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New Jersey continues to be one of the leading states for produce shipments, particularly to destinations east of the Mississippi River and into eastern Canada.
A cold wet spring has delayed maturity and harvest of Jersey vegetables up to three weeks this spring. However, items such as baby spinach, arugula and spring mix got started a couple of weeks ago. As June closes out there should be loadings available with peppers, cucumbers, squash, eggplant and tomatoes, among other items.
Some other New Jersey produce shipments are lettuce, cabbage, corn, parlsey, cilantrol, beans, as well as blueberries and peaches.
New Jersey blueberry shipments should get underway in light volume about June 19th. Peaches will be coming on a few weeks later.
Most New Jersey produce originates out of the Southern part of the state from rural areas such as Vineland, Cedarville and Hammonton.
California stone fruit shipments have started within the past couple of weeks and volume is building.
These items, primarily peaches, plums and nectarines – and to a lesser extent apricots – play a key role every spring and summer in determing how high produce rates will go out of California.
Early indications point to average volume for stone fruit this season – at the very best. Before it is over, total shipments could be below average.
Peach shipments started the third week of May, followed a week later by plums and nectarines. Most California stone fruit loadings occur during a 90-day period spread out between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
The San Joaquin Valley really gets humping as we enter July when table grape shipments crank up. Grapes seems to be one of the few crops in recent years that have had record setting volume.
Stone fruit – grossing about $5200 to Chicago.
It has been rainy, it has been cold, but Georgia vegetables seem have weathered the storms and are finally getting on track, albeit two weeks later – and in some cases even more – than we’re used to.
The biggest volume items coming out of Georgia are bell peppers, cucumbers and squash, although there are a number of other vegetables such as sweet corn, green beans, carrots, greens, and cabbage, as well as blueberries. There also are Vidalia sweet onions, which have been paying 25 to 40 percent more on the freight rates compared to mixed veggies.
This year is the latest start on record for mixed vegetable shipments out of central and southern Georgia, according to some shippers. Items such as peppers, cukes and squash are typically finished shipping in early July. With such a late start, it is up in the air whether the season will extend beyond early July. As always, weather factors rule.
In Southeastern Georgia, the season for non-storage Vidalia onions, as well as the harvest are complete. Further loadings will be coming out of storage and should continue into September. Sweet onions are not always known for holding up well in storage. However, thus far shippers are reporting good quality and let’s hope it holds up for the duration of the storage season.
South and central Georgia vegetables and blueberries – grossing about $2700 to New York City.
Vidalia onions – grossing about $3600 to New York City.
By Fresh Produce Association of the Americas
Nogales, AZ — With the heart of the 2013-14 Mexican produce season coming to a close, the numbers are in, and they show that Nogales is widening its lead over South Texas.
For the season beginning in September of 2013, and through April of 2014, about 37% of the Mexican fresh fruits and vegetables that were consumed in North America crossed through Nogales. This compares to about 28% of total volume for the crossing region in South Texas, comprised of Pharr and Progresso, Texas.
The 2013 crossing report information, gathered from the USDA website, reflects that Nogales enjoyed a dramatic 17% increase over the prior season versus other ports that have remained flat or realized much smaller increases. This is due to several factors, including improvements at the new Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, which are decreasing the amount of time a truck waits in line at the border.
For instance, the revamped Mariposa Port of Entry has doubled the number of commercial crossing lanes. To add to the processing efficiency, as part of the 2014 Omnibus Spending Bill, Nogales will be receiving 120 additional Customs Officers to facilitate trade at the expanded port. The Arizona Department of Transportation has also made significant improvements on the road leading into the U.S. from the port, including widening and adding additional lanes for vehicles to access I-19.
There’s no less than six regions currently active with California produce shipments. Here’s a look at each of those areas and how loading opportunities look. This is the time of year when produce freight rates are typically peaking and we’ll take a look at those as well.
Salinas Valley produce shipments, comprised primarily of mixed vegetables, strawberries and raspberries are moving into full volume, although there are some shipping gaps occurring with veggies. Lettuce shipments, led by iceberg and romaine are averaging over 1700 truckload equivalents per week. There also broccoli, cauliflower and dozens of other lesser volume vegetables being shipped.
You should gross about $8300 to New York City.
Santa Maria District is shipping many of the same items as the Salinas Valley, but in much smaller volume, with more pick ups, unless a shipper consolidates loads.
San Joaquin Valley produce shipments have every thing from mixed vegetables to stone fruit and blueberries and melons in the central valley.
Produce items grossing about $8200 to New York City.
Kern County has primarily carrots and potatoes available.
Southern California is relatively quiet with the exit of berries to Santa Maria and Watsonville. There are still some avocados and citrus and a few tomatoes — grossing about $7900 to New York City.
Desert Shipments including Coachella Valley table grapes, peppers, sweet corn and eggplant are available, grossing about $8100 to New York City.
A USDA Economic Research Service report reports higher consumption of fruit is associated with a lower body weight, but the same does not appear to be true for vegetables.
The USDA’s report, called “Healthy Vegetables Undermined by the Company They Keep,” said that processing and preparation methods plays a role in the influence of fruits and vegetables on body weight.
“Earlier ERS research found fruit consumption to be linked to healthier weight status, but for vegetable consumption there was no such link,” said report authors Joanne Guthrie and Biing-Hwan Lin. The report, issued in early May, said fruits are consumed in their natural states more than vegetables.
“Unlike naturally sweet fruit, Americans may find vegetables more palatable if prepared with added fats or oils, such as in fried potatoes or creamed spinach, or in a mixed dish like pizza,” according to the study. Americans often eat vegetables prepared in ways that add calories and sodium and remove dietary fiber.
Research in 2002 found that, on average, healthy weight children and adults ate more fruit than their overweight peers.
“Higher fruit consumption was associated with lower BMI for adult men and women and for adolescent girls and boys 10 years of age and above,” according to the study. However, total vegetable consumption had no association with body weight, the authors said. The 2002 study found that when vegetables were separated into two groups — white potatoes only, and all other vegetables — white potato intake was associated with higher BMI for both adult men and women. The study found that intake of vegetables other than potatoes was associated with lower BMI among women but not among any other age-sex groups.
Georgia peach shipments got off to a very light start a couple of weeks ago, but should experience a significant volume increase by the middle of June. However, the best loading opportunities from the Fort Valley area will take place during the month of July. Shipments should continue until at least the middle of August. So far, Georgia peach loadings have been only about 30 percent of normal due to a harsh winter and early spring weather conditions.
Meanwhile, South Carolina peach shipments only started about a week ago, which like Georgia, are running a week or two later than normal. The best loading opportunities for South Carolina peaches will be from about mid July until the middle of August, with the season ending by Labor Day.
The long awaited loadings of cherry from the Pacific Northwest get underway this week from the Tri-Cities area in Washington state. Initial volume will be with Chelans, with the more popular Bing variety coming about a week later.
Unlike California cherry shipments, where volume was down this season, the Northwest should experience a significant increase in cherry loadings. Total cherry shipments, mostly out of Washington state, should hit 20 million boxes, up from only 13 million boxes last year.
Washington state typically accounts for about 75 percent of the cherry shipments out of the Northwest, with most of the volume coming out of the Yakima and Wenatchee valleys. However, it is the Tri-City area where initial loadings occur as it spreads to the southern Columbia Basin and the lower Yakima Valley within the next week or so.
(Reuters Health) – Eating more fruits and vegetables may reduce stroke risk by almost a third, according to a fresh look at recent evidence. The results support existing recommendations from organizations like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which already call for a diet rich in fresh greens.
“The findings are consistent with the current knowledge that increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables should be encouraged to prevent stroke,” Dr. Yan Qu said in an email. Qu, of the Qingdao Municipal Hospital and the Medical College of Qingdao University in Qingdao, China, led the analysis.
A stroke occurs when bloodflow to part of the brain is blocked by a clot or a burst blood vessel. Without emergency care, a stroke can lead to severe brain damage or death. Stroke remains the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the CDC. Several studies have looked at the influence of diet on stroke risk. Some have tied eating lots of fruits and vegetables to lowered risk; others have found no link at all.
The effect could be indirect, and eating fruits and vegetables may benefit overall health by reducing blood pressure, cholesterol, weight and other stroke risk factors, Qu said. It’s also possible that specific nutrients in the foods may reduce stroke risk, he said. To get a better understanding of the relationship between stroke risk and plants in the diet, the researchers searched for reports from recent decades that tracked the eating habits and health of men and women around the world.
Twenty studies examining a total of 16,981 strokes among 760,629 participants were included in the analysis. Overall, the people who ate the most fruits and vegetables were 21 percent less likely to have a stroke, compared to people who ate the lowest amounts, the researchers found.
The benefits rose along with the amounts of produce consumed. Stroke risk fell by 32 percent for every 200 grams (g) per day of fruit people ate, and 11 percent with every 200 g of vegetables. The researchers found that citrus fruits, leafy vegetables and apples and pears were the specific types of greenery linked to reduced stroke risk.
Pear Bureau Northwest, the nonprofit marketing association that promotes fresh pears grown in Oregon and Washington, recently commissioned nutrition research examining fresh pear consumption and the associated nutrition and health benefits.
The research, which was led by Victor Fulgoni III, Ph.D, was presented at Experimental Biology in San Diego and revealed that when compared with non-consumers, fresh pear consumers had a better nutrition profile and overall better quality of diet (for example, more dietary fibre, vitamin C, copper, magnesium and potassium). Fresh pear consumers also had lower added sugar intake, as well as lower intake of total fat, mono-unsaturated fat and saturated fat. Furthermore, the likelihood of being obese was 35 percent lower among fresh pear consumers than among their non-consumer counterparts.
The association between fresh pear consumption with nutrient intake, dietary quality and risk of obesity was examined in adults 19 years old and older participating in the 2001-10 National Health & Nutrition Examination Survey. Energy and nutrient intakes were calculated using the USDA’s Food & Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies.
“We are pleased to see healthy pears as part of the greater scientific conversation and look forward to growing our nutrition research and communications program,” Kevin Moffitt, president and chief executive officer of Pear Bureau Northwest, said in a press release.
New Jersey continues to be one of the leading states for produce shipments, particularly to destinations east of the Mississippi River and into eastern Canada.
A cold wet spring has delayed maturity and harvest of Jersey vegetables up to three weeks this spring. However, items such as baby spinach, arugula and spring mix got started a couple of weeks ago. As June closes out there should be loadings available with peppers, cucumbers, squash, eggplant and tomatoes, among other items.
Some other New Jersey produce shipments are lettuce, cabbage, corn, parlsey, cilantrol, beans, as well as blueberries and peaches.
New Jersey blueberry shipments should get underway in light volume about June 19th. Peaches will be coming on a few weeks later.
Most New Jersey produce originates out of the Southern part of the state from rural areas such as Vineland, Cedarville and Hammonton.
California stone fruit shipments have started within the past couple of weeks and volume is building.
These items, primarily peaches, plums and nectarines – and to a lesser extent apricots – play a key role every spring and summer in determing how high produce rates will go out of California.
Early indications point to average volume for stone fruit this season – at the very best. Before it is over, total shipments could be below average.
Peach shipments started the third week of May, followed a week later by plums and nectarines. Most California stone fruit loadings occur during a 90-day period spread out between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
The San Joaquin Valley really gets humping as we enter July when table grape shipments crank up. Grapes seems to be one of the few crops in recent years that have had record setting volume.
Stone fruit – grossing about $5200 to Chicago.
It has been rainy, it has been cold, but Georgia vegetables seem have weathered the storms and are finally getting on track, albeit two weeks later – and in some cases even more – than we’re used to.
The biggest volume items coming out of Georgia are bell peppers, cucumbers and squash, although there are a number of other vegetables such as sweet corn, green beans, carrots, greens, and cabbage, as well as blueberries. There also are Vidalia sweet onions, which have been paying 25 to 40 percent more on the freight rates compared to mixed veggies.
This year is the latest start on record for mixed vegetable shipments out of central and southern Georgia, according to some shippers. Items such as peppers, cukes and squash are typically finished shipping in early July. With such a late start, it is up in the air whether the season will extend beyond early July. As always, weather factors rule.
In Southeastern Georgia, the season for non-storage Vidalia onions, as well as the harvest are complete. Further loadings will be coming out of storage and should continue into September. Sweet onions are not always known for holding up well in storage. However, thus far shippers are reporting good quality and let’s hope it holds up for the duration of the storage season.
South and central Georgia vegetables and blueberries – grossing about $2700 to New York City.
Vidalia onions – grossing about $3600 to New York City.
By Fresh Produce Association of the Americas
Nogales, AZ — With the heart of the 2013-14 Mexican produce season coming to a close, the numbers are in, and they show that Nogales is widening its lead over South Texas.
For the season beginning in September of 2013, and through April of 2014, about 37% of the Mexican fresh fruits and vegetables that were consumed in North America crossed through Nogales. This compares to about 28% of total volume for the crossing region in South Texas, comprised of Pharr and Progresso, Texas.
The 2013 crossing report information, gathered from the USDA website, reflects that Nogales enjoyed a dramatic 17% increase over the prior season versus other ports that have remained flat or realized much smaller increases. This is due to several factors, including improvements at the new Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, which are decreasing the amount of time a truck waits in line at the border.
For instance, the revamped Mariposa Port of Entry has doubled the number of commercial crossing lanes. To add to the processing efficiency, as part of the 2014 Omnibus Spending Bill, Nogales will be receiving 120 additional Customs Officers to facilitate trade at the expanded port. The Arizona Department of Transportation has also made significant improvements on the road leading into the U.S. from the port, including widening and adding additional lanes for vehicles to access I-19.
There’s no less than six regions currently active with California produce shipments. Here’s a look at each of those areas and how loading opportunities look. This is the time of year when produce freight rates are typically peaking and we’ll take a look at those as well.
Salinas Valley produce shipments, comprised primarily of mixed vegetables, strawberries and raspberries are moving into full volume, although there are some shipping gaps occurring with veggies. Lettuce shipments, led by iceberg and romaine are averaging over 1700 truckload equivalents per week. There also broccoli, cauliflower and dozens of other lesser volume vegetables being shipped.
You should gross about $8300 to New York City.
Santa Maria District is shipping many of the same items as the Salinas Valley, but in much smaller volume, with more pick ups, unless a shipper consolidates loads.
San Joaquin Valley produce shipments have every thing from mixed vegetables to stone fruit and blueberries and melons in the central valley.
Produce items grossing about $8200 to New York City.
Kern County has primarily carrots and potatoes available.
Southern California is relatively quiet with the exit of berries to Santa Maria and Watsonville. There are still some avocados and citrus and a few tomatoes — grossing about $7900 to New York City.
Desert Shipments including Coachella Valley table grapes, peppers, sweet corn and eggplant are available, grossing about $8100 to New York City.
A USDA Economic Research Service report reports higher consumption of fruit is associated with a lower body weight, but the same does not appear to be true for vegetables.
The USDA’s report, called “Healthy Vegetables Undermined by the Company They Keep,” said that processing and preparation methods plays a role in the influence of fruits and vegetables on body weight.
“Earlier ERS research found fruit consumption to be linked to healthier weight status, but for vegetable consumption there was no such link,” said report authors Joanne Guthrie and Biing-Hwan Lin. The report, issued in early May, said fruits are consumed in their natural states more than vegetables.
“Unlike naturally sweet fruit, Americans may find vegetables more palatable if prepared with added fats or oils, such as in fried potatoes or creamed spinach, or in a mixed dish like pizza,” according to the study. Americans often eat vegetables prepared in ways that add calories and sodium and remove dietary fiber.
Research in 2002 found that, on average, healthy weight children and adults ate more fruit than their overweight peers.
“Higher fruit consumption was associated with lower BMI for adult men and women and for adolescent girls and boys 10 years of age and above,” according to the study. However, total vegetable consumption had no association with body weight, the authors said. The 2002 study found that when vegetables were separated into two groups — white potatoes only, and all other vegetables — white potato intake was associated with higher BMI for both adult men and women. The study found that intake of vegetables other than potatoes was associated with lower BMI among women but not among any other age-sex groups.
Georgia peach shipments got off to a very light start a couple of weeks ago, but should experience a significant volume increase by the middle of June. However, the best loading opportunities from the Fort Valley area will take place during the month of July. Shipments should continue until at least the middle of August. So far, Georgia peach loadings have been only about 30 percent of normal due to a harsh winter and early spring weather conditions.
Meanwhile, South Carolina peach shipments only started about a week ago, which like Georgia, are running a week or two later than normal. The best loading opportunities for South Carolina peaches will be from about mid July until the middle of August, with the season ending by Labor Day.
The long awaited loadings of cherry from the Pacific Northwest get underway this week from the Tri-Cities area in Washington state. Initial volume will be with Chelans, with the more popular Bing variety coming about a week later.
Unlike California cherry shipments, where volume was down this season, the Northwest should experience a significant increase in cherry loadings. Total cherry shipments, mostly out of Washington state, should hit 20 million boxes, up from only 13 million boxes last year.
Washington state typically accounts for about 75 percent of the cherry shipments out of the Northwest, with most of the volume coming out of the Yakima and Wenatchee valleys. However, it is the Tri-City area where initial loadings occur as it spreads to the southern Columbia Basin and the lower Yakima Valley within the next week or so.
(Reuters Health) – Eating more fruits and vegetables may reduce stroke risk by almost a third, according to a fresh look at recent evidence. The results support existing recommendations from organizations like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which already call for a diet rich in fresh greens.
“The findings are consistent with the current knowledge that increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables should be encouraged to prevent stroke,” Dr. Yan Qu said in an email. Qu, of the Qingdao Municipal Hospital and the Medical College of Qingdao University in Qingdao, China, led the analysis.
A stroke occurs when bloodflow to part of the brain is blocked by a clot or a burst blood vessel. Without emergency care, a stroke can lead to severe brain damage or death. Stroke remains the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the CDC. Several studies have looked at the influence of diet on stroke risk. Some have tied eating lots of fruits and vegetables to lowered risk; others have found no link at all.
The effect could be indirect, and eating fruits and vegetables may benefit overall health by reducing blood pressure, cholesterol, weight and other stroke risk factors, Qu said. It’s also possible that specific nutrients in the foods may reduce stroke risk, he said. To get a better understanding of the relationship between stroke risk and plants in the diet, the researchers searched for reports from recent decades that tracked the eating habits and health of men and women around the world.
Twenty studies examining a total of 16,981 strokes among 760,629 participants were included in the analysis. Overall, the people who ate the most fruits and vegetables were 21 percent less likely to have a stroke, compared to people who ate the lowest amounts, the researchers found.
The benefits rose along with the amounts of produce consumed. Stroke risk fell by 32 percent for every 200 grams (g) per day of fruit people ate, and 11 percent with every 200 g of vegetables. The researchers found that citrus fruits, leafy vegetables and apples and pears were the specific types of greenery linked to reduced stroke risk.
Pear Bureau Northwest, the nonprofit marketing association that promotes fresh pears grown in Oregon and Washington, recently commissioned nutrition research examining fresh pear consumption and the associated nutrition and health benefits.
The research, which was led by Victor Fulgoni III, Ph.D, was presented at Experimental Biology in San Diego and revealed that when compared with non-consumers, fresh pear consumers had a better nutrition profile and overall better quality of diet (for example, more dietary fibre, vitamin C, copper, magnesium and potassium). Fresh pear consumers also had lower added sugar intake, as well as lower intake of total fat, mono-unsaturated fat and saturated fat. Furthermore, the likelihood of being obese was 35 percent lower among fresh pear consumers than among their non-consumer counterparts.
The association between fresh pear consumption with nutrient intake, dietary quality and risk of obesity was examined in adults 19 years old and older participating in the 2001-10 National Health & Nutrition Examination Survey. Energy and nutrient intakes were calculated using the USDA’s Food & Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies.
“We are pleased to see healthy pears as part of the greater scientific conversation and look forward to growing our nutrition research and communications program,” Kevin Moffitt, president and chief executive officer of Pear Bureau Northwest, said in a press release.