Author Archive
As the federal government continues to pile rules and regulations on interstate trucking it is time shippers start treating truckers as partners. Times are rapidly changing in a world of cyberspace.
Jimmy DeMatteis is president of Des Moines Truck Brokers, Inc. (DMTB) of Norwalk, IA, that bills itself as “Iowa’s first and most nationally recognized third party logistics company.” Like it or not, DeMatteis says the day is coming when businesses are going to have to change the way they deal with the trucking industry or begin facing the consequences of government penalties.
“If you do anything to coerce these guys to go against the rules, hours of service, etc., they (the government) can issue severe penalties” that he notes can start at $2500 and go up to $25,000 for repeat offenders.
An example of these changing times comes with the implementation of e-logs.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued its final rule last December requiring the use of electronic logs in all 2000 and newer trucks in interstate commerce. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has filed a Petition for Review citing the rule as an intrusion into the rights of professional truckers and an invasion of a driver’s right to privacy.
DMTB arranges thousands of refrigerated produce and other fresh foods each year.
“There will be fines so you (shippers) have got to be careful telling motor carriers to get to their appointments, while the guy is still waiting to load at a dock. If you do anything to coerce these guys to go against the rules, hours of service, etc, they (government) can issue severe penalties. You can wait at a dock six to eight hours, and they tell the driver you have to have a load delivered in an unreasonable amount of time,” DeMatteis says. “You can’t do that anymore.”
The DMTB executive notes a down side to e-logs are many truckers feel they will make less money because of running fewer miles.
“Shippers and brokers have to be educated it is not business as usual. If you want good carriers it’s time to start treating them as partners. Carriers have always been blamed for everything and it is really inefficient shipping,,” he states.
DeMatteis calls for government to spend more time making trucking more efficient. “Instead, they too often take the adversarial route and treat everyone like an outlaw. The outlaws aren’t out there anymore.”
Continuing, he adds, “I want the carriers to survive. Shippers need to be more honest, efficient and accurate with shipping schedules and get the trucks out when they say they are going to get them out.”
ABOUT DES MOINES TRUCK BROKERS:
James A. DeMatteis starting hauling produce in 1951. As a small fleet owner in 1963 he became a broker of exempt commodities. This eventually evolved in 1969 into DMTB. The company was a one man operation until Jimmy DeMatteis joined in 1984. The third party logistics provider operates in 48 states, Canada and Mexico. It delivered over 10,000 loads last year, with over 98 percent of the deliveries being on time.
According to the DMTB website: “Our reputation on paying carriers fast is second to none. Its claims ratio is less than one half of one percent over the past five years.”
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Rimmed by hills and oil derricks, stretch miles of mandarin orange groves along the Maricopa Highway at the southwestern end of the San Joaquin Valley. These used to be cotton fields, but is now the epicenter of an agricultural boom that has turned mandarins into a rising star.
Since that expansion started in the late 1990s, California’s mandarin plantings have increased 10-fold, from 5,000 to 50,000 acres. The state now ships 92 percent of the nation’s mandarin crop, while Florida, troubled by citrus greening disease and obsolete varieties with seeds, has had its share drop to 8 percent, from 66 percent.
In the process, thanks to new offerings and skillful marketing, mandarins — popularly known as tangerines — have become very popular with American consumers. Mandarin consumption has doubled, to five pounds a year for every American, while orange sales have declined.
Native to China and northeastern India, mandarins are one of five original types of citrus (along with pummelos, citrons, kumquats and papedas) from which all others, like oranges and grapefruit, are derived. Until recently, because most mandarins were relatively small, delicate or full of seeds, they remained less cultivated than other citrus in the United States.
In the late 1990s, two companies with deep pockets and marketing savvy, Sun Pacific and Paramount Citrus (now Wonderful Citrus), gambled big with huge mandarin plantings on the Maricopa Highway, 25 miles southwest of Bakersfield, where they were isolated from other citrus whose pollen could make the fruit seedy.
As the Easter shipping period for a number of produce items approaches, here’s a look a few commodities coming out of California, Mexico and Florida.
Decent California strawberry volume is expected following a weeks of challenges regarding production. A wild winter for strawberries should stabilize enough to provide steady loading opportunities for Easter, which falls on March 27th.
The should mean steady volumes from the Oxnard and Santa Maria growing regions of California and from the Ruskin, FL area.
Because Easter is early this year, and based on the timing of this year’s crop, Florida strawberry shipments should be situated perfectly for Easter.
The past couple of Easters have fallen after peak Florida shipments.
Asparagus Shipments
Thanks to the early Easter this year, there should be enough asparagus shipments from Mexico and California. Mexican volumes will be declining for the season, but because of the early Easter, it should serve as a good supplement to California, which is having peak shipments.
Avocado Shipments
California avocado loadings should be plentiful this spring and summer, with volume expected to be up to 40 percent greater than last year’s. California is expected to produce 392.5 million pounds of avocados this season, up significantly from the 279 million pounds shipped last year. That would be approaching 10,000 truck load equivalents.
The California avocado harvest started in January, hit good volume by late March, with peak shipments occurring from April to July.
Most California avocado shipments are destined for markets are in the western U.S.,, while Mexico will continue shipping heavily into the Midwest and to the East Coast.
Kiwifruit Shipments
The California kiwifruit shipping season continues and about 40 percent of the six-million seven-pound trays remain. The fuzzy brown fruit is shipped out of California’s Central San Joaquin Valley. Loading will continue through May and as late as June.
Over the past 20 years blueberry shipments have soared.
Total blueberry shipments nationally in 1996 was 164 million pounds, with the largest producer being the Great Lakes at 45 million pounds, versus 25 million pounds from Oregon and Washington.
In 2015, total production was 711 million pounds, with 75 million pounds from the Great Lakes versus 196 million pounds from Oregon and Washington. That 2015 total production is equivalent to 17,775 truck loads.
If you count British Columbia and California, the shift from the East to the West is even more dramatic during that period, from 38 percent to 59 percent of total production.
Blueberry plantings continue at a brisk pace. Between 2007 and 2014, worldwide plantings grew at a compounded annual rate of 10 percent.
In North America, the figure for that period was 8 percent. By the end of 2014, blueberry acreage in North America totaled 143,636 acres. Worldwide, the total was 273,929 acres.
No slowdown in plantings is seen thus far, although like many other produce commodities over the years over production is bound to hit the blueberry industry.
One major change is that wild blueberries are becoming a direct competitor with highbush blueberries.
Wild blueberry growers now differentiate their product as “the better blueberry,” claiming wild blueberries taste better and provide twice the amount of antioxidants of planted blueberries.
The first domestic blueberry shipments each year usually start in late March from Florida.
B
y South Carolina Department of Agriculture
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina peach shippers are looking forward to an excellent peach crop in 2016 in spite of the challenges they faced last year. Favorable growing conditions have given growers a positive outlook for a fruitful crop of everyone’s favorite summertime treat.
After delays from heavy rains in the fall, growers immediately began working on the upcoming season. Planting new trees, installing irrigation lines, and pruning established orchards keep South Carolina growers busy year round. Countless hours of hard work are required in the fall and winter to set up ideal conditions for the spring and summer.
“We are off to a good start for the 2016 peach crop,” said Matt Forrest, President of the SC Peach Council and co-owner of Dixie Belle Peaches. “After a late start to winter, we now expect to accumulate more than enough of the necessary chill hours and are anticipating a normal bloom date in a few weeks.”
With an unusually warm fall, growers have been monitoring weather stations daily. Peach trees require between 600 – 1000 chill hours, depending on variety, to overcome dormancy. Farmers choose plant varieties that coincide with their location based on these figures to ensure the highest quality fruit. As the weather has finally turned cool, these hours below 45°F are steadily accumulating and South Carolina peach farmers feel confident that these requirements will be met.
“Although we had a late start to our winter season, once the cold temperatures arrived, we have been in an excellent position to accumulate chill hours with very consistent temperatures and highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s,” said Chalmers Carr, president of Titan Farms. “We are well-beyond the minimum chill hours necessary and look forward to a great spring leading into an even better peach season.”
With a firm foundation already laid for the 2016 peach season, South Carolina farmers are anticipating a successful season. As the top peach producing state on the East Coast, and second in the nation only to California, South Carolina represents a large percentage of the nation’s peach crop. Customers from across North America are expecting quality South Carolina peaches to put on their tables. South Carolina farmers are excited to again provide them with the tastiest peaches in the country.
In 2014 f.o.b. prices for San Joaquin Valley walnuts topped $2 a pound for higher-quality nuts. But even California walnut growers guilty of over production knew it wouldn’t last.
Walnut growers haven’t been told how much they’ll get for the nuts they sold last year, but some experts estimate that top prices may be no higher than 75 to 80 cents per pound. Those declining prices are the result of China increasing its production, while U.S. growers have become victims of their own success.
Walnuts have been one of the more stable and valuable agricultural commodities in the Central Valley — where about 90 percent of U.S. walnuts are grown. But over the past decade, farmers have planted more trees to expand their acreage, while others replaced other crops with walnuts in hopes of better returns.
Many trees reached maturity within the past couple of years, significantly increase walnut supplies. Additionally, China, normally a major buyer of U.S. walnuts, is expanding its own walnut industry and competing with U.S. growers. A strengthening U.S. dollar compared to the Euro, is also hurting prices.
While 2015 was a “bumper” year for walnut growers, what happens next season is uncertain, because of the heavier-than-average production per tree that generated a record 575,000 tons of nuts.
The industry was left with about 60,000 tons of unsold walnuts from last year — 20,000 tons more than average — which will have to be sold this year with the new nuts. A “bumper” harvest tends to be followed by less productive years, which should help reduce the glut of walnuts on the market and help elevate prices.
Record heat and above-normal rainfall have played havoc with Florida produce shipments, making tighter supplies likely for at least the next couple of months.
Florida cabbage shipments are particularly lacking, with some of the vegetables growing to the size of footballs, while other heads are maturing too slowly, risking they won’t be ready by the prime shipping time leading up to St. Patrick’s Day – March 17th.
The situation is really serious in South Florida, which was deluged by nearly eight inches of rain in four days in early December. Afterward, shipments of cucumbers, endive, escarole, radishes, squash, grape and Roma tomatoes plummeted.
At the end of January, 14 of 15 shipments of different Florida vegetable crops were running behind, with celery, squash, cabbage, broccoli, strawberries, sweet corn and avocados among the hardest hit.
The Florida Department of Agriculture predicts shortages will continue through late March or early April.
April and May are typically the months for heaviest Florida produce shipments during the year. How long the peak shipping season lasts usually depends upon when summer heat starts taking its toll.
Florida produce shipments – grossing about $2100 to New York City.
by Fresh Solutions Network, LLC
San Francisco, CA – Fresh Solutions Network announced its packaging design award from Graphic Design USA, American Packaging Design Awards. The award celebrates Side Delights® Roastables fresh potato package design, with its vibrant color palette and rustic visuals, encouraging a perfect potato choice for dinner tonight.
“We had very clear objectives for the design team to express the potential of potatoes as a canvas for bold flavors, while providing the best packaging design on the market,” said Kathleen Triou, President and CEO of Fresh Solutions Network, “We designed the packaging with a very specific audience in mind; stimulating shoppers’ creativity both in-store and at home.”
Side Delights® Roastables are the finest quality, triple-washed, “Awesome Little Yellows,” “Rad Little Reds,” and “Red and Yellow Combo” petite potato varieties. The packaging was designed to appeal to the growing, and coveted group of Millennial shoppers, who are self-described as adventurous with their food choices, frequently trying new recipes featuring fresh food items, and consider food preparation as an important feature of their lifestyle.
Side Delights® Roastables include sachets of delicious, Montana Mex spice blends made with pure, sustainably sourced, gluten-free, 100 percent natural spices. These spice blends appeal to everyone with taste buds, and encourage recipe experimentation at home.
About Fresh Solutions Network, LLC:
Fresh Solutions Network is a group of family owned growers and shippers who choose to work together to make the potato and onion industry better for everyone. FSN helps fresh potato and onion buyers grow their categories, maximize category investment, and increase sales. FSN delivers category insights, collaborative innovation and customized assortment. Fresh Solutions Network, LLC partners are: Sterman Masser, Inc. (Masser Potato Farms and Keystone Potato Products in Sacramento and Hegins, PA), Michael Family Farms, Inc. (Urbana, OH), Basin Gold Cooperative, Inc. (Pasco, WA), Green Thumb Farms, Inc. (Fryeburg, ME), Red Isle Potato Growers, Ltd. (Prince Edward Island, Canada), NoKota Packers, Inc. (Buxton, ND), Sun-Glo of Idaho, Inc. (Sugar City, ID) and Mac Farms (Lake Wales, FL).
A 20-year lease agreement with Port Everglades has been renewed by Marine terminal operator King Ocean Services Ltd. Inc.
King Ocean operates twice a week from Port Everglades with services to Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela and Aruba, The company recently celebrated its 22nd year at the port and the agreement at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., port calls for a minimum 72,000 container lifts annually over an initial 10-year term.
King Ocean nearly doubled its port marine terminal recently to 41 total acres in two locations and in 2015, moved 153,984 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) through the port, according to a news release.
The agreement includes relocating King Ocean’s terminal within the port’s Southport cargo area during construction of the port’s Southport Turning Notch Extension project which is designed to lengthen the deep water turnaround area from 900 feet to 2,400 feet.
Those improvements should allow for up to five new cargo berths and construction is expected to begin in early 2017 and be completed by the end of 2019, according to the release.
“King Ocean has established successful business models at Port Everglades that take advantage of the port’s robust trade lanes to Latin American and the Caribbean and direct highway access,” Steven Cernak, the port’s director and CEO, said in the release.
The roller coaster ride of western winter desert vegetables has seen peaks and valleys in volume over the past three months and it is not over yet.
Light shipments of Western vegetables occurred in holidays ranging from Thanksgiving and Christmas through New Years and well into January. Then volume experienced a dramatic increase with lettuce and many vegetables heading into February. However, a potential shipping gap is looming as it appears winter vegetable shipments may come to a conclusion in mid- to late March. This would be ahead of the transition for many produce shippers to the Salinas and Santa Maria valleys.
The winter weather forecasts of hugh amounts of rains El Niño in Southern California have failed to materialize. Although a wet March is still being forecast. If that occurs and it drenches the desert, an even earlier end to vegetable shipments would most likely occur.
Some are saying that regardless of the El Niño situation, desert loadings are going to end early. While Salinas Valley vegetable shipments might get an early start, volume still will be light.
There will be some early Salinas fields harvested from mid-March to mid-April, but shipments will be variable at best.
Yuma, AZ vegetables shipments – grossing about $5700 to New York City.
As the federal government continues to pile rules and regulations on interstate trucking it is time shippers start treating truckers as partners. Times are rapidly changing in a world of cyberspace.
Jimmy DeMatteis is president of Des Moines Truck Brokers, Inc. (DMTB) of Norwalk, IA, that bills itself as “Iowa’s first and most nationally recognized third party logistics company.” Like it or not, DeMatteis says the day is coming when businesses are going to have to change the way they deal with the trucking industry or begin facing the consequences of government penalties.
“If you do anything to coerce these guys to go against the rules, hours of service, etc., they (the government) can issue severe penalties” that he notes can start at $2500 and go up to $25,000 for repeat offenders.
An example of these changing times comes with the implementation of e-logs.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued its final rule last December requiring the use of electronic logs in all 2000 and newer trucks in interstate commerce. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has filed a Petition for Review citing the rule as an intrusion into the rights of professional truckers and an invasion of a driver’s right to privacy.
DMTB arranges thousands of refrigerated produce and other fresh foods each year.
“There will be fines so you (shippers) have got to be careful telling motor carriers to get to their appointments, while the guy is still waiting to load at a dock. If you do anything to coerce these guys to go against the rules, hours of service, etc, they (government) can issue severe penalties. You can wait at a dock six to eight hours, and they tell the driver you have to have a load delivered in an unreasonable amount of time,” DeMatteis says. “You can’t do that anymore.”
The DMTB executive notes a down side to e-logs are many truckers feel they will make less money because of running fewer miles.
“Shippers and brokers have to be educated it is not business as usual. If you want good carriers it’s time to start treating them as partners. Carriers have always been blamed for everything and it is really inefficient shipping,,” he states.
DeMatteis calls for government to spend more time making trucking more efficient. “Instead, they too often take the adversarial route and treat everyone like an outlaw. The outlaws aren’t out there anymore.”
Continuing, he adds, “I want the carriers to survive. Shippers need to be more honest, efficient and accurate with shipping schedules and get the trucks out when they say they are going to get them out.”
ABOUT DES MOINES TRUCK BROKERS:
James A. DeMatteis starting hauling produce in 1951. As a small fleet owner in 1963 he became a broker of exempt commodities. This eventually evolved in 1969 into DMTB. The company was a one man operation until Jimmy DeMatteis joined in 1984. The third party logistics provider operates in 48 states, Canada and Mexico. It delivered over 10,000 loads last year, with over 98 percent of the deliveries being on time.
According to the DMTB website: “Our reputation on paying carriers fast is second to none. Its claims ratio is less than one half of one percent over the past five years.”
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Rimmed by hills and oil derricks, stretch miles of mandarin orange groves along the Maricopa Highway at the southwestern end of the San Joaquin Valley. These used to be cotton fields, but is now the epicenter of an agricultural boom that has turned mandarins into a rising star.
Since that expansion started in the late 1990s, California’s mandarin plantings have increased 10-fold, from 5,000 to 50,000 acres. The state now ships 92 percent of the nation’s mandarin crop, while Florida, troubled by citrus greening disease and obsolete varieties with seeds, has had its share drop to 8 percent, from 66 percent.
In the process, thanks to new offerings and skillful marketing, mandarins — popularly known as tangerines — have become very popular with American consumers. Mandarin consumption has doubled, to five pounds a year for every American, while orange sales have declined.
Native to China and northeastern India, mandarins are one of five original types of citrus (along with pummelos, citrons, kumquats and papedas) from which all others, like oranges and grapefruit, are derived. Until recently, because most mandarins were relatively small, delicate or full of seeds, they remained less cultivated than other citrus in the United States.
In the late 1990s, two companies with deep pockets and marketing savvy, Sun Pacific and Paramount Citrus (now Wonderful Citrus), gambled big with huge mandarin plantings on the Maricopa Highway, 25 miles southwest of Bakersfield, where they were isolated from other citrus whose pollen could make the fruit seedy.
As the Easter shipping period for a number of produce items approaches, here’s a look a few commodities coming out of California, Mexico and Florida.
Decent California strawberry volume is expected following a weeks of challenges regarding production. A wild winter for strawberries should stabilize enough to provide steady loading opportunities for Easter, which falls on March 27th.
The should mean steady volumes from the Oxnard and Santa Maria growing regions of California and from the Ruskin, FL area.
Because Easter is early this year, and based on the timing of this year’s crop, Florida strawberry shipments should be situated perfectly for Easter.
The past couple of Easters have fallen after peak Florida shipments.
Asparagus Shipments
Thanks to the early Easter this year, there should be enough asparagus shipments from Mexico and California. Mexican volumes will be declining for the season, but because of the early Easter, it should serve as a good supplement to California, which is having peak shipments.
Avocado Shipments
California avocado loadings should be plentiful this spring and summer, with volume expected to be up to 40 percent greater than last year’s. California is expected to produce 392.5 million pounds of avocados this season, up significantly from the 279 million pounds shipped last year. That would be approaching 10,000 truck load equivalents.
The California avocado harvest started in January, hit good volume by late March, with peak shipments occurring from April to July.
Most California avocado shipments are destined for markets are in the western U.S.,, while Mexico will continue shipping heavily into the Midwest and to the East Coast.
Kiwifruit Shipments
The California kiwifruit shipping season continues and about 40 percent of the six-million seven-pound trays remain. The fuzzy brown fruit is shipped out of California’s Central San Joaquin Valley. Loading will continue through May and as late as June.
Over the past 20 years blueberry shipments have soared.Total blueberry shipments nationally in 1996 was 164 million pounds, with the largest producer being the Great Lakes at 45 million pounds, versus 25 million pounds from Oregon and Washington.
In 2015, total production was 711 million pounds, with 75 million pounds from the Great Lakes versus 196 million pounds from Oregon and Washington. That 2015 total production is equivalent to 17,775 truck loads.
If you count British Columbia and California, the shift from the East to the West is even more dramatic during that period, from 38 percent to 59 percent of total production.
Blueberry plantings continue at a brisk pace. Between 2007 and 2014, worldwide plantings grew at a compounded annual rate of 10 percent.
In North America, the figure for that period was 8 percent. By the end of 2014, blueberry acreage in North America totaled 143,636 acres. Worldwide, the total was 273,929 acres.
No slowdown in plantings is seen thus far, although like many other produce commodities over the years over production is bound to hit the blueberry industry.
One major change is that wild blueberries are becoming a direct competitor with highbush blueberries.
Wild blueberry growers now differentiate their product as “the better blueberry,” claiming wild blueberries taste better and provide twice the amount of antioxidants of planted blueberries.
The first domestic blueberry shipments each year usually start in late March from Florida.
By South Carolina Department of Agriculture
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina peach shippers are looking forward to an excellent peach crop in 2016 in spite of the challenges they faced last year. Favorable growing conditions have given growers a positive outlook for a fruitful crop of everyone’s favorite summertime treat.
After delays from heavy rains in the fall, growers immediately began working on the upcoming season. Planting new trees, installing irrigation lines, and pruning established orchards keep South Carolina growers busy year round. Countless hours of hard work are required in the fall and winter to set up ideal conditions for the spring and summer.
“We are off to a good start for the 2016 peach crop,” said Matt Forrest, President of the SC Peach Council and co-owner of Dixie Belle Peaches. “After a late start to winter, we now expect to accumulate more than enough of the necessary chill hours and are anticipating a normal bloom date in a few weeks.”
With an unusually warm fall, growers have been monitoring weather stations daily. Peach trees require between 600 – 1000 chill hours, depending on variety, to overcome dormancy. Farmers choose plant varieties that coincide with their location based on these figures to ensure the highest quality fruit. As the weather has finally turned cool, these hours below 45°F are steadily accumulating and South Carolina peach farmers feel confident that these requirements will be met.
“Although we had a late start to our winter season, once the cold temperatures arrived, we have been in an excellent position to accumulate chill hours with very consistent temperatures and highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s,” said Chalmers Carr, president of Titan Farms. “We are well-beyond the minimum chill hours necessary and look forward to a great spring leading into an even better peach season.”
With a firm foundation already laid for the 2016 peach season, South Carolina farmers are anticipating a successful season. As the top peach producing state on the East Coast, and second in the nation only to California, South Carolina represents a large percentage of the nation’s peach crop. Customers from across North America are expecting quality South Carolina peaches to put on their tables. South Carolina farmers are excited to again provide them with the tastiest peaches in the country.
In 2014 f.o.b. prices for San Joaquin Valley walnuts topped $2 a pound for higher-quality nuts. But even California walnut growers guilty of over production knew it wouldn’t last.
Walnut growers haven’t been told how much they’ll get for the nuts they sold last year, but some experts estimate that top prices may be no higher than 75 to 80 cents per pound. Those declining prices are the result of China increasing its production, while U.S. growers have become victims of their own success.
Walnuts have been one of the more stable and valuable agricultural commodities in the Central Valley — where about 90 percent of U.S. walnuts are grown. But over the past decade, farmers have planted more trees to expand their acreage, while others replaced other crops with walnuts in hopes of better returns.
Many trees reached maturity within the past couple of years, significantly increase walnut supplies. Additionally, China, normally a major buyer of U.S. walnuts, is expanding its own walnut industry and competing with U.S. growers. A strengthening U.S. dollar compared to the Euro, is also hurting prices.
While 2015 was a “bumper” year for walnut growers, what happens next season is uncertain, because of the heavier-than-average production per tree that generated a record 575,000 tons of nuts.
The industry was left with about 60,000 tons of unsold walnuts from last year — 20,000 tons more than average — which will have to be sold this year with the new nuts. A “bumper” harvest tends to be followed by less productive years, which should help reduce the glut of walnuts on the market and help elevate prices.
Record heat and above-normal rainfall have played havoc with Florida produce shipments, making tighter supplies likely for at least the next couple of months.
Florida cabbage shipments are particularly lacking, with some of the vegetables growing to the size of footballs, while other heads are maturing too slowly, risking they won’t be ready by the prime shipping time leading up to St. Patrick’s Day – March 17th.
The situation is really serious in South Florida, which was deluged by nearly eight inches of rain in four days in early December. Afterward, shipments of cucumbers, endive, escarole, radishes, squash, grape and Roma tomatoes plummeted.
At the end of January, 14 of 15 shipments of different Florida vegetable crops were running behind, with celery, squash, cabbage, broccoli, strawberries, sweet corn and avocados among the hardest hit.
The Florida Department of Agriculture predicts shortages will continue through late March or early April.
April and May are typically the months for heaviest Florida produce shipments during the year. How long the peak shipping season lasts usually depends upon when summer heat starts taking its toll.
Florida produce shipments – grossing about $2100 to New York City.
by Fresh Solutions Network, LLC
San Francisco, CA – Fresh Solutions Network announced its packaging design award from Graphic Design USA, American Packaging Design Awards. The award celebrates Side Delights® Roastables fresh potato package design, with its vibrant color palette and rustic visuals, encouraging a perfect potato choice for dinner tonight.
“We had very clear objectives for the design team to express the potential of potatoes as a canvas for bold flavors, while providing the best packaging design on the market,” said Kathleen Triou, President and CEO of Fresh Solutions Network, “We designed the packaging with a very specific audience in mind; stimulating shoppers’ creativity both in-store and at home.”
Side Delights® Roastables are the finest quality, triple-washed, “Awesome Little Yellows,” “Rad Little Reds,” and “Red and Yellow Combo” petite potato varieties. The packaging was designed to appeal to the growing, and coveted group of Millennial shoppers, who are self-described as adventurous with their food choices, frequently trying new recipes featuring fresh food items, and consider food preparation as an important feature of their lifestyle.
Side Delights® Roastables include sachets of delicious, Montana Mex spice blends made with pure, sustainably sourced, gluten-free, 100 percent natural spices. These spice blends appeal to everyone with taste buds, and encourage recipe experimentation at home.
About Fresh Solutions Network, LLC:
Fresh Solutions Network is a group of family owned growers and shippers who choose to work together to make the potato and onion industry better for everyone. FSN helps fresh potato and onion buyers grow their categories, maximize category investment, and increase sales. FSN delivers category insights, collaborative innovation and customized assortment. Fresh Solutions Network, LLC partners are: Sterman Masser, Inc. (Masser Potato Farms and Keystone Potato Products in Sacramento and Hegins, PA), Michael Family Farms, Inc. (Urbana, OH), Basin Gold Cooperative, Inc. (Pasco, WA), Green Thumb Farms, Inc. (Fryeburg, ME), Red Isle Potato Growers, Ltd. (Prince Edward Island, Canada), NoKota Packers, Inc. (Buxton, ND), Sun-Glo of Idaho, Inc. (Sugar City, ID) and Mac Farms (Lake Wales, FL).
A 20-year lease agreement with Port Everglades has been renewed by Marine terminal operator King Ocean Services Ltd. Inc.
King Ocean operates twice a week from Port Everglades with services to Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela and Aruba, The company recently celebrated its 22nd year at the port and the agreement at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., port calls for a minimum 72,000 container lifts annually over an initial 10-year term.
King Ocean nearly doubled its port marine terminal recently to 41 total acres in two locations and in 2015, moved 153,984 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) through the port, according to a news release.
The agreement includes relocating King Ocean’s terminal within the port’s Southport cargo area during construction of the port’s Southport Turning Notch Extension project which is designed to lengthen the deep water turnaround area from 900 feet to 2,400 feet.
Those improvements should allow for up to five new cargo berths and construction is expected to begin in early 2017 and be completed by the end of 2019, according to the release.
“King Ocean has established successful business models at Port Everglades that take advantage of the port’s robust trade lanes to Latin American and the Caribbean and direct highway access,” Steven Cernak, the port’s director and CEO, said in the release.
The roller coaster ride of western winter desert vegetables has seen peaks and valleys in volume over the past three months and it is not over yet.
Light shipments of Western vegetables occurred in holidays ranging from Thanksgiving and Christmas through New Years and well into January. Then volume experienced a dramatic increase with lettuce and many vegetables heading into February. However, a potential shipping gap is looming as it appears winter vegetable shipments may come to a conclusion in mid- to late March. This would be ahead of the transition for many produce shippers to the Salinas and Santa Maria valleys.
The winter weather forecasts of hugh amounts of rains El Niño in Southern California have failed to materialize. Although a wet March is still being forecast. If that occurs and it drenches the desert, an even earlier end to vegetable shipments would most likely occur.
Some are saying that regardless of the El Niño situation, desert loadings are going to end early. While Salinas Valley vegetable shipments might get an early start, volume still will be light.
There will be some early Salinas fields harvested from mid-March to mid-April, but shipments will be variable at best.
Yuma, AZ vegetables shipments – grossing about $5700 to New York City.