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By Larry Oscar
Ever notice how election years really bring out the worst in the political clowns. For some strange reason politicians can really stir up the emotions in people. The entire scene reminds me of professional wrestling.
Not that there is anything wrong with professional wrestling mind you. After all a lot of good marketing ideas come from professional wrestling. There is always something in it for everybody. About 20 years ago I was watching TV and flipping through the channels when I landed on a show called Monday Night Raw. It was something to see. It was produced by what is known today as World Wrestling Entertainment, the WWE.
Back then it was known as the World Wrestling Federation, WWF. When I happened upon the show they were selling cans of “Whoop Ass” that contained a T-shirt that read “Austin 3:16” for $50 dollars a can. And just in case you didn’t have a place to sit, watch the show, and drink your beer, they had a plastic blow up chair on sale for $60.
Then this wrestler by the name of Stone Cold Steve Austin came out and trash talked Vince McMahon, the WWF owner, for about 20 minutes. When Vince had all he could stand he strutted down the ramp and climbed into the ring to confront his nemesis. After a few words were exchanged the microphone was dropped and Vince was on the receiving end of a “Stone Cold Stunner”.
This left him floundering on the mat like fish out of water. Then Stone Cold Steve Austin grabbed the microphone trash talked Vince to his face, and stomped out of the ring. The crowd went wild. The cameras scanned the crowd, which had completely packed a huge stadium with standing room only. There were young boys and girls, old men and women, and every age, race, and nationality of American society.
In the short time span of 30 minutes the WWF had united a highly diverse crowd of Americans and had them cheering on their feet. The people had homemade signs they were waving that supported their favorite wrestler. And not a single face in the crowd was protesting.
No, instead they were all smiling and having the time of their lives. I have been a fan of pro wrestling ever since. It has to be one of the best action packed trash talking soap operas around. I think pro wrestling is a model of marketing unparalleled since the days of Ron Popeil with his Veg-O-Matic and Pocket Fisherman.
You just have to marvel at how Americans respond to different things, and some people just have a gift for inspiration and entertainment that hits home with the American people. You can’t say that this year’s political scene has been much different than pro wrestling.
And I for one hope it continues to liven us up. We need a good laugh. For the past eight years we have had nothing but a stagnant economy, world religious turmoil, wars, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, terrorism attacks, and those fat butted Kardashians to put up with.
We deserve a good knock down drag out of an election. Maybe they could throw in a good law suit to spice things up like they did in 2000. What ever happened to David Boies and his hanging chad? They could put old Bill Clinton back in the spotlight. Maybe dress him up in drag and let him go after the transgender vote. Lord knows Hillary is as boring as a sack of hail damaged lard.
Nothing like a presidential election to make our enemies shake in their turbans and burkas. But don’t take any of this too seriously folks. After all, nothing could be any worse than what we have had for the past eight years. So just sit back and enjoy the show.
And, just in the nick of time, Budweiser has come out with a series of strangely flavored light beers. Now it just doesn’t get any better than that!
Larry Oscar is a graduate from the University of Tulsa and holds a degree in electrical engineering. He is retired and lives with his wife on a lake in Oklahoma where he brews his own beer, sails, and is a member of numerous clubs and organizations.
California’s 2015 almond acreage is estimated at 1,110,000 acres, up 6 percent from the 2014 revised acreage of 1,050,000, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Of the total acreage for 2015, 890,000 acres were bearing and 220,000 acres were non-bearing. Kern, Fresno, Stanislaus, Merced and Madera were the leading counties in almond acreage, having 73 percent of the total bearing acreage.
In 2013, almonds took the top crop spot from dairy and earned the title as the county’s first $1 billion crop at $1.2 billion. It’s a testimate to the rising popularity of the almond. Almonds were also the top crop in 2014, with 164,314 harvested acres bringing in an overall value of $1.4 billion.
The almond industry has done a terrific job in marketing the almond to global consumers, which has created an increasing demand for the nut — 70 percent of the state’s almonds are exported out of the United States, According to Stanislaus County Farm Bureau Executive Director and almond grower Wayne Zipser.
Even with the historic growth in almond acreage, Zipser said state farmers still haven’t out-produced the demand. According to the NASS, preliminary almond bearing acreage for 2016 is already estimated at 900,000 acres, an increase of 10,000 over 2015.
A recent analysis by Sacramento-based agricultural and environmental consulting firm Land IQ confirms what Zipser is seeing locally.
Almond acreage growth across California over the last 10 to 15 years has replaced both perennial and annual crops. This includes cotton, vineyards, non-irrigated grasslands, alfalfa, grain and hay crops, tomatoes, corn, mixed field crops, irrigated pasture and more. Of the almond acreage planted during this time, 96 percent of it lies within the Central Valley’s historic irrigated area, most often replacing other irrigated crops. According to Land IQ, only 42,000 acres of growth over the last 10 to 15 years has occurred within previously non-irrigated grasslands.
“Almonds take up about 14 percent of the state’s irrigated farmland but uses 9.5 percent of California’s agricultural water, less than a proportionate share,” said Almond Board of California President and CEO Richard Waycott. “Because of the industry’s commitment to research and efficiency, growers use 33 percent less water to grow a pound of almonds than they did two decades ago.”
One of the ways the Almond Board is working to better the state’s water situation is through groundwater recharge. ABC partnered with University of California researchers, conservation nonprofit Sustainable Conservation, Land IQ and others to investigate leveraging California’s one-million acres of almond orchards for groundwater recharge.
Southeastern peach shipments will be wrapping up earlier than usual this season. In Texas, new funding should translate into more Mexican produce crossing the border.
Southeastern Peach Shipments
Georgia and South Carolina peach shippers expect to end peach harvesting earlier than normal due to winter growing conditions.
Most South Carolina peach shipments should be ending by late August, earlier than the typical September 10-12 end. A big production drop of late-season varieties is expected by July 15th.
For example, in a typical week in late July, Titan Farms harvests 180,000 cartons and ships 120 truckloads. This season, the company expects to harvest 70,000 boxes and ship 45 loads a week, 35 to 40 percent of Titan’s 2014 and 2015 production.
Georgia Peach Shipments
Fourth of July shipments were high for Georgia peach shipments, but due to dormancy issues, shippers expect to ship lighter than normal late season volume through late July before seeing a flush of production in early August. While strong August peach shipments are seen, loadings should be completed during the week of August 15th, a little earlier than normal.
Georgia peaches and vegetables – grossing about $2500 to New York City.
Texas Port of Entry
Loadings of fresh Mexican produce at warehouses in the Lower Rio Grande Valley are only expected to keep increasing in the years ahead, and new funding by the federal government will help spur this trend.
Pharr, Tx, is one of the three Lone Star State recipients of Donations Acceptance Program funding from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Pharr will use funds from the public/private partnership for expanded cold storage facilities; an agricultural identification and training facility, which will ultimately reduce waiting times on insect identifications; and expanded secondary inspection docking space.
The Pharr project is specifically focused on facilitating and expediting shipments of fresh produce from Mexico. This is seen as crucial in building trade and helping grow the Texas produce import industry.
The Texas produce industry contributed more than $475 million in economic activity and 4,500 jobs to Texas in 2015. Additionally, there are CBP funded projects in Donna, Tx, and at Red Hook Terminals.
Created in 205, the agency’s Donations Acceptance Program helps expedite U.S. port of entry improvements.
Mexican tropical fruits and vegetables at Pharr, Tx port of entry – grossing about $3800 to New York City.
By USDA
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the availability of $22 million in grants to help citrus producers fight Huanglongbing (HLB), commonly known as citrus greening disease. This funding is available through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program (CDRE), which was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and is administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
“Since 2009, USDA has committed significant resources to manage, research and eradicate the citrus greening disease that threatens citrus production in the United States and other nations,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Thanks to the continued, coordinated efforts between growers, researchers, and state and federal government, we are getting closer every day to ending this threat. The funding announced will help us continue to preserve thousands of jobs for citrus producers and workers, along with significant revenue from citrus sales.”
USDA has invested more than $380 million to address citrus greening between fiscal years 2009 and 2015, including $43.6 million through the SCRI CDRE program since 2015.
HLB was initially detected in Florida in 2005 and has since affected all of Florida’s citrus-producing areas. A total of 15 U.S. states or territories are under full or partial quarantine due to the detected presence of the Asian citrus psyllid, a vector for HLB. Those states include Alabama, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
USDA has employed both short-term and longer-term strategies to combat citrus greening. Secretary Vilsack announced a Multi-Agency Coordination framework in December 2013 to foster cooperation and coordination across federal and state agencies and industry to deliver near-term tools to citrus growers to combat Huanglongbing. The Huanglongbing MAC Group includes representatives from the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), USDA NIFA, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, Environmental Protection Agency, State Departments of Agriculture from California, Florida, Texas and Arizona, and the citrus industry
California pear shipments have gotten underway with volume expected to be down a little, but similar to a year ago.
California is forecast to ship about 2 million 36-pound boxes of Bartlett pears, the leading variety.
However, Bosc and golden bosc are down about 30 percent from 2015, with most of the reduction in the early shipments coming out of the Sacramento River district. Red pears are also down from last year, particularly from the early district.
Bartlett pear shipments started the week of July 3rd. Rivermaid Trading Co. ships over half of California’s fresh pears, and expects to load over 1 million boxes of bartletts. The other three California pear packers are Scully Packing, David J. Elliot & Son and Greene & Hemly. The California pear industry has experienced considerable consolidation. Just a few years ago there were over a dozen packers.
Pear loadings have gotten off to a fast, early start, beginning with Lake County.
Mountain bartletts are expected to begin around July 25th in Lake and Mendocino counties, and boscs by August 1st. Remaining pear varieties pears will be available by mid- to late-August.
The northern reaches of California production will overlap with Pacific Northwest production, with bartletts available all the way into October from the Golden State. The Yakima Valley in Washinton state typically starts with pear shipments in the second week of August,
Last year’s combined volume for all California pear varieties was 3.1 million boxes.
The crop might be down a little, possibly 5 to 7 percent on the bartletts from last year. The red pears are going to be very comparable to a year ago with the new varieties coming on. Golden bosc pears will probably be off 15 to 20 percent due to a severe blight problem on the river that hit the crops. Lake and Mendocino counties will have significantly less pear volume than last year, when a bumper crop materialized.
Southern and Central San Joaquin Valley stone fruit and tomatoes – grossing about $5800 to Atlanta.
Imports of Southern Hemisphere citrus continues to increase as American consumers are becoming more accustomed to purchasing citrus year-round. Improving quality and taste are cited as factors.
As navel oranges, minneolas and clementines experience increasing volume from the Southern Hemisphere, it opens up the window for more sales of citrus.
Seedless easy peelers such as Murcotts, and the mandarin varieties continue to be the most popular items in produce departments. Imported citrus primarily arrives at three major ports in the West (Long Beach), Southeast (Florida) and Northeast (Philadelphia), reducing logistic and distribution costs.
Chile’s first shipment of Navels to the U.S. — comprising 7,960 boxes arrived in early June, a earlier than in 2015.
Importers are very optimistic for the season ahead. Total global citrus exports from Chile (Navels, easy peelers and lemons) rose by 30 percent last year, and estimates are that volume is expected to climb another 10 percent in 2016. While the largest increase is expected for easy peelers, projected Navel volumes are also slightly higher than 2016, 68,261 tons compared to 67,644 tons in 2015.
Easy peelers are clearly the up and comers in citrus, because not only are they a great-tasting, but are convenient to eat.
Though just 9.9 percent of the citrus volume sold, Mandarins represented 36.4 percent of dollar sales in the U.S. retail market for the year September 2014 to September 2015. By comparison, oranges, which form 30 percent of the category volume, represented a lesser share — 29.2 percent — of the overall spent.
Through early June, Chilean citrus exports were at 25,906 tons (just over 1.6 million boxes), 80 percent of which were destined for the U.S. Exports to the U.S. market through early June included 121 tons of Navels, 14,069 tons of clementines and 6,349 tons of lemons.
The period June-August is the primary season for Chilean lemons. Of all the lemons entering the U.S. from the Southern Hemisphere, Chile had an astounding 95 percent market share last year, shipping nearly 34,000 tons to the U.S. This year, Chile’s exports of lemons totaled 20,372 tons by mid June, up 104 percent from last season. Out of this volume, 55 percent were destined for North America,
YTD volume shipped to the North American market is 119 percent greater than the same time in 2015. Despite the initial increase in volume shipped to this market, it is expected to slow down, as the total forecast of 60,000 tons is four percent less than last year’s volume of 62,196 tons.
Peru shipments are expected to start arriving the first week of July.
California citrus is nearly finished, opening the door for imports that will last from from July well into October.
South African clementines, Cara Caras and other varieties were beginning to arrive at U.S. ports. However, while South African citrus exports were running early and had good volumes, the total imported this season could be less than in previous years due to weather conditions.
If you haul bananas or pineapples from the Gulf of Mexico, Chiquita Brands International is once again moving. Over the years they have set up shop in New Orleans twice, where they are currently located. But within weeks they’ll be moving to Gulfport Mississippi for the second time.
Two years after returning to The Big Easy, Chiquita plans to leave New Orleans.
Based in Orlando, FL, Chiquita U.S. Corp., announced July 5th in a press release its plans to relocate its Gulf of Mexico operations from the Port of New Orleans to the Port of Gulfport.
The move is scheduled for August, according to the release.
“We are pleased to return our port operations to Gulfport where our Chiquita ripening and distribution facilities are located,” Andrew Biles, Chiquita’s president and CEO, said in the release. “We believe that Gulfport is optimally situated to service our customers most efficiently with both north and southbound vessel services.”
In May, rumors circulated “around the docks” at the New Orleans port that Chiquita Brands International, a part of Chiquita U.S. Corp., was considering moving its cargo business.
In May 2014, Chiquita announced plans to return to New Orleans after relocating operations to Gulfport, Miss., in the mid-1970s.
Chiquita, which then did business as United Brands, had imported bananas and other fruit for more than 70 years in New Orleans.
As part of the deal to return to The Crescent City, the port agreed to invest $2.2 million in improvements at a port-owned distribution and ripening facility to be leased to Chiquita as well as fund $2 million in refrigerated-container electrical infrastructure improvements and rehabilitate a container freight warehouse.
Chiquita distributes and markets fresh bananas and pineapples from the Gulf.
Chiquita Brands International Inc. is an American producer and distributor, not only of bananas, but other produce. The company operates under a number of subsidiary brand names, including the flagship Chiquita brand and Fresh Express salads. Chiquita is the leading distributor of bananas in the United States.
Despite all the hoopla in the media over the latest trendy vegetable – kale – head lettuce remains much more popular with American consumers.
At first glance, it looks like kale has taken over the American palate. The number of times restaurants have mentioned iceberg lettuce as a menu ingredient in salads has dropped 17 percent in the last three years, according to research from the market-research firm Mintel. Mentions of kale are “off the charts,” said Caleb Bryant, a food-industry analyst at Mintel. “Kale is just exploding in all restaurants, whether it be salad or roasted kale,” he said. And on store shelves, there is a similar rise in kale products, from kale chips to kale smoothies and juices, he said.
The mentions of kale from 2014 to 2015 as an ingredient in salads jumped 63 percent; before 2014, mentions of kale were so infrequent that there aren’t even kale-and-iceberg comparable data, Bryant said.
American are eating a lot more iceberg (head) lettuce, even though kale appears to be far more popular on menus. The U.S. either produced or imported 13.5 pounds of iceberg per capita for use in 2015, a drop from 20.9 pounds per person in 2005, according to the USDA. Kale, meanwhile, has remained relatively steady for the last decade, with the U.S. producing and importing just 0.6 pounds of kale per person in 2015, up from 0.4 pounds per person in 2005.
Pre-made salads and salad kits at grocery stores have increased in popularity, and many contain at least some iceberg Plus, iceberg is an ingredient in foods that aren’t salads, such as wraps, he said. Iceberg also has a long shelf life and a resistance to turning brown, which may be attractive to restaurants and companies that produce bagged salads.
It will take some time for the kale trend to really change what farmers are producing, because it takes time for Americans to acquire a bigger appetite for it. Agriculture specialists are constantly analyzing restaurant and retail patterns and trying to anticipate what new products are becoming popular. However, even when they can predict a trend, farmers need several years to build up a sufficient supply of seeds and to dedicate land to grow a new crop.
Here’s a round up of North American blueberry shipments that are shifting areas in the coming weeks, plus we take a glimpse at upcoming Quebec apple shipments and western U.S. onions.
Blueberry shipments are making the seasonal shift to new areas and are hitting peak volume from British Columbia, New Jersey and Michigan.
While Georgia an California blueberries, as well as North Carolina blueberry shipments are nearly finished, Michigan got underway the week of June 27th and is now entering peak shipments.
British Columbia blueberry shipments started a little early this year and loadings are currently heavy.
Typically there’s a gap between Pacific Northwest and British Columbia blueberry shipments, but this year is an exception. However, Washington state, Oregon and British Columbia are all hitting good volumes at the same time, with peak shipments to hit in mid-July.
British Columbia was in full volume by about June 29 and New Jersey by the week of July 4th, while Michigan is expected to peak by the week of July 11.
New Jersey and Pacific Northwest blueberry shipments will likely start to taper off in the second half of July, when Michigan is expected to take over the lion’s share of blueberry loadings.
Washington state blueberries, and apples – grossing about $4000 to Chicago.
Southern New Jersey blueberries, – grossing about $1900 to Boston.
Quebec Apple Shipments
Quebec apple shipments are expected to get underway the week of September 12th. Apple loadings for the province’s 2015-16 crop are expected to wind down during the last half of July.
Onion Shipments
Onion shipments from the new crop are expected to get underway during the middle of August from Western Idaho and Mulheur County, OR. Volume should be up this season as a slight increase in acreage is reported. Onion shipments typically last through April. The area is known for its sweet Spanish onions, as well as whites, reds and yellows.
by U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council
FOLSOM, Calif. – The blueberry industry is projecting a 25 percent increase in North American production over a four-year span, growing from 750.2 million lb. in 2015 to 940 million lb. in 20191. North American production for 2016 is projected to again surpass 750 million lb., with global production anticipated to surpass 1.4 billion lb.
Soaring demand has created a nearly billion dollar industry in the U.S. Top-producing regions include California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington.
As the industry, led by the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC), promotes blueberries as healthy lifestyle staples, North American consumption and purchases continue to keep pace with supply. Specifically:
- North American per capita blueberry consumption grew nearly 50 percent between 2010-20152
- Fresh blueberry sales at U.S. retail amounted to $1.5 billion in 2015, up 7 percent versus 2014, making blueberries #2 in fresh berry dollar sales3
- Frozen blueberry sales reached $189.6 million in 2015, up 4 percent versus 2014, making blueberries #2 in frozen fruit dollar sales3
- In 2013, Americans were nearly twice as likely as they were in 2004 to buy blueberries in the coming year and 84 percent cited awareness of blueberry health benefits, up 115 percent over 20044
Growing Export Markets
North America isn’t the only market of focus for the blueberry industry. Approximately 10 percent of the total U.S. highbush crop is exported each year, with fresh exports totaling more than 79 million lb. in 2014, up 60 percent from 49.3 million lb. in 20055.
The USHBC aims to increase industry export figures substantially in the coming years by expanding existing export markets and opening new markets where fresh blueberries from the U.S. aren’t currently available, including Australia, Chile, China, Philippines, South Africa, South Korea and Vietnam.
About the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council
One hundred years after the first commercial crop of highbush blueberries was sold at a New Jersey farm stand, blueberry demand continues to keep pace with supply due to promotion efforts led by the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, an agriculture promotion group, representing blueberry growers and packers in North and South America who market their blueberries in the United States. The blueberry industry is committed to providing blueberries that are grown, harvested, packed and shipped in clean, safe environments.
By Larry Oscar
Ever notice how election years really bring out the worst in the political clowns. For some strange reason politicians can really stir up the emotions in people. The entire scene reminds me of professional wrestling.
Not that there is anything wrong with professional wrestling mind you. After all a lot of good marketing ideas come from professional wrestling. There is always something in it for everybody. About 20 years ago I was watching TV and flipping through the channels when I landed on a show called Monday Night Raw. It was something to see. It was produced by what is known today as World Wrestling Entertainment, the WWE.
Back then it was known as the World Wrestling Federation, WWF. When I happened upon the show they were selling cans of “Whoop Ass” that contained a T-shirt that read “Austin 3:16” for $50 dollars a can. And just in case you didn’t have a place to sit, watch the show, and drink your beer, they had a plastic blow up chair on sale for $60.
Then this wrestler by the name of Stone Cold Steve Austin came out and trash talked Vince McMahon, the WWF owner, for about 20 minutes. When Vince had all he could stand he strutted down the ramp and climbed into the ring to confront his nemesis. After a few words were exchanged the microphone was dropped and Vince was on the receiving end of a “Stone Cold Stunner”.
This left him floundering on the mat like fish out of water. Then Stone Cold Steve Austin grabbed the microphone trash talked Vince to his face, and stomped out of the ring. The crowd went wild. The cameras scanned the crowd, which had completely packed a huge stadium with standing room only. There were young boys and girls, old men and women, and every age, race, and nationality of American society.
In the short time span of 30 minutes the WWF had united a highly diverse crowd of Americans and had them cheering on their feet. The people had homemade signs they were waving that supported their favorite wrestler. And not a single face in the crowd was protesting.
No, instead they were all smiling and having the time of their lives. I have been a fan of pro wrestling ever since. It has to be one of the best action packed trash talking soap operas around. I think pro wrestling is a model of marketing unparalleled since the days of Ron Popeil with his Veg-O-Matic and Pocket Fisherman.
You just have to marvel at how Americans respond to different things, and some people just have a gift for inspiration and entertainment that hits home with the American people. You can’t say that this year’s political scene has been much different than pro wrestling.
And I for one hope it continues to liven us up. We need a good laugh. For the past eight years we have had nothing but a stagnant economy, world religious turmoil, wars, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, terrorism attacks, and those fat butted Kardashians to put up with.
We deserve a good knock down drag out of an election. Maybe they could throw in a good law suit to spice things up like they did in 2000. What ever happened to David Boies and his hanging chad? They could put old Bill Clinton back in the spotlight. Maybe dress him up in drag and let him go after the transgender vote. Lord knows Hillary is as boring as a sack of hail damaged lard.
Nothing like a presidential election to make our enemies shake in their turbans and burkas. But don’t take any of this too seriously folks. After all, nothing could be any worse than what we have had for the past eight years. So just sit back and enjoy the show.
And, just in the nick of time, Budweiser has come out with a series of strangely flavored light beers. Now it just doesn’t get any better than that!
Larry Oscar is a graduate from the University of Tulsa and holds a degree in electrical engineering. He is retired and lives with his wife on a lake in Oklahoma where he brews his own beer, sails, and is a member of numerous clubs and organizations.
California’s 2015 almond acreage is estimated at 1,110,000 acres, up 6 percent from the 2014 revised acreage of 1,050,000, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Of the total acreage for 2015, 890,000 acres were bearing and 220,000 acres were non-bearing. Kern, Fresno, Stanislaus, Merced and Madera were the leading counties in almond acreage, having 73 percent of the total bearing acreage.
In 2013, almonds took the top crop spot from dairy and earned the title as the county’s first $1 billion crop at $1.2 billion. It’s a testimate to the rising popularity of the almond. Almonds were also the top crop in 2014, with 164,314 harvested acres bringing in an overall value of $1.4 billion.
The almond industry has done a terrific job in marketing the almond to global consumers, which has created an increasing demand for the nut — 70 percent of the state’s almonds are exported out of the United States, According to Stanislaus County Farm Bureau Executive Director and almond grower Wayne Zipser.
Even with the historic growth in almond acreage, Zipser said state farmers still haven’t out-produced the demand. According to the NASS, preliminary almond bearing acreage for 2016 is already estimated at 900,000 acres, an increase of 10,000 over 2015.
A recent analysis by Sacramento-based agricultural and environmental consulting firm Land IQ confirms what Zipser is seeing locally.
Almond acreage growth across California over the last 10 to 15 years has replaced both perennial and annual crops. This includes cotton, vineyards, non-irrigated grasslands, alfalfa, grain and hay crops, tomatoes, corn, mixed field crops, irrigated pasture and more. Of the almond acreage planted during this time, 96 percent of it lies within the Central Valley’s historic irrigated area, most often replacing other irrigated crops. According to Land IQ, only 42,000 acres of growth over the last 10 to 15 years has occurred within previously non-irrigated grasslands.
“Almonds take up about 14 percent of the state’s irrigated farmland but uses 9.5 percent of California’s agricultural water, less than a proportionate share,” said Almond Board of California President and CEO Richard Waycott. “Because of the industry’s commitment to research and efficiency, growers use 33 percent less water to grow a pound of almonds than they did two decades ago.”
One of the ways the Almond Board is working to better the state’s water situation is through groundwater recharge. ABC partnered with University of California researchers, conservation nonprofit Sustainable Conservation, Land IQ and others to investigate leveraging California’s one-million acres of almond orchards for groundwater recharge.
Southeastern peach shipments will be wrapping up earlier than usual this season. In Texas, new funding should translate into more Mexican produce crossing the border.
Southeastern Peach Shipments
Georgia and South Carolina peach shippers expect to end peach harvesting earlier than normal due to winter growing conditions.
Most South Carolina peach shipments should be ending by late August, earlier than the typical September 10-12 end. A big production drop of late-season varieties is expected by July 15th.
For example, in a typical week in late July, Titan Farms harvests 180,000 cartons and ships 120 truckloads. This season, the company expects to harvest 70,000 boxes and ship 45 loads a week, 35 to 40 percent of Titan’s 2014 and 2015 production.
Georgia Peach Shipments
Fourth of July shipments were high for Georgia peach shipments, but due to dormancy issues, shippers expect to ship lighter than normal late season volume through late July before seeing a flush of production in early August. While strong August peach shipments are seen, loadings should be completed during the week of August 15th, a little earlier than normal.
Georgia peaches and vegetables – grossing about $2500 to New York City.
Texas Port of Entry
Loadings of fresh Mexican produce at warehouses in the Lower Rio Grande Valley are only expected to keep increasing in the years ahead, and new funding by the federal government will help spur this trend.
Pharr, Tx, is one of the three Lone Star State recipients of Donations Acceptance Program funding from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Pharr will use funds from the public/private partnership for expanded cold storage facilities; an agricultural identification and training facility, which will ultimately reduce waiting times on insect identifications; and expanded secondary inspection docking space.
The Pharr project is specifically focused on facilitating and expediting shipments of fresh produce from Mexico. This is seen as crucial in building trade and helping grow the Texas produce import industry.
The Texas produce industry contributed more than $475 million in economic activity and 4,500 jobs to Texas in 2015. Additionally, there are CBP funded projects in Donna, Tx, and at Red Hook Terminals.
Created in 205, the agency’s Donations Acceptance Program helps expedite U.S. port of entry improvements.
Mexican tropical fruits and vegetables at Pharr, Tx port of entry – grossing about $3800 to New York City.
By USDA
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the availability of $22 million in grants to help citrus producers fight Huanglongbing (HLB), commonly known as citrus greening disease. This funding is available through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program (CDRE), which was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and is administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
“Since 2009, USDA has committed significant resources to manage, research and eradicate the citrus greening disease that threatens citrus production in the United States and other nations,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Thanks to the continued, coordinated efforts between growers, researchers, and state and federal government, we are getting closer every day to ending this threat. The funding announced will help us continue to preserve thousands of jobs for citrus producers and workers, along with significant revenue from citrus sales.”
USDA has invested more than $380 million to address citrus greening between fiscal years 2009 and 2015, including $43.6 million through the SCRI CDRE program since 2015.
HLB was initially detected in Florida in 2005 and has since affected all of Florida’s citrus-producing areas. A total of 15 U.S. states or territories are under full or partial quarantine due to the detected presence of the Asian citrus psyllid, a vector for HLB. Those states include Alabama, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
USDA has employed both short-term and longer-term strategies to combat citrus greening. Secretary Vilsack announced a Multi-Agency Coordination framework in December 2013 to foster cooperation and coordination across federal and state agencies and industry to deliver near-term tools to citrus growers to combat Huanglongbing. The Huanglongbing MAC Group includes representatives from the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), USDA NIFA, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, Environmental Protection Agency, State Departments of Agriculture from California, Florida, Texas and Arizona, and the citrus industry
California pear shipments have gotten underway with volume expected to be down a little, but similar to a year ago.
California is forecast to ship about 2 million 36-pound boxes of Bartlett pears, the leading variety.
However, Bosc and golden bosc are down about 30 percent from 2015, with most of the reduction in the early shipments coming out of the Sacramento River district. Red pears are also down from last year, particularly from the early district.
Bartlett pear shipments started the week of July 3rd. Rivermaid Trading Co. ships over half of California’s fresh pears, and expects to load over 1 million boxes of bartletts. The other three California pear packers are Scully Packing, David J. Elliot & Son and Greene & Hemly. The California pear industry has experienced considerable consolidation. Just a few years ago there were over a dozen packers.
Pear loadings have gotten off to a fast, early start, beginning with Lake County.
Mountain bartletts are expected to begin around July 25th in Lake and Mendocino counties, and boscs by August 1st. Remaining pear varieties pears will be available by mid- to late-August.
The northern reaches of California production will overlap with Pacific Northwest production, with bartletts available all the way into October from the Golden State. The Yakima Valley in Washinton state typically starts with pear shipments in the second week of August,
Last year’s combined volume for all California pear varieties was 3.1 million boxes.
The crop might be down a little, possibly 5 to 7 percent on the bartletts from last year. The red pears are going to be very comparable to a year ago with the new varieties coming on. Golden bosc pears will probably be off 15 to 20 percent due to a severe blight problem on the river that hit the crops. Lake and Mendocino counties will have significantly less pear volume than last year, when a bumper crop materialized.
Southern and Central San Joaquin Valley stone fruit and tomatoes – grossing about $5800 to Atlanta.
Imports of Southern Hemisphere citrus continues to increase as American consumers are becoming more accustomed to purchasing citrus year-round. Improving quality and taste are cited as factors.
As navel oranges, minneolas and clementines experience increasing volume from the Southern Hemisphere, it opens up the window for more sales of citrus.
Seedless easy peelers such as Murcotts, and the mandarin varieties continue to be the most popular items in produce departments. Imported citrus primarily arrives at three major ports in the West (Long Beach), Southeast (Florida) and Northeast (Philadelphia), reducing logistic and distribution costs.
Chile’s first shipment of Navels to the U.S. — comprising 7,960 boxes arrived in early June, a earlier than in 2015.
Importers are very optimistic for the season ahead. Total global citrus exports from Chile (Navels, easy peelers and lemons) rose by 30 percent last year, and estimates are that volume is expected to climb another 10 percent in 2016. While the largest increase is expected for easy peelers, projected Navel volumes are also slightly higher than 2016, 68,261 tons compared to 67,644 tons in 2015.
Easy peelers are clearly the up and comers in citrus, because not only are they a great-tasting, but are convenient to eat.
Though just 9.9 percent of the citrus volume sold, Mandarins represented 36.4 percent of dollar sales in the U.S. retail market for the year September 2014 to September 2015. By comparison, oranges, which form 30 percent of the category volume, represented a lesser share — 29.2 percent — of the overall spent.
Through early June, Chilean citrus exports were at 25,906 tons (just over 1.6 million boxes), 80 percent of which were destined for the U.S. Exports to the U.S. market through early June included 121 tons of Navels, 14,069 tons of clementines and 6,349 tons of lemons.
The period June-August is the primary season for Chilean lemons. Of all the lemons entering the U.S. from the Southern Hemisphere, Chile had an astounding 95 percent market share last year, shipping nearly 34,000 tons to the U.S. This year, Chile’s exports of lemons totaled 20,372 tons by mid June, up 104 percent from last season. Out of this volume, 55 percent were destined for North America,
YTD volume shipped to the North American market is 119 percent greater than the same time in 2015. Despite the initial increase in volume shipped to this market, it is expected to slow down, as the total forecast of 60,000 tons is four percent less than last year’s volume of 62,196 tons.
Peru shipments are expected to start arriving the first week of July.
California citrus is nearly finished, opening the door for imports that will last from from July well into October.
South African clementines, Cara Caras and other varieties were beginning to arrive at U.S. ports. However, while South African citrus exports were running early and had good volumes, the total imported this season could be less than in previous years due to weather conditions.
If you haul bananas or pineapples from the Gulf of Mexico, Chiquita Brands International is once again moving. Over the years they have set up shop in New Orleans twice, where they are currently located. But within weeks they’ll be moving to Gulfport Mississippi for the second time.
Two years after returning to The Big Easy, Chiquita plans to leave New Orleans.
Based in Orlando, FL, Chiquita U.S. Corp., announced July 5th in a press release its plans to relocate its Gulf of Mexico operations from the Port of New Orleans to the Port of Gulfport.
The move is scheduled for August, according to the release.
“We are pleased to return our port operations to Gulfport where our Chiquita ripening and distribution facilities are located,” Andrew Biles, Chiquita’s president and CEO, said in the release. “We believe that Gulfport is optimally situated to service our customers most efficiently with both north and southbound vessel services.”
In May, rumors circulated “around the docks” at the New Orleans port that Chiquita Brands International, a part of Chiquita U.S. Corp., was considering moving its cargo business.
In May 2014, Chiquita announced plans to return to New Orleans after relocating operations to Gulfport, Miss., in the mid-1970s.
Chiquita, which then did business as United Brands, had imported bananas and other fruit for more than 70 years in New Orleans.
As part of the deal to return to The Crescent City, the port agreed to invest $2.2 million in improvements at a port-owned distribution and ripening facility to be leased to Chiquita as well as fund $2 million in refrigerated-container electrical infrastructure improvements and rehabilitate a container freight warehouse.
Chiquita distributes and markets fresh bananas and pineapples from the Gulf.
Chiquita Brands International Inc. is an American producer and distributor, not only of bananas, but other produce. The company operates under a number of subsidiary brand names, including the flagship Chiquita brand and Fresh Express salads. Chiquita is the leading distributor of bananas in the United States.
Despite all the hoopla in the media over the latest trendy vegetable – kale – head lettuce remains much more popular with American consumers.
At first glance, it looks like kale has taken over the American palate. The number of times restaurants have mentioned iceberg lettuce as a menu ingredient in salads has dropped 17 percent in the last three years, according to research from the market-research firm Mintel. Mentions of kale are “off the charts,” said Caleb Bryant, a food-industry analyst at Mintel. “Kale is just exploding in all restaurants, whether it be salad or roasted kale,” he said. And on store shelves, there is a similar rise in kale products, from kale chips to kale smoothies and juices, he said.
The mentions of kale from 2014 to 2015 as an ingredient in salads jumped 63 percent; before 2014, mentions of kale were so infrequent that there aren’t even kale-and-iceberg comparable data, Bryant said.
American are eating a lot more iceberg (head) lettuce, even though kale appears to be far more popular on menus. The U.S. either produced or imported 13.5 pounds of iceberg per capita for use in 2015, a drop from 20.9 pounds per person in 2005, according to the USDA. Kale, meanwhile, has remained relatively steady for the last decade, with the U.S. producing and importing just 0.6 pounds of kale per person in 2015, up from 0.4 pounds per person in 2005.
Pre-made salads and salad kits at grocery stores have increased in popularity, and many contain at least some iceberg Plus, iceberg is an ingredient in foods that aren’t salads, such as wraps, he said. Iceberg also has a long shelf life and a resistance to turning brown, which may be attractive to restaurants and companies that produce bagged salads.
It will take some time for the kale trend to really change what farmers are producing, because it takes time for Americans to acquire a bigger appetite for it. Agriculture specialists are constantly analyzing restaurant and retail patterns and trying to anticipate what new products are becoming popular. However, even when they can predict a trend, farmers need several years to build up a sufficient supply of seeds and to dedicate land to grow a new crop.
Here’s a round up of North American blueberry shipments that are shifting areas in the coming weeks, plus we take a glimpse at upcoming Quebec apple shipments and western U.S. onions.
Blueberry shipments are making the seasonal shift to new areas and are hitting peak volume from British Columbia, New Jersey and Michigan.
While Georgia an California blueberries, as well as North Carolina blueberry shipments are nearly finished, Michigan got underway the week of June 27th and is now entering peak shipments.
British Columbia blueberry shipments started a little early this year and loadings are currently heavy.
Typically there’s a gap between Pacific Northwest and British Columbia blueberry shipments, but this year is an exception. However, Washington state, Oregon and British Columbia are all hitting good volumes at the same time, with peak shipments to hit in mid-July.
British Columbia was in full volume by about June 29 and New Jersey by the week of July 4th, while Michigan is expected to peak by the week of July 11.
New Jersey and Pacific Northwest blueberry shipments will likely start to taper off in the second half of July, when Michigan is expected to take over the lion’s share of blueberry loadings.
Washington state blueberries, and apples – grossing about $4000 to Chicago.
Southern New Jersey blueberries, – grossing about $1900 to Boston.
Quebec Apple Shipments
Quebec apple shipments are expected to get underway the week of September 12th. Apple loadings for the province’s 2015-16 crop are expected to wind down during the last half of July.
Onion Shipments
Onion shipments from the new crop are expected to get underway during the middle of August from Western Idaho and Mulheur County, OR. Volume should be up this season as a slight increase in acreage is reported. Onion shipments typically last through April. The area is known for its sweet Spanish onions, as well as whites, reds and yellows.
by U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council
FOLSOM, Calif. – The blueberry industry is projecting a 25 percent increase in North American production over a four-year span, growing from 750.2 million lb. in 2015 to 940 million lb. in 20191. North American production for 2016 is projected to again surpass 750 million lb., with global production anticipated to surpass 1.4 billion lb.
Soaring demand has created a nearly billion dollar industry in the U.S. Top-producing regions include California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington.
As the industry, led by the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC), promotes blueberries as healthy lifestyle staples, North American consumption and purchases continue to keep pace with supply. Specifically:
- North American per capita blueberry consumption grew nearly 50 percent between 2010-20152
- Fresh blueberry sales at U.S. retail amounted to $1.5 billion in 2015, up 7 percent versus 2014, making blueberries #2 in fresh berry dollar sales3
- Frozen blueberry sales reached $189.6 million in 2015, up 4 percent versus 2014, making blueberries #2 in frozen fruit dollar sales3
- In 2013, Americans were nearly twice as likely as they were in 2004 to buy blueberries in the coming year and 84 percent cited awareness of blueberry health benefits, up 115 percent over 20044
Growing Export Markets
North America isn’t the only market of focus for the blueberry industry. Approximately 10 percent of the total U.S. highbush crop is exported each year, with fresh exports totaling more than 79 million lb. in 2014, up 60 percent from 49.3 million lb. in 20055.
The USHBC aims to increase industry export figures substantially in the coming years by expanding existing export markets and opening new markets where fresh blueberries from the U.S. aren’t currently available, including Australia, Chile, China, Philippines, South Africa, South Korea and Vietnam.
About the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council
One hundred years after the first commercial crop of highbush blueberries was sold at a New Jersey farm stand, blueberry demand continues to keep pace with supply due to promotion efforts led by the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, an agriculture promotion group, representing blueberry growers and packers in North and South America who market their blueberries in the United States. The blueberry industry is committed to providing blueberries that are grown, harvested, packed and shipped in clean, safe environments.