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Apple sales in February fell 5.4 percent compared to the same month in 2016, according to Stemilt Grower’s latest Fruit Tracker Fast Facts video analysis.
While apple volume is up year-over-year the video shows most regions fell short of performance, excluding the East.
“February is historically a strong month for apple sales,” said Brianna Shales, Stemilt communication manager. “Retailers sold 59 pounds of apples more on average in February, but brought in $190 dollars less weekly than in February 2016. This year’s larger crop and fruit size is ripe with opportunities for promotion, especially on the bulk side.”
Bulk remained the primary purchasing method for apple, accounting for 59.1 percent of sales. Bag sales accounted for the remaining 40.9 percent.
The top five apple varieties in February 2017 were:
- Gala at 28.2 percent of sales;
- Fuji at 13.8 of sales;
- Red delicious at 12.3 percent of sakes;
- Granny smith at 11.% of sales;
- HoneyCrisp at 11.1 of sales.
“Club apples are an important part of the apple category, and there are still opportunities to promote them this spring,” Shales said in the release. “Our signature variety, Piñata, will be available through May and we are seeing some of the best fruit of the year right now coming out of storage, with great color and dessert eating qualities.”
Apples accounted for an average of 6.8 percent of national produce sales in January 2017, which dropped to 6.5 percent in February.
About Stemilt
Stemilt Growers is a leading tree fruit growing, packing and shipping company based in Wenatchee, WA and is owned and operated by the Mathison family. Stemilt Growers is the leading shipper of sweet cherries and one of the nation’s largest suppliers of organic tree fruits. Stemilt has also demonstrated a commitment to sustainable agriculture and social responsibility since 1989, when founder Tom Mathison launched the company’s Responsible Choice program . For more information about Stemilt Growers, visit www.stemilt.com.
By Love Beets
BALA CYNWYD, PA – Love Beets – a pioneering line of premium, ready-to-eat beet products – is growing its product offering with 100% pure Beet Powder that’s an ideal item for health enthusiasts, fitness fanatics, or those just looking to incorporate more better-for-you ingredients in their diet.
Love Beets’ Beet Powder is made from 100% beets, contains no additives or preservatives, has 0g added sugar, and is non-GMO, gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan. Beet powder delivers the nutritional benefits (and color!) of beets without any of the peeling, cooking, or juicing. It can be stirred directly into a cup of water, or added to smoothies, yogurt, sauces, baked goods, oatmeal, homemade pastas, and much more!
Beets have long been touted for their health benefits and the dietary nitrates found in beets convert to nitric oxide in the body, which can help promote heart health, healthy circulation, and stamina and endurance. For those who are looking for more pack in their punch, consuming just one tablespoon of Love Beets’ Beet Powder is the equivalent of eating three medium-sized beets.
Not only an innovative addition to their line, Love Beets’ Beet Powder is also a way to utilize the entire beet crop. Beets that are not in the ideal size range for their other products are dehydrated and then milled into the beet powder, resulting in overall less waste. The powder is made from U.S.-grown beets and is produced in the United States – another added benefit to consumers.
“We’re thrilled to launch another product that maintains our commitment to providing healthy and convenient items,” said George Shropshire, Vice President of Love Beets. “It’s also amazing that we’re able to do it in a way that’s making us even more efficient and economical. It’s a win/win for everyone.”
This new product reinforces Love Beets standing as the “beet experts” and in creating items that make beets convenient, easily approachable, and fun.
Love Beets’ Beet Powder can currently be found at Wegmans and on Love Beets’ online store.
About Love Beets
Launched in 2010, Love Beets specializes in a line of premium, all-natural, ready-to-eat beets that are sold in major retail food stores and specialty shops across North America. Products include marinated baby beets, vacuum-packed cooked beets, beet juices, beet powder, and many more products on the way!
Love Beets products use no artificial colors or preservatives, and almost all products are gluten-free. Select products are also USDA certified organic, verified Non-GMO and kosher-certified.
Since its launch, Love Beets has been defying preconceived notions of beets with an upbeat, fun, modern brand and tasty products that attract beet lovers and beet newbies alike!
Here’s a spotlight on Georgia with some good and some not so good. A glimpse of the Georgia spring vegetable shipments is made. There’s also news on two auctions of assets of former Vidalia onion shippers
Georgia vegetable shipments are getting underway in very light volume for the summer shipping season. Warm growing conditions is resulting in one of the earliest starts in memory. For example Southern Valley at Norman Park is now loading cabbage, yellow squash and zucchini. These items will be soon be followed by vegetables in the first half of May ranging from eggplant, to cucumbers and peppers and later, sweet corn.
2 Vidalia Bankruptcies Ending in Auctions
Gerrald’s Vidalia Sweet Onions of Stateboro, GA will be for sale in May at a bank-ordered auction, which includes the land, facilities and equipment. Online bidding starts May 11, with bidding on the real estate closing May 25 and bidding on equipment closing May 26.
Included in the auction will be 323 acres of farmland, about 150 acres of which is irrigated. An 85,000-square foot packing facility, late-model John Deere equipment, row crop implements, packing equipment and more than 3,500 produce field bins will also be for sale, according to Weeks Auction Group of Moultrie, GA.
The property was last planted in 2016, though not with onions because it was a rotation year. The land is also suitable for growing carrots, watermelon, cotton, peanuts and other crops. The property also includes a 27-acre pecan orchard. The auction comes as a result of bankruptcy and subsequent foreclosure.
The auction will be the second of a Vidalia onion operation in the span of a month.
Plantation Sweets of Cobbtown, GA will be sold in a bank-ordered auction today, which includes the land, facilities and equipment. Plantation Sweets filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2016. In response to a motion to convert to Chapter 7 or dismiss the case, a judge ruled in December to dismiss. The case was terminated March 29.
Assets up for sale in that auction will include about 567 acres of farmland. Equipment and micro-bins used by the operation will be sold April 27 in a separate auction.
Technomic, a research company dedicated to the foodservice channel recently released their annual results report. Over half of the U.S. food dollar is now spent eating out at foodservice vs. retail, as more people go out to eat, rely on takeout or look for supermarket foodservice (convenient prepared food) options. Foodservice is now also the largest sales channel for potatoes in the U.S.
The $845 billion-dollar foodservice industry grew 1.6% in 2016, with the sectors of fast food/quick service, fast casual, fine dining and convenience stores seeing the most growth. All sectors are expected to grow in 2017 with overall sales projected to be up 1.7%. The fastest growing segment should remain fast casual, with an expected sales increase of 6.1% in 2017, followed by an emerging sector, supermarket foodservice with projected 6% growth. Noncommercial Foodservice (e.g. Healthcare, Schools) is also a bright spot, and is expected to continue to grow at a steady pace. Fine dining, which has been down in recent years, is expected to grow 3.1% in 2017.
Potato Exports Increasing
U.S. exports of frozen and fresh potatoes continued to grow in December while dehydrated exports were still down but by a lesser degree. The strong dollar continues to be an issue, but tight exportable supplies are also having an impact on future sales.
Frozen export volume increased 22% in December and is up 6% for the first six months of the marketing year. Exports for the month were up 27% to Japan, 30% to Taiwan and 59% to Central America. Exports to China and Mexico continued to slip, down 21% and 2% respectively for December.
Exports of dehydrated potatoes declined 20% in December and are down 21% for the marketing year to date. December exports to Japan were down 37%, to the Philippines down 70% and to Mexico down 14%. Canada is up 10% for the month, but is still down 6% for the year.
Exports of fresh potatoes, both chip-stock and table-stock, increased 16% in December and are up 26% for the marketing year. Exports for December to Canada were up 26%, with a 47% increase to Central America, 116% to Taiwan and 10% to the Philippines. With the early opening of the Japan shipping window in December the U.S. exported 5,560 MT of additional chipping potatoes there. Exports to Mexico continues to decline down 10% for December, with Korea down 49% and Malaysia down 17%.
Coachella Valley grape shipments start soon, kicking off the domestic grape season for the United States.
Nestled just outside of Palm Springs are California’s first grape shipments each year. Coachella Valley grape loadings will get underway in early May, but it will be at least mid May, if not a little later before there is good volume.
In its prime, the Coachella Valley routinely shipped in excess of 10 million cartons per season. Even a decade ago, volume ranged from 7 million to 9 million cartons for the season. Today, 4 million to 5 million cartons is more typical as acreage has declined over the years for a variety of reasons, with nothing being a greater factor than soaring real estate prices for both commercial and residential demands. But that decline may have reached a plateau, according to some. There are now fewer, but larger growing/shipping operations and new varieties of grapes are being introduced to make the Coachella Valley more competitive, especially with Mexican grapes. The latter now has production about double or more what Coachella used to have in its heyday.
The two regions have very similar grape seasons, although Mexico typically starts shipping a few days to a week or so earlier than Coachella. Both Coachella and Mexico serve as a bridge from the end of the imported Chilean grape season and when Arvin District grapes (Bakersfield) gets underway in late June. Arvin and other production areas in the San Joaquin Valley provide the vast majority of California grape shipments.
There still remain a number of old time, well established grape shippers either based in the Coachella Valley, or which have operations there. For example, there is Anthony Vineyards, Inc., Sun World International LLC.; and Stevco, all in Coachella; Richard Bagdasarian, Inc., and Tudor Ranch, Inc., are both in Mecca.
Mexican mango exports to the U.S. are picking up as the second half of the season should be much better than the first half. Meanwhile, as South Texas onion shipments finish up, a new crop is expected to start a little further to the north.
Mexico is the fifth-largest producer mangos worldwide, and is the largest single exporter of fresh mangoes. About 35 percent of Mexico’s mango production is exported, with 90 percent going to the U.S. In total, Mexico produces an estimated 1.6 million tons of mango each year.
Mexican mango exports are recovering from an initial drought that affected the start of the shipping season. However, during the second half of the 2017 season, industry figures are forecasting an upturn in total production and are comparing it to 2016. Mexican mango exports to the U.S. are picking up after lower volumes during February and March and are expected to overtake last year’s figures.
Guatemala, which is nearing the end of its export window, has also experienced a similar season to Mexico. However, Guatemala certainly benefitted from the slow season start of Mexico, which helped its exports to the U.S. Guatemala has also enjoyed a positive mango export season, with final production volumes expected to total 25 to 30 percent more than last year. Up until the week of March 27, the country had harvested 653,780 boxes, and the total at the season’s close in late May is expected to reach more than 5 million boxes. About 90 percent of Guatemala’s mango exports go the U.S.
Texas Onion Shipments
Mexican onions are finished, while sweet onions off of Lower Rio Grande Farms are quickly finishing, with the last loads expected the week of April 24th. Meanwhile, a few more Texas 1015 sweet onions are about to start out of the Winter Garden District, just south of San Antonio. For example, Southwest Onions of Mission, TX will starting harvesting from the Winter Garden area around May 1-5. The company should continue shipping until the first week of June.
Mexican tropical fruits and vegetables crossing through South Texas – grossing about $2800 to Chicago; $4400 to New York City.
by Honor Whiteman, Medical News Today
Fruits and vegetables are a pivotal part of a healthful diet, but their benefits are not limited to physical health. New research finds that increasing fruit and vegetable consumption may improve psychological well-being in as little as 2 weeks.
Study leader Dr. Tamlin Conner, of the Department of Psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, and colleagues found that young adults who were given extra fruits and vegetables each day for 14 days ate more of the produce and experienced a boost in motivation and vitality.
The researchers recently reported their findings in the journal PLOS One.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, adults should aim to consume around two cups of fruits and around two to three cups of vegetables daily.
One cup of fruits is the equivalent to half a grapefruit or a large orange, and one cup of vegetables is proportionate to one large red pepper or a large, baked sweet potato.
As part of a healthful diet, fruits and vegetables can help reduce the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer.
In recent years, studies have suggested that fruit and vegetable intake may also improve mental health. For their study, Dr. Conner and team set out to investigate this association further.
The researchers enrolled 171 students aged between 18 and 25 to their study, and they were divided into three groups for 2 weeks.
One group continued with their normal eating pattern, one group was personally handed two additional servings of fresh fruits and vegetables (including carrots, kiwi fruit, apples, and oranges) each day, while the remaining group was given prepaid produce vouchers and received text reminders to consume more fruits and vegetables.
At the beginning and end of the study, participants were subjected to psychological assessments that evaluated mood, vitality, motivation, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and other determinants of mental health and well-being.
The researchers found that participants who personally received extra fruits and vegetables consumed the most of these products over the 2 weeks, at 3.7 servings daily, and it was this group that experienced improvements in psychological well-being. In particular, these participants demonstrated improvements in vitality, motivation, and flourishing.
The other two groups showed no improvements in psychological well-being over the 2-week period.
F
rom Nogales to California, the Northwest and Colorado, here are some springtime loading opportunities with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Nogales Crossings
While springtime crossings of imported Mexican vegetables is past its peak, there are about 1500 truck loads of watermelons being loaded per week, with around 500 truck loads of vine ripe tomatoes available. There’s much less volume with squash, peppers and some other vegetables. Mexican grape loadings should be available in very light volume starting next week, with decent loading opportunities not coming until around the second week of May.
Mexican watermelon and tomato shipments – grossing about $3200 to Chicago.
California Produce Shipments
With lettuce volume crashing in the Imperial Valley and the Yuma area, lettuce loadings have made the seasonal shift to the Huron district on the Westside of the San Joaquin Valley. Huron is moving around 650 loads of head lettuce a week, accounting for nearly 87 percent of the state’s lettuce shipments right now. Huron will continue well into May before giving away to California coastal shipping areas.
In fact, Santa Maria Valley has very light loadings of lettuce, celery, cauliflower, broccoli and other vegetables. Heaviest Santa Maria volume is with strawberries, a little over 300 loads per week. Strawberry loadings in California are heaviest out of Ventura County, around 500 loads a week. Santa Maria could be a little frustrating this season. Although new crops are just starting, weather related shipping gaps are seen.
In Kern County around Bakersfield, about 375 truck load equivalents are being loaded weekly. The new crop of stone fruit should have its first pickings the week of April 24th.
Huron lettuce – grossing about $6000 to New York City.
Potato Shipments
As always, Idaho leads potato volume accounting for nearly 1900 truck load equivalents a week, although a substantial amount of this is moving by rail…..Colorado’s San Luis Valley come next in volume averaging around 750 loads a week. The Columbia Basin in southern Washington and adjacent Umatillin Basin in Northern Oregon are shipping about 60 percent of Colorado’s volume.
Twin Falls, ID area potatoes – grossing about $5100 to Atlanta.
By Farmer’s Best
Nogales, Ariz. – Farmer’s Best, a major produce grower in Mexico and distributor in the United States, is only one month into harvesting its summer squash crop and is producing a strong, consistent volume.
“We are very pleased with the quality and production of our gray, yellow and Italian squash this season,” says Leonardo Tarriba, Farmer’s Best general manager. “They have exceeded our standards and continue to grow to impressive, beautiful sizes.”
Farmer’s Best Italian, gray and yellow squash, more commonly referred to as “summer squash,” began their season in October. Squash plants started growing in greenhouses on the west coast of Mexico and were transferred in temperature-controlled trucks with GPS capabilities to fields where they continue growing.
Farmer’s Best incorporates sustainable practices throughout the growing, harvesting, packing and shipping operations re-using, re-purposing and recycling all possible materials. Solar panels are placed at facilities and on fields to offset emissions and energy use. Water is recycled and reused during the growing processes for all produce.
Farmer’s Best summer squash is all grown in Mexico and distributed from centers in Nogales, AZ and McAllen, TX to the contiguous U.S. and parts of Canada. Farmer’s Best grower, Agricola Don Roberto, and associate grower, Bay Brand, are producing a high volume that ensures plenty of supplies. The squash season ends in mid-June.
About Farmer’s Best
Farmer’s Best has been bringing the finest fresh fruits and vegetables to grocery stores, restaurants and family tables for more than 50 years. Founded in 1966, this multi-generational, quality-focused, family company knows that food is about family. Health, safety and satisfaction drive fresh produce choices year-round. Farmer’s Best grows produce in fully-certified fields using the most advanced technologies and environmentally sound, sustainable practices.
Best-known food retailers rely on award-winning Farmer’s Best for all the right reasons. Farmer’s Best packs and distributes its full line of fresh produce from Mexico with standards that meet and commonly exceed USDA requirements. With its trusted highest quality produce, consumers know and ask for the Farmer’s Best brand.
For more information on Farmer’s Best, visit www.farmersbest.com.mx.
by Full Tilt Marketing
Milwaukee, WI—Full Tilt Marketing asked 50 food bloggers to share their most popular fruit and vegetable posts for 2016 and the were gleaned for insights. The analysis found the key driving factors that made the recipes popular with consumers included; appearance, seasonality, flavor profiles and healthy substitutes.
In fact, 74% of the bloggers’ recipes included descriptive comments such beautiful, stunning, looks so good, and amazing. Melinda Goodman, Managing Partner at FullTilt Marketing commented, “It’s no surprise that appearance drove overall popularity of posts with likes, shares and comments highest on attractive images. We’ve always heard that a picture’s worth a thousand words and your image is your first impression.”
This visual likability drove millions of impressions, with over 20% of the posts generating 20,000 or more pins. One of the top recipe posts, Sweet Potato Round with Goat Cheese and Cranberries from Ciao Florentina, generated 189,000 shares and touched on a combination of winning factors including visual appeal, wow flavors, seasonal interest and healthy ingredients.
Cynthia Rusincovitch, blogger from My Nourished Home remarked, “The most popular recipe on my blog continues to be sautéed kale and this has been the case for two years.” Rusincovitch continued, “I find my audience, mostly moms of busy families, want healthier choices that are simple and taste great so they don’t need to fight with their kids to eat them, but they also want dishes that are inspired by what they are seeing in magazines and eating in restaurants.”
The more subtle and less than obvious results that didn’t address appearance were around content related to seasonality, health, a twist on the classics and global flavors…all ideas popular in current trends today.
Of the all blog posts analyzed, a third of the recipes highlighted a healthy twist on a traditional classic. In many cases centering on healthier substitutions with zucchini, cauliflower and spaghetti squash, or modifying a recipe to reduce sugar, make it gluten free or even paleo as the recipe anchor. Top recipes featuring healthier substitutions included Healthified Sweet Potato Casserole, Creamy Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup, and Thyme Mashed Cauliflower with Roasted Garlic.
Several of the recipes replaced traditional staples with ingredients such as zucchini or spaghetti squash instead of pasta and cauliflower replacing risotto rice or potatoes. And as the pictures below prove, the new dishes look exactly like their pasta and potato counterparts.
The importance of seasonal ingredients in this review did not go unnoticed. 34% of the top recipes were presented as seasonal dishes and included an emphasis on rising ingredients such as those featured in Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade, Grilled Watermelon Margaritas, Autumn Root Vegetable Salad, Spring Brussel Sprout Salad and Summer Berry Fruit Salad with Lime Glaze to name just a few.
In closing, Heidi McIntyre, Managing Partner of FullTilt commented, “From drinks to desserts, breads, salads and side dishes the bloggers proved that what’s popular isn’t one type of food, preparation or trend, but an overall interest in utilizing more fruits and vegetables as part of a healthier diet.”
And if you’re wondering why it matters what food bloggers write about, you only need to consult the research on the power of purchase influence that bloggers wield. In a recent study from Research Now, 2/3 of all consumers read blogs weekly and nearly 9 in 10 consumers make purchases after reading about a product or service on a blog. “Not only are blogs the new trusted media, they are also a key source of peer-to-peer word of mouth advertising that supports all steps of the purchase decision process from discovery to research to price comparison and sometimes direct purchase,” commented Goodman.
For more information, or to discuss marketing and PR programs, including influencer marketing visit www.fulltiltmarketing.net or email Melinda@fulltiltmarketing.net.
Full Tilt Marketing is a consulting firm with offices in the Southeast and Midwest. The firm specializes in produce and food marketing. Working with commodity boards and grower/shippers, Full Tilt assists clients with new product development, brand management, retail promotions, online marketing, social media and marketing communications.
Apple sales in February fell 5.4 percent compared to the same month in 2016, according to Stemilt Grower’s latest Fruit Tracker Fast Facts video analysis.
While apple volume is up year-over-year the video shows most regions fell short of performance, excluding the East.
“February is historically a strong month for apple sales,” said Brianna Shales, Stemilt communication manager. “Retailers sold 59 pounds of apples more on average in February, but brought in $190 dollars less weekly than in February 2016. This year’s larger crop and fruit size is ripe with opportunities for promotion, especially on the bulk side.”
Bulk remained the primary purchasing method for apple, accounting for 59.1 percent of sales. Bag sales accounted for the remaining 40.9 percent.
The top five apple varieties in February 2017 were:
- Gala at 28.2 percent of sales;
- Fuji at 13.8 of sales;
- Red delicious at 12.3 percent of sakes;
- Granny smith at 11.% of sales;
- HoneyCrisp at 11.1 of sales.
“Club apples are an important part of the apple category, and there are still opportunities to promote them this spring,” Shales said in the release. “Our signature variety, Piñata, will be available through May and we are seeing some of the best fruit of the year right now coming out of storage, with great color and dessert eating qualities.”
Apples accounted for an average of 6.8 percent of national produce sales in January 2017, which dropped to 6.5 percent in February.
About Stemilt
Stemilt Growers is a leading tree fruit growing, packing and shipping company based in Wenatchee, WA and is owned and operated by the Mathison family. Stemilt Growers is the leading shipper of sweet cherries and one of the nation’s largest suppliers of organic tree fruits. Stemilt has also demonstrated a commitment to sustainable agriculture and social responsibility since 1989, when founder Tom Mathison launched the company’s Responsible Choice program . For more information about Stemilt Growers, visit www.stemilt.com.
By Love Beets
BALA CYNWYD, PA – Love Beets – a pioneering line of premium, ready-to-eat beet products – is growing its product offering with 100% pure Beet Powder that’s an ideal item for health enthusiasts, fitness fanatics, or those just looking to incorporate more better-for-you ingredients in their diet.
Love Beets’ Beet Powder is made from 100% beets, contains no additives or preservatives, has 0g added sugar, and is non-GMO, gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan. Beet powder delivers the nutritional benefits (and color!) of beets without any of the peeling, cooking, or juicing. It can be stirred directly into a cup of water, or added to smoothies, yogurt, sauces, baked goods, oatmeal, homemade pastas, and much more!
Beets have long been touted for their health benefits and the dietary nitrates found in beets convert to nitric oxide in the body, which can help promote heart health, healthy circulation, and stamina and endurance. For those who are looking for more pack in their punch, consuming just one tablespoon of Love Beets’ Beet Powder is the equivalent of eating three medium-sized beets.
Not only an innovative addition to their line, Love Beets’ Beet Powder is also a way to utilize the entire beet crop. Beets that are not in the ideal size range for their other products are dehydrated and then milled into the beet powder, resulting in overall less waste. The powder is made from U.S.-grown beets and is produced in the United States – another added benefit to consumers.
“We’re thrilled to launch another product that maintains our commitment to providing healthy and convenient items,” said George Shropshire, Vice President of Love Beets. “It’s also amazing that we’re able to do it in a way that’s making us even more efficient and economical. It’s a win/win for everyone.”
This new product reinforces Love Beets standing as the “beet experts” and in creating items that make beets convenient, easily approachable, and fun.
Love Beets’ Beet Powder can currently be found at Wegmans and on Love Beets’ online store.
About Love Beets
Launched in 2010, Love Beets specializes in a line of premium, all-natural, ready-to-eat beets that are sold in major retail food stores and specialty shops across North America. Products include marinated baby beets, vacuum-packed cooked beets, beet juices, beet powder, and many more products on the way!
Love Beets products use no artificial colors or preservatives, and almost all products are gluten-free. Select products are also USDA certified organic, verified Non-GMO and kosher-certified.
Since its launch, Love Beets has been defying preconceived notions of beets with an upbeat, fun, modern brand and tasty products that attract beet lovers and beet newbies alike!
Here’s a spotlight on Georgia with some good and some not so good. A glimpse of the Georgia spring vegetable shipments is made. There’s also news on two auctions of assets of former Vidalia onion shippers
Georgia vegetable shipments are getting underway in very light volume for the summer shipping season. Warm growing conditions is resulting in one of the earliest starts in memory. For example Southern Valley at Norman Park is now loading cabbage, yellow squash and zucchini. These items will be soon be followed by vegetables in the first half of May ranging from eggplant, to cucumbers and peppers and later, sweet corn.
2 Vidalia Bankruptcies Ending in Auctions
Gerrald’s Vidalia Sweet Onions of Stateboro, GA will be for sale in May at a bank-ordered auction, which includes the land, facilities and equipment. Online bidding starts May 11, with bidding on the real estate closing May 25 and bidding on equipment closing May 26.
Included in the auction will be 323 acres of farmland, about 150 acres of which is irrigated. An 85,000-square foot packing facility, late-model John Deere equipment, row crop implements, packing equipment and more than 3,500 produce field bins will also be for sale, according to Weeks Auction Group of Moultrie, GA.
The property was last planted in 2016, though not with onions because it was a rotation year. The land is also suitable for growing carrots, watermelon, cotton, peanuts and other crops. The property also includes a 27-acre pecan orchard. The auction comes as a result of bankruptcy and subsequent foreclosure.
The auction will be the second of a Vidalia onion operation in the span of a month.
Plantation Sweets of Cobbtown, GA will be sold in a bank-ordered auction today, which includes the land, facilities and equipment. Plantation Sweets filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2016. In response to a motion to convert to Chapter 7 or dismiss the case, a judge ruled in December to dismiss. The case was terminated March 29.
Assets up for sale in that auction will include about 567 acres of farmland. Equipment and micro-bins used by the operation will be sold April 27 in a separate auction.
Technomic, a research company dedicated to the foodservice channel recently released their annual results report. Over half of the U.S. food dollar is now spent eating out at foodservice vs. retail, as more people go out to eat, rely on takeout or look for supermarket foodservice (convenient prepared food) options. Foodservice is now also the largest sales channel for potatoes in the U.S.The $845 billion-dollar foodservice industry grew 1.6% in 2016, with the sectors of fast food/quick service, fast casual, fine dining and convenience stores seeing the most growth. All sectors are expected to grow in 2017 with overall sales projected to be up 1.7%. The fastest growing segment should remain fast casual, with an expected sales increase of 6.1% in 2017, followed by an emerging sector, supermarket foodservice with projected 6% growth. Noncommercial Foodservice (e.g. Healthcare, Schools) is also a bright spot, and is expected to continue to grow at a steady pace. Fine dining, which has been down in recent years, is expected to grow 3.1% in 2017.
Potato Exports Increasing
U.S. exports of frozen and fresh potatoes continued to grow in December while dehydrated exports were still down but by a lesser degree. The strong dollar continues to be an issue, but tight exportable supplies are also having an impact on future sales.
Frozen export volume increased 22% in December and is up 6% for the first six months of the marketing year. Exports for the month were up 27% to Japan, 30% to Taiwan and 59% to Central America. Exports to China and Mexico continued to slip, down 21% and 2% respectively for December.
Exports of dehydrated potatoes declined 20% in December and are down 21% for the marketing year to date. December exports to Japan were down 37%, to the Philippines down 70% and to Mexico down 14%. Canada is up 10% for the month, but is still down 6% for the year.
Exports of fresh potatoes, both chip-stock and table-stock, increased 16% in December and are up 26% for the marketing year. Exports for December to Canada were up 26%, with a 47% increase to Central America, 116% to Taiwan and 10% to the Philippines. With the early opening of the Japan shipping window in December the U.S. exported 5,560 MT of additional chipping potatoes there. Exports to Mexico continues to decline down 10% for December, with Korea down 49% and Malaysia down 17%.
Coachella Valley grape shipments start soon, kicking off the domestic grape season for the United States.
Nestled just outside of Palm Springs are California’s first grape shipments each year. Coachella Valley grape loadings will get underway in early May, but it will be at least mid May, if not a little later before there is good volume.
In its prime, the Coachella Valley routinely shipped in excess of 10 million cartons per season. Even a decade ago, volume ranged from 7 million to 9 million cartons for the season. Today, 4 million to 5 million cartons is more typical as acreage has declined over the years for a variety of reasons, with nothing being a greater factor than soaring real estate prices for both commercial and residential demands. But that decline may have reached a plateau, according to some. There are now fewer, but larger growing/shipping operations and new varieties of grapes are being introduced to make the Coachella Valley more competitive, especially with Mexican grapes. The latter now has production about double or more what Coachella used to have in its heyday.
The two regions have very similar grape seasons, although Mexico typically starts shipping a few days to a week or so earlier than Coachella. Both Coachella and Mexico serve as a bridge from the end of the imported Chilean grape season and when Arvin District grapes (Bakersfield) gets underway in late June. Arvin and other production areas in the San Joaquin Valley provide the vast majority of California grape shipments.
There still remain a number of old time, well established grape shippers either based in the Coachella Valley, or which have operations there. For example, there is Anthony Vineyards, Inc., Sun World International LLC.; and Stevco, all in Coachella; Richard Bagdasarian, Inc., and Tudor Ranch, Inc., are both in Mecca.
Mexican mango exports to the U.S. are picking up as the second half of the season should be much better than the first half. Meanwhile, as South Texas onion shipments finish up, a new crop is expected to start a little further to the north.
Mexico is the fifth-largest producer mangos worldwide, and is the largest single exporter of fresh mangoes. About 35 percent of Mexico’s mango production is exported, with 90 percent going to the U.S. In total, Mexico produces an estimated 1.6 million tons of mango each year.
Mexican mango exports are recovering from an initial drought that affected the start of the shipping season. However, during the second half of the 2017 season, industry figures are forecasting an upturn in total production and are comparing it to 2016. Mexican mango exports to the U.S. are picking up after lower volumes during February and March and are expected to overtake last year’s figures.
Guatemala, which is nearing the end of its export window, has also experienced a similar season to Mexico. However, Guatemala certainly benefitted from the slow season start of Mexico, which helped its exports to the U.S. Guatemala has also enjoyed a positive mango export season, with final production volumes expected to total 25 to 30 percent more than last year. Up until the week of March 27, the country had harvested 653,780 boxes, and the total at the season’s close in late May is expected to reach more than 5 million boxes. About 90 percent of Guatemala’s mango exports go the U.S.
Texas Onion Shipments
Mexican onions are finished, while sweet onions off of Lower Rio Grande Farms are quickly finishing, with the last loads expected the week of April 24th. Meanwhile, a few more Texas 1015 sweet onions are about to start out of the Winter Garden District, just south of San Antonio. For example, Southwest Onions of Mission, TX will starting harvesting from the Winter Garden area around May 1-5. The company should continue shipping until the first week of June.
Mexican tropical fruits and vegetables crossing through South Texas – grossing about $2800 to Chicago; $4400 to New York City.
by Honor Whiteman, Medical News Today
Fruits and vegetables are a pivotal part of a healthful diet, but their benefits are not limited to physical health. New research finds that increasing fruit and vegetable consumption may improve psychological well-being in as little as 2 weeks.
Study leader Dr. Tamlin Conner, of the Department of Psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, and colleagues found that young adults who were given extra fruits and vegetables each day for 14 days ate more of the produce and experienced a boost in motivation and vitality.
The researchers recently reported their findings in the journal PLOS One.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, adults should aim to consume around two cups of fruits and around two to three cups of vegetables daily.
One cup of fruits is the equivalent to half a grapefruit or a large orange, and one cup of vegetables is proportionate to one large red pepper or a large, baked sweet potato.
As part of a healthful diet, fruits and vegetables can help reduce the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer.
In recent years, studies have suggested that fruit and vegetable intake may also improve mental health. For their study, Dr. Conner and team set out to investigate this association further.
The researchers enrolled 171 students aged between 18 and 25 to their study, and they were divided into three groups for 2 weeks.
One group continued with their normal eating pattern, one group was personally handed two additional servings of fresh fruits and vegetables (including carrots, kiwi fruit, apples, and oranges) each day, while the remaining group was given prepaid produce vouchers and received text reminders to consume more fruits and vegetables.
At the beginning and end of the study, participants were subjected to psychological assessments that evaluated mood, vitality, motivation, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and other determinants of mental health and well-being.
The researchers found that participants who personally received extra fruits and vegetables consumed the most of these products over the 2 weeks, at 3.7 servings daily, and it was this group that experienced improvements in psychological well-being. In particular, these participants demonstrated improvements in vitality, motivation, and flourishing.
The other two groups showed no improvements in psychological well-being over the 2-week period.
From Nogales to California, the Northwest and Colorado, here are some springtime loading opportunities with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Nogales Crossings
While springtime crossings of imported Mexican vegetables is past its peak, there are about 1500 truck loads of watermelons being loaded per week, with around 500 truck loads of vine ripe tomatoes available. There’s much less volume with squash, peppers and some other vegetables. Mexican grape loadings should be available in very light volume starting next week, with decent loading opportunities not coming until around the second week of May.
Mexican watermelon and tomato shipments – grossing about $3200 to Chicago.
California Produce Shipments
With lettuce volume crashing in the Imperial Valley and the Yuma area, lettuce loadings have made the seasonal shift to the Huron district on the Westside of the San Joaquin Valley. Huron is moving around 650 loads of head lettuce a week, accounting for nearly 87 percent of the state’s lettuce shipments right now. Huron will continue well into May before giving away to California coastal shipping areas.
In fact, Santa Maria Valley has very light loadings of lettuce, celery, cauliflower, broccoli and other vegetables. Heaviest Santa Maria volume is with strawberries, a little over 300 loads per week. Strawberry loadings in California are heaviest out of Ventura County, around 500 loads a week. Santa Maria could be a little frustrating this season. Although new crops are just starting, weather related shipping gaps are seen.
In Kern County around Bakersfield, about 375 truck load equivalents are being loaded weekly. The new crop of stone fruit should have its first pickings the week of April 24th.
Huron lettuce – grossing about $6000 to New York City.
Potato Shipments
As always, Idaho leads potato volume accounting for nearly 1900 truck load equivalents a week, although a substantial amount of this is moving by rail…..Colorado’s San Luis Valley come next in volume averaging around 750 loads a week. The Columbia Basin in southern Washington and adjacent Umatillin Basin in Northern Oregon are shipping about 60 percent of Colorado’s volume.
Twin Falls, ID area potatoes – grossing about $5100 to Atlanta.
By Farmer’s Best
Nogales, Ariz. – Farmer’s Best, a major produce grower in Mexico and distributor in the United States, is only one month into harvesting its summer squash crop and is producing a strong, consistent volume.
“We are very pleased with the quality and production of our gray, yellow and Italian squash this season,” says Leonardo Tarriba, Farmer’s Best general manager. “They have exceeded our standards and continue to grow to impressive, beautiful sizes.”
Farmer’s Best Italian, gray and yellow squash, more commonly referred to as “summer squash,” began their season in October. Squash plants started growing in greenhouses on the west coast of Mexico and were transferred in temperature-controlled trucks with GPS capabilities to fields where they continue growing.
Farmer’s Best incorporates sustainable practices throughout the growing, harvesting, packing and shipping operations re-using, re-purposing and recycling all possible materials. Solar panels are placed at facilities and on fields to offset emissions and energy use. Water is recycled and reused during the growing processes for all produce.
Farmer’s Best summer squash is all grown in Mexico and distributed from centers in Nogales, AZ and McAllen, TX to the contiguous U.S. and parts of Canada. Farmer’s Best grower, Agricola Don Roberto, and associate grower, Bay Brand, are producing a high volume that ensures plenty of supplies. The squash season ends in mid-June.
About Farmer’s Best
Farmer’s Best has been bringing the finest fresh fruits and vegetables to grocery stores, restaurants and family tables for more than 50 years. Founded in 1966, this multi-generational, quality-focused, family company knows that food is about family. Health, safety and satisfaction drive fresh produce choices year-round. Farmer’s Best grows produce in fully-certified fields using the most advanced technologies and environmentally sound, sustainable practices.
Best-known food retailers rely on award-winning Farmer’s Best for all the right reasons. Farmer’s Best packs and distributes its full line of fresh produce from Mexico with standards that meet and commonly exceed USDA requirements. With its trusted highest quality produce, consumers know and ask for the Farmer’s Best brand.
For more information on Farmer’s Best, visit www.farmersbest.com.mx.
by Full Tilt Marketing
Milwaukee, WI—Full Tilt Marketing asked 50 food bloggers to share their most popular fruit and vegetable posts for 2016 and the were gleaned for insights. The analysis found the key driving factors that made the recipes popular with consumers included; appearance, seasonality, flavor profiles and healthy substitutes.
In fact, 74% of the bloggers’ recipes included descriptive comments such beautiful, stunning, looks so good, and amazing. Melinda Goodman, Managing Partner at FullTilt Marketing commented, “It’s no surprise that appearance drove overall popularity of posts with likes, shares and comments highest on attractive images. We’ve always heard that a picture’s worth a thousand words and your image is your first impression.”
This visual likability drove millions of impressions, with over 20% of the posts generating 20,000 or more pins. One of the top recipe posts, Sweet Potato Round with Goat Cheese and Cranberries from Ciao Florentina, generated 189,000 shares and touched on a combination of winning factors including visual appeal, wow flavors, seasonal interest and healthy ingredients.
Cynthia Rusincovitch, blogger from My Nourished Home remarked, “The most popular recipe on my blog continues to be sautéed kale and this has been the case for two years.” Rusincovitch continued, “I find my audience, mostly moms of busy families, want healthier choices that are simple and taste great so they don’t need to fight with their kids to eat them, but they also want dishes that are inspired by what they are seeing in magazines and eating in restaurants.”
The more subtle and less than obvious results that didn’t address appearance were around content related to seasonality, health, a twist on the classics and global flavors…all ideas popular in current trends today.
Of the all blog posts analyzed, a third of the recipes highlighted a healthy twist on a traditional classic. In many cases centering on healthier substitutions with zucchini, cauliflower and spaghetti squash, or modifying a recipe to reduce sugar, make it gluten free or even paleo as the recipe anchor. Top recipes featuring healthier substitutions included Healthified Sweet Potato Casserole, Creamy Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Soup, and Thyme Mashed Cauliflower with Roasted Garlic.
Several of the recipes replaced traditional staples with ingredients such as zucchini or spaghetti squash instead of pasta and cauliflower replacing risotto rice or potatoes. And as the pictures below prove, the new dishes look exactly like their pasta and potato counterparts.
The importance of seasonal ingredients in this review did not go unnoticed. 34% of the top recipes were presented as seasonal dishes and included an emphasis on rising ingredients such as those featured in Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade, Grilled Watermelon Margaritas, Autumn Root Vegetable Salad, Spring Brussel Sprout Salad and Summer Berry Fruit Salad with Lime Glaze to name just a few.
In closing, Heidi McIntyre, Managing Partner of FullTilt commented, “From drinks to desserts, breads, salads and side dishes the bloggers proved that what’s popular isn’t one type of food, preparation or trend, but an overall interest in utilizing more fruits and vegetables as part of a healthier diet.”
And if you’re wondering why it matters what food bloggers write about, you only need to consult the research on the power of purchase influence that bloggers wield. In a recent study from Research Now, 2/3 of all consumers read blogs weekly and nearly 9 in 10 consumers make purchases after reading about a product or service on a blog. “Not only are blogs the new trusted media, they are also a key source of peer-to-peer word of mouth advertising that supports all steps of the purchase decision process from discovery to research to price comparison and sometimes direct purchase,” commented Goodman.
For more information, or to discuss marketing and PR programs, including influencer marketing visit www.fulltiltmarketing.net or email Melinda@fulltiltmarketing.net.
Full Tilt Marketing is a consulting firm with offices in the Southeast and Midwest. The firm specializes in produce and food marketing. Working with commodity boards and grower/shippers, Full Tilt assists clients with new product development, brand management, retail promotions, online marketing, social media and marketing communications.