-Americas regional ocean carrier for the Maersk Group, based in Miramar, FL, launched a new service at the port in September.
Although the ocean carrier will transport a wide range of cargo, fresh fruit will make up the majority of its payload coming to the Port of Hueneme, said Tim Child, SeaLand’s chief operations officer.
Bananas, avocados, pineapples, limes, dried fruit and nuts are some of the items the carrier will bring in as part of the company’s West Coast Central America (WCCA) service, which will offer weekly runs between Southern California, Mexico, Central America and the west coast of South America.
As for exports, SeaLand will be handling apples, table grapes and stone fruit on a seasonal basis.
Shipping is the most fuel-efficient method of transporting goods and provides an alternative for produce that typically is trucked from Mexico, Child said.
It also could improve distribution of goods coming to or from California’s Central Valley, he said.
Steve Barnard, president and CEO of Mission Produce Inc., an Oxnard-based avocado grower-shipper, was on hand for the welcoming event.
“This new service into Oxnard is going to be be huge, at least for the local community and Mission in particular,” he said. “We bring in several thousand loads a year from Mexico and South America,” he said.
Until now, the company’s product from Mexico has been delivered by truck.
“This is going to save time and energy,” he said. “The carbon footprint is going to be significantly reduced.”
The Port of Hueneme, known as “the port that farmers built,” is surrounded by the Oxnard growing area, specializes in refrigerated cargo and is well-suited to the volume of fresh fruit bound for the U.S. Southwest from Latin America, said Ariel Frias, SeaLand’s head of marketing.
It’s about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles and will serve as “an alternative gateway” to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
The port offers an efficient infrastructure for fresh produce that includes faster inspections and nearby cold storage facilities, he said.
The port already handles 650,600 tons of bananas and 113,400 tons of other fruit annually.
by Idaho Potato Commission
EAGLE, ID — Attention food fanatics and chefs extraordinaire! During the month of November enter your favorite Idaho® potato recipe for a chance to win a $1,500 cash prize, a myriad of kitchen appliances from Kenmore® and a 15 lb. bag of fresh Idaho® potatoes. In addition to the prizes awarded for first, second and third place, a $500 “Social Spud” prize will be given to the recipe receiving the most “likes” on the contest page, encouraging contestants to share their recipe entry on their social media channels.
“This contest is a smart way for three well-known reputable brands to get folks across the country excited about baking and cooking with Idaho® potatoes during the holiday season,” explained Frank Muir, President and CEO, Idaho Potato Commission (IPC). “We believe this could be the biggest recipe contest in the IPC’s history in terms of number of entries received and total reach to consumers and the media. And that means more great recipes for us to try and share with family and friends!”
To be eligible, all entries must be received by 11:59 PM MST, November 30, 2016 and include the following:
- Use fresh, frozen or dehydrated Idaho® potatoes
- Include complete recipe ingredient list and directions
- Submit a high quality recipe photo
- Provide a brief recipe description
Prizes include:
- First Place: $1,500 cash and a full suite of Kenmore® small kitchen appliances
- Second Place: Kenmore® small kitchen appliance and a 15 lb. bag of Idaho® potatoes
- Third Place: Kenmore® small kitchen appliance and a 15 lb. bag of Idaho® potatoes
- Social Spud: $500 cash for the recipe with the most votes
Recipes will be reviewed and tested by representatives from the IPC and judged on their combination of creativity, taste, ease of preparation, and, of course, use of Idaho® potatoes. Winners will be notified by December 10, 2016. The winning recipe will be featured on the IPC’s website and social media channels.
About The Idaho Potato Commission
Established in 1937, the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) is a state agency responsible for promoting and protecting the famous “Grown in Idaho™” seal, a federally registered certification mark that assures consumers are purchasing genuine, top-quality Idaho® potatoes. Idaho’s growing season of warm days and cool nights, ample mountain-fed irrigation, and rich volcanic soil give Idaho® potatoes their unique texture, taste and dependable performance, which differentiates Idaho® potatoes from potatoes grown in other states.
There should be good loading opportunities for produce truckers hauling apples during the 2016-17 shipping season.
National Apple Shipments
Fresh apples in storage as of November 1 totaled 134.8 million bushel (42-pound) cartons, up 14 percent from last season’s levels and 13 percent greater than the five-year average.
The first storage report from the U.S. Apple Association, shows total apple inventories were 179.1 million cartons, up 11 percent from a year ago and from the five-year average.
Northeast Apple Shipments
November 1 total fresh holdings were 8.1 million cartons in the Northeast U.S., down from 11.4 million cartons a year ago and 10.5 million two years ago. New York state’s fresh holdings were pegged at 5.82 million cartons, or more than 70 percent of remaining fresh supply.
Midwest Apple Shipments
In the Midwest, the storage report showed 7.7 million cartons of fresh apples on hand, up from 6.9 million cartons in 2015 and 6.7 million cartons in 2014. Within the Midwest region, the storage report showed Michigan accounted for 7.54 million cartons, or 98 percent of the Midwest fresh supply.
Northwest Apple Shipments
Northwest U.S. fresh apple holdings on were 117.6 million cartons, up from 98.4 million cartons a year ago but off from 127 million cartons in 2014.
For the Northwest region, Washington’s apple inventories were 116.3 million cartons, or 99 percent of remaining fresh apples in the Northwest states.
Variety breakdown
The leading U.S. fresh varieties on hand Nov. 1 were red delicious (39 million cartons), gala (25.9 million), fuji (14.7 million), granny smith (13.7 million), golden delicious (8.1 million), Honeycrisp (7 million cartons) and cripps pink/Pink Lady (5.5 million cartons).
The Washington State Tree Fruit Association on Nov. 9 raised its estimate of the Washington fresh apple crop to 137.4 million cartons, up 3.4% from the August estimate of 132.9 million 40-pound cartons.
The Washington apple harvest is still ongoing for some varieties, but based on volumes harvested so far observers are expecting an increase to 137.4 million boxes. An estimated total may be revised in December. However, observers still see a high-quality crop with good storage potential, with plenty of loading opportunities for produce haulers.
Washington apple shipments – grossing about $5300 to Atlanta.
Michigan apple shipments – grossing about $2700 to Atlanta.
By National Kay Day
New York, NY— What began as a grassroots effort to celebrate the nutritional benefits of kale as a trending superfood, has grown into a worldwide movement. This year marks the fourth annual National Kay Day, which was held recently.
Spearheaded by Co-Founders Dr. Drew Ramsey & Chef Jennifer Iserloh, authors of the bestselling book 50 Shades of Kale, the movement began in 2013 when Ramsey and Iserloh, along with a dedicated army of kale lovers, hosted the first event in October and reached hundreds of thousands of consumers gaining millions of impressions for kale.
In fact, this year’s kale army has grown into quite a military operation with all DeCA military commissaries throughout the U.S. promoted kale October 3-9, 2016. In addition to the weeklong promotion, all 144 commissaries had special signage and in-store events that included demos and recipes of kale smoothies, stir-fry and salads.
In recent years, kale’s popularity has grown in both supermarkets and on restaurant menus. In fact, Whole Foods Market now buys and sells more kale than all other greens combined and other retailers have reported triple digit sales increases. This growing interest in kale has growers and manufacturers excited about the opportunity to promote not just kale, but all leafy greens. While some say that kale’s day has passed, others know that what no longer appears as trending has moved to the mainstream when it’s become easy to find kale at places like Chick-Fil-A and McDonalds.
This year’s celebrations will focus on building online communities through social media, in-market events and school participation. Facilitated by an advertising grant from Google, National Kale Day will be actively promoting it’s free downloadable e-cookbook featuring nearly two dozen kale recipes, and the $1000 cool cash kale giveaway. In addition to online events, including an evening Twitter party, health care provider Eskenazi Health in Indianapolis, IN will feature a variety of events including giving away over 4000 bunches of kale throughout the community.
In addition, to consumer events, National Kale Day has touched 10 countries, multiple health care institutions, retailers, restaurants and and schools with some of the largest school districts in the country including New York Public Schools planning to serve up kale. Dr. Ramsey remarked, “I have been a proponent of brain foods like kale for years, and there is nothing more exciting than seeing the potential to reach kids early on in their lives and teach them about healthy foods in a fun way.”
By Organics Unlimited
SAN DIEGO – The GROW Fund, a nonprofit program developed by Organics Unlimited, partnered with Produce for Kids to encourage families to take a pledge to pack healthier lunch items during the back-to-school season. For each pledge, GROW by Organics Unlimited and other sponsor brands collectively donated $1 to Feeding America to provide meals for families in need.
Through its Power Your Lunchbox campaign, Produce for Kids collected 21,674 pledges, surpassing its goal of 20,000. Thanks to the campaign sponsors’ donations, Produce for Kids was able to donate enough funds to Feeding America to provide 238,414 meals.
“As a company that grows and sells organic bananas, we provide healthier eating options for individuals and families,” said Mayra Velazquez de León, president of Organics Unlimited and GROW. “We are proud to partner with Produce for Kids and take part in the Power Your Lunchbox campaign, giving our support to children’s health initiatives.”
This is the third year Organics Unlimited has partnered with Produce for Kids, a company that encourages families to eat healthier by providing recipes, expert advice and tips from other parents. The campaign encourages families, teachers and dietitians to take the pledge to eat a healthier lunch.
The Power Your Lunchbox campaign took place from August 8 to September 23, 2016. The campaign consisted of promotion through social media, parent and food bloggers, e-newsletters, media placements and a NatureFresh Greenhouse Tour visiting 36 grocery stores and nine schools to create awareness and encourage people to sign the pledge. The campaign had a total reach of 145 million impressions.
Organics Unlimited participated directly to the campaign through social media outreach, including a Twitter party promoting healthy recipes and facts. The #PowerYourLunchbox Twitter Party on August 17 gave an opportunity for the organization and sponsors to interact with parents and inform them of healthy lunches and lifestyles. During the Twitter Party, there were over 3,761 tweets and more than 14 million impressions. Organics Unlimited alone earned 2,500 impressions.
“We created the GROW Fund to enrich the lives of our farming communities through various education and health programs,” said Velazquez de León. “Although that is what the GROW Fund strives towards, we think that it is equally important to promote a healthier lifestyle towards people in the United States. We believe growing organic bananas is better for the environment, employees and is the healthier option for consumers.”
GROW shares information about eating and environmental sustainability on Facebook and Twitter. GROW also provides healthy recipes for families and retailers on the Organics Unlimited website.
About Organics Unlimited
Organics Unlimited is a San Diego-based distributor of organic tropical fruit from Mexico and South America, providing its traditional label as well as the GROW label. Its fruits are USDA certified organic for the U.S. and Canada through Organic Certifiers. For more information on Organics Unlimited and GROW, visit OrganicsUnlimited.com, or call 619.710.0658. Check out the latest blog post from Organics Unlimited, or find Organics Unlimited on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
While California desert shipments may not be exactly enormous, vegetable loadings are now taking place out of California’s Coachella Valley and the nearby Imperial Valley.
Green bean and bell pepper loadings have been increasing lately as the California winter desert vegetable shipments gear up. Grower-shippers in the state’s Coachella and Imperial valleys expect adequate volume with mixed vegetables and leafy greens.
Cauliflower shipments will be on a bit of a roller coaster ride bringing back memories of volatility of that crop last summer when it was coming out of Salinas.
Coachella’s Prime Time International was cranking up its green bean loadings prior to Thanksgiving, while its green pepper shipments got started in October. Green peppers are now being joined by red peppers. Green bell pepper production in the California desert was already well underway as November began, but red bells were just kicking off November 1st.
In the Imperial Valley, Coastline Family Farms at Brawley has just started harvest of mixed vegetables, with head lettuce kicking off around December 5th. Starting last week was Pacific International Marketing with conventional spinach in Brawley and El Centro, CA, with organic lettuce and conventional broccoli just now getting underway.
Desert artichoke loadings will begin in late November from Ocean Mist Farms, which is headquartered in Castroville, CA. Shipments should continue into the second week of March. The shipper now grows over 30 vegetables in the desert and has doubled its brussels sprouts acreage. Ocean Mist also for the first time will ship Coachella Valley-grown head lettuce to supplement its production in Yuma, AZ. The company started shipping romaine hearts, leafy greens and broccoli in mid November, with cauliflower getting underway right after Thanksgiving.
California’s Imperial Valley and nearby Yuma, AZ – shipments of head, romaine and leaf lettuce, as well as broccoli, cantaloupe and honeydew – grossing about $4900 to Atlanta.
A colossal cucumber has been grown by 72-year-old, Knoxville, MD native, Butch Taulton, whose 43-inch monstrosity has just broken the Guinness World Record for longest cucumber.
Much to the chagrin of professional growers across the world, the record-breaking retiree grew the cuke right on his three-acre home garden with seeds he bought at his local Home Depot. Taulton’s 43-inch triumph has unseated former holder of the longest cuke title, Ian Neale of Wales in the United Kingdom, who presented his veg in September of 2011, according to The World Record Academy.
“I just kept watering it and it kept growing,” Taulton told the Record Academy. “The packet of seeds from Home Depot said they would grow between 32 to 36 inches long—they weren’t supposed to get this big.”
It looks like Taulton won’t exactly be enjoying the fruits of his labor, however. Taulton says although the “exotic cucumber” variety is “sweet, tender, and tasty,” he doesn’t have the time it would take to consume the entire giant. The grower spends much of his time since retiring from road construction just growing his garden and tending to his goats.
by Hass Avocado Board
MISSION VIEJO, California – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed new guidance for the use of the nutrient content claim “healthy” on food labeling, and fresh avocados meet the criteria. Long touted for the range of health and wellness benefits associated with them, avocados can finally bear the claim that sums it all up: avocados are healthy.
While 90% of consumers report that they purchase avocados based on the nutritional benefits they provide, 21% still say that the fat content in avocados is a barrier to purchase, despite the fact that the latest science demonstrates that the type of fat, rather than the total amount, is more important to good health.
The term “healthy” on food labels is regulated by the FDA and reserved for foods low in fat among other restrictions. The past definition, which was established more than 20 years ago, focused on total fat content per serving. The new proposed guidance from FDA gives consideration to the breakdown between good (unsaturated) and bad (saturated) fats in light of new evidence and dietary recommendations in the recently published 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). Avocados contain 8 g of fat per 50 g serving, over 75% of which are naturally good fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats). Avocados comply with the new FDA guidance because they have a fat profile of predominantly naturally good monounsaturated fats.
“With the pervasiveness of many chronic diseases in the US population, consumers are thinking about the ways to make healthy food choices for themselves and their families” said Emiliano Escobedo, Executive Director of the Hass Avocado Board (HAB). “We applaud the FDA for its efforts in updating the guidance on what makes a food healthy, and recognizing that good fats play an important role in healthy diets.”
For industry, this means fresh avocados can start to use the term “healthy” in marketing and communications as well as packaging and point-of-sale materials. HAB is updating its messages and materials to include the claim.
Avocados are a healthy fruit that provide a good source of fiber and folate per 50 g serving (one-third of a medium avocado), and nearly 20 vitamins, minerals and beneficial plant compounds that can enhance the nutrient quality of the diet. A healthy fruit, avocados are virtually the only fruit that contain monounsaturated fat, and they are sodium, cholesterol and trans-fat free. To learn more about the naturally good fats in avocados, the latest avocado nutrition research and fresh avocado recipes, visit LoveOneToday.com/goodfats.
As we plow right into the holiday shipping season, here’s a look at loading opportunities from South Texas and Mexico to the Red River Valley.
Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas fruit shipments began in early October with grapefruit, but volume has been increasing leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday. A significant increase in loadings is expected after Thanksgiving and leveling off to more steady shipments through January.
South Texas orange shipment also got going in October and were in full swing with the arrival of November. However, Texas orange shipments only account for about 25 percent of the total citrus volume.
Mexican avocado Imports
Mexican Avocado Imports are Increasing through South Texas and big volumes are seen again through the winter months. During the 2016-17 shipping season, Mexican avocado shipments should hit about 2 billion pounds, similar to a year ago.
Lower Rio Grande Valley citrus, plus crossings from Mexico of tropical fruits and vegetables – grossing about $2600 to Chicago; $4100 to New York City.
Red River Valley Potato shipments
Red potato shipments from the Red River Valley, the nation’s largest red potato producer, will be down more than one-third from last year’s big crop, and 20 percent less than the five-year average. There were thousands of acreage lost to excessive rains ranging from Grand Forks, ND to the Canadian border.
It is estimated only 64,000 out of 80,000 planted potato acres in North Dakota will be harvested. One potato production forecast is at 19.8 million hundredweight (cwt.), down 28 percent from last year. However, another forecast believes an additional 4 million cwt. has been lost. Most of the acres lost were in northeast North Dakota on non-irrigated land. The state’s processing crop which yields much higher was largely unaffected by heavy rains.
Whichever estimate turns out to be more accurate, red potato volume from the Red River Valley will be far less than 2015-16 when 27.6 million cwt. of potatoes were shipped.
Red River Valley potatoes – grossing about $1700 to Chicago; $2600 to Dallas.
The shipping outlook for North Carolina sweet potatoes has improved substantially in recent weeks, while steady movement continues from California grapes.
Heavy rain from Hurricane Matthew in October dropped torrential rains and flooding on North Carolina sweet potato fields with more than half of the crop still in the ground, concerns for high that volume shipments might be drastically affected. However, the covington variety — the state’s major variety — proved to hold up well to excess water. The crop is now virtually harvested and growers are claiming North Carolina sweet potatoes will be available year-round as usual.
In 2015, North Carolina shipped about 16.48 million 40-pound cartons of sweet potatoes. November is the top shipping month with over 12 percent of the total crop being moved. This compares with 8 percent in October and 9 percent in December.
Now instead of a 40 or 50 percent loss of sweet potatoes from the hurricane, estimates are now in the 10 to 15 percent range for North Carolina sweet potatoes in the state. Overall the crop is expected to be about the same if not a little more than last season. Helping offset losses is an increase in acreage from last year.
Eastern North Carolina is shipping about 300 truck loads of sweet potatoes a week.
North Carolina sweet potatoes from the Benson area – grossing about $1000 to Atlanta; $1300 to Philadelphia and Chicago; $1950 to Miami; and $2300 to Boston (with spot rates possibly increasing).
California Grape Shipments
With more California table grapes remaining to be shipped than a year ago, loading opportunities should be good through the holidays.
California grape inventories through October were 14 percent above the same time a year ago. Total supplies of California grapes were 11.94 million boxes on Oct. 31st, up from 10.48 million boxes a year ago, but down from 12.3 million boxes two years ago.
California’s July grape crop was estimated at a near-record 117.06 million boxes, up from 109.6 million boxes in 2015.
Grape shipments from California’s Kern District were running at about 2.4 million (19-pound) boxes per week in early November, while shipments from the state’s San Joaquin Valley were reported at 450,000 boxes per week.
Kern District grape shipments – grossing about $4100 to Chicago; $5900 to Baltimore.
PORT HUENEME, CA. — Over 100,000 tons of additional fresh fruits and vegetables should be arriving at the Port of Hueneme annually as SeaLand has designated the facility as a new port call.
SeaLand, the Intra-Americas regional ocean carrier for the Maersk Group, based in Miramar, FL, launched a new service at the port in September.
Although the ocean carrier will transport a wide range of cargo, fresh fruit will make up the majority of its payload coming to the Port of Hueneme, said Tim Child, SeaLand’s chief operations officer.
Bananas, avocados, pineapples, limes, dried fruit and nuts are some of the items the carrier will bring in as part of the company’s West Coast Central America (WCCA) service, which will offer weekly runs between Southern California, Mexico, Central America and the west coast of South America.
As for exports, SeaLand will be handling apples, table grapes and stone fruit on a seasonal basis.
Shipping is the most fuel-efficient method of transporting goods and provides an alternative for produce that typically is trucked from Mexico, Child said.
It also could improve distribution of goods coming to or from California’s Central Valley, he said.
Steve Barnard, president and CEO of Mission Produce Inc., an Oxnard-based avocado grower-shipper, was on hand for the welcoming event.
“This new service into Oxnard is going to be be huge, at least for the local community and Mission in particular,” he said. “We bring in several thousand loads a year from Mexico and South America,” he said.
Until now, the company’s product from Mexico has been delivered by truck.
“This is going to save time and energy,” he said. “The carbon footprint is going to be significantly reduced.”
The Port of Hueneme, known as “the port that farmers built,” is surrounded by the Oxnard growing area, specializes in refrigerated cargo and is well-suited to the volume of fresh fruit bound for the U.S. Southwest from Latin America, said Ariel Frias, SeaLand’s head of marketing.
It’s about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles and will serve as “an alternative gateway” to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
The port offers an efficient infrastructure for fresh produce that includes faster inspections and nearby cold storage facilities, he said.
The port already handles 650,600 tons of bananas and 113,400 tons of other fruit annually.
by Idaho Potato Commission
EAGLE, ID — Attention food fanatics and chefs extraordinaire! During the month of November enter your favorite Idaho® potato recipe for a chance to win a $1,500 cash prize, a myriad of kitchen appliances from Kenmore® and a 15 lb. bag of fresh Idaho® potatoes. In addition to the prizes awarded for first, second and third place, a $500 “Social Spud” prize will be given to the recipe receiving the most “likes” on the contest page, encouraging contestants to share their recipe entry on their social media channels.
“This contest is a smart way for three well-known reputable brands to get folks across the country excited about baking and cooking with Idaho® potatoes during the holiday season,” explained Frank Muir, President and CEO, Idaho Potato Commission (IPC). “We believe this could be the biggest recipe contest in the IPC’s history in terms of number of entries received and total reach to consumers and the media. And that means more great recipes for us to try and share with family and friends!”
To be eligible, all entries must be received by 11:59 PM MST, November 30, 2016 and include the following:
- Use fresh, frozen or dehydrated Idaho® potatoes
- Include complete recipe ingredient list and directions
- Submit a high quality recipe photo
- Provide a brief recipe description
Prizes include:
- First Place: $1,500 cash and a full suite of Kenmore® small kitchen appliances
- Second Place: Kenmore® small kitchen appliance and a 15 lb. bag of Idaho® potatoes
- Third Place: Kenmore® small kitchen appliance and a 15 lb. bag of Idaho® potatoes
- Social Spud: $500 cash for the recipe with the most votes
Recipes will be reviewed and tested by representatives from the IPC and judged on their combination of creativity, taste, ease of preparation, and, of course, use of Idaho® potatoes. Winners will be notified by December 10, 2016. The winning recipe will be featured on the IPC’s website and social media channels.
About The Idaho Potato Commission
Established in 1937, the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) is a state agency responsible for promoting and protecting the famous “Grown in Idaho™” seal, a federally registered certification mark that assures consumers are purchasing genuine, top-quality Idaho® potatoes. Idaho’s growing season of warm days and cool nights, ample mountain-fed irrigation, and rich volcanic soil give Idaho® potatoes their unique texture, taste and dependable performance, which differentiates Idaho® potatoes from potatoes grown in other states.
There should be good loading opportunities for produce truckers hauling apples during the 2016-17 shipping season.National Apple Shipments
Fresh apples in storage as of November 1 totaled 134.8 million bushel (42-pound) cartons, up 14 percent from last season’s levels and 13 percent greater than the five-year average.
The first storage report from the U.S. Apple Association, shows total apple inventories were 179.1 million cartons, up 11 percent from a year ago and from the five-year average.
Northeast Apple Shipments
November 1 total fresh holdings were 8.1 million cartons in the Northeast U.S., down from 11.4 million cartons a year ago and 10.5 million two years ago. New York state’s fresh holdings were pegged at 5.82 million cartons, or more than 70 percent of remaining fresh supply.
Midwest Apple Shipments
In the Midwest, the storage report showed 7.7 million cartons of fresh apples on hand, up from 6.9 million cartons in 2015 and 6.7 million cartons in 2014. Within the Midwest region, the storage report showed Michigan accounted for 7.54 million cartons, or 98 percent of the Midwest fresh supply.
Northwest Apple Shipments
Northwest U.S. fresh apple holdings on were 117.6 million cartons, up from 98.4 million cartons a year ago but off from 127 million cartons in 2014.
For the Northwest region, Washington’s apple inventories were 116.3 million cartons, or 99 percent of remaining fresh apples in the Northwest states.
Variety breakdown
The leading U.S. fresh varieties on hand Nov. 1 were red delicious (39 million cartons), gala (25.9 million), fuji (14.7 million), granny smith (13.7 million), golden delicious (8.1 million), Honeycrisp (7 million cartons) and cripps pink/Pink Lady (5.5 million cartons).
The Washington State Tree Fruit Association on Nov. 9 raised its estimate of the Washington fresh apple crop to 137.4 million cartons, up 3.4% from the August estimate of 132.9 million 40-pound cartons.
The Washington apple harvest is still ongoing for some varieties, but based on volumes harvested so far observers are expecting an increase to 137.4 million boxes. An estimated total may be revised in December. However, observers still see a high-quality crop with good storage potential, with plenty of loading opportunities for produce haulers.
Washington apple shipments – grossing about $5300 to Atlanta.
Michigan apple shipments – grossing about $2700 to Atlanta.