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From New York state to the Appalachian States and in Michigan, here is a round up of some loading opportunities.
After devastating freeze losses in 2012, New York apple shipments are enjoying a very strong comeback season, while expecting a record volume exceeding 32 million boxes. Loadings reported brisk, averaging around 250 truck loads per week. While the Hudson Valley leads apple shipments, loadings also occur from the Champlain Valley, Central and Western areas of the state. New York shippers expect a relatively normal end to its season when some companies will finish shipping in late May or June, while others will continue shipping into July.
New York also is shipping storage onions, led by Orange County, with around 150 truck loads are being shipped weekly. Additonally Western New York is shipping cabbage.
New York cabbage – grossing about $1600 to New York City.
Michigan Produce Shipments
In a similar situation to New York, the state of Michigan has made a major rebound this season with apples. It is moving similar volume compared to New York as well, averaging around 250 truck loads per week. Michigan also is shipping a moderate amount of potatoes, along with light volumes of onions. A majority of Michigan winter produce shipments originate in the Western part of the state.
Michigan apples – grossing about $3300 to Dallas.
Appalachian Apple Shipments
The apple shipping region known as the Appalachian District comprises portions of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. There is light, but steady volume with apples being loading here.
Gosh! March arrives this Saturday. That means St. Patrick’s Day will be only a couple of weeks off. That also means as we enter March it will be the biggest period for cabbage shipments.
We’ll also take a peek at a few other commodities and areas where loadings should be available.
While cabbage growers in Southern Florida were expected to produce normal, high-quality crops, Northern Florida was hit by freezes. In Texas, most cabbage originates from the Winter Garden District just south of San Antonio. Volume is expected to be down 30 percent this season.
Sweet Potato Shipments
Cabbage isn’t the only item hit by weather. Sweet potato shipments are down this winter. North Carolina acreage is off 10 percent, and there’s less product for hauling out of California as well. Similar situations exist in Mississippi and Louisiana. There also are sweet potato shipments from Arkansas, especially in the Northeast part of the state.
Eastern North Carolina sweet potatoes – grossing about $1800 to New York City.
Potato Shipments
After a slow beginning to the season, exacerbated by truck shortages, red potato growers in the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota are back on track and see increased movment as we approach St. Patrick’s Day March 17. Trucks were a bit short as well, but the equipment delimmea has eased. There’s about 300 truckloads of primarily red potatoes being shipped weekly.
However, it’s Idaho that really moves the tonnage with it russets. Idaho potato shipments are averaging around 800 truckload equivalents per week.
About this time each year South Florida begins shipping it new crop of red potatoes. Loadings are now under way.
South Florida potatoes – grossing about $3200 to Boston.
Idaho potatoes grossing – about $2900 to Chicago.
Red River Valley potatoes – about $1900 to Chicago.
Food transportation companies will be required to adhere to certain sanitation standards to prevent food from becoming contaminated during transit under a new rule proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to a recent article by Reuters.
Carriers and shippers under the rule would be required to properly refrigerate food, clean vehicles between loads and protect food during transportation.
The rule is the seventh and final plank of the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, a sweeping initiative designed to reduce food-borne illnesses by giving the FDA greater powers to intervene before an outbreak occurs.
It would establish standards for vehicles and transportation equipment, transportation operations, information exchange, training and records.
“This proposed rule will help reduce the likelihood of conditions during transportation that can lead to human or animal illness or injury,” said Michael Taylor, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine.
Excluded from coverage will be shippers, receivers or carriers whose operations generate less than $500,000 in annual sales. The rule also excludes food that is fully packaged and stable, and live food animals and raw agricultural commodities transported by farms.
The FDA proposes staggering the implementation of the rule based on the size of a business, ranging from one to two years after publication of the final rule. The proposed rule is open for public comment through May 31.
Port Everglades has begun construction of an intermodal rail facility , which handles almost half of the fresh produce entering Florida by ship. Crews from Jacksonville-based Florida East Coast Railway are installing tracks and crane pads for the intermodal container transfer facility at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., port.
The $73 million, 43-acre rail operation is scheduled to open this summer and will be used to transfer domestic and international shipping containers between ship and rail. The operation, at the Southport container cargo area, replaces a 12-acre intermodal yard that is several miles from the port. The road leading to the facility is being paved and workers are constructing buildings.
The facility will allow the railroad to assemble 9,000-foot unit trains without blocking city streets. When finished, cargo can move through the port to and from Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., in two days and to Nashville, TN, and Memphis, in three days.
The railroad’s connections to CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads should also allow rail service to 70 percent of the U.S. population within four days. At this point it isn’t known how much produce will go through the port.
During fiscal year 2013, the port handled 928,000 TEU (20-foot equivalent units). Of those, refrigerated cargos accounted for 134,597 TEUS or 15 percent of volume, with imports constituting 75 percent of refrigerated container movement.
By Columbia Marketing International
Supermarket sales data released by Nielsen Perishables Group reveals continued strong apple sales over the December holiday period. A three year analysis of apple performance by CMI shows retail volume continues to grow, led by newer varieties. During the month of December, apple category volume at retail increased by 3.2% over 2012 but is up 9.5% over 2011.
“It’s very encouraging to see near double digit volume growth in December compared to the same period just two years ago,” said Steve Lutz, Vice President of Marketing for CMI. “The numbers validate that consumers are buying more apples overall while embracing new varieties.”
The Nielsen Perishables Group data for December 2013 shows the Fuji, Cripps Pink/Pink Lady®, Ambrosia™ and Granny Smith varieties all increased in volume by more than 20%. Honeycrisp and Rome volume in December 2013 vs. 2011 increased by 18.3% and 17.4% respectively.
“The December data really reveals how consumer preferences are shifting while growing the category in the process,” said Lutz. “Over two years, Honeycrisp volume is up by over 17% despite an average retail price of $2.40 per pound. Ambrosia™ volume is up by 24% with an average retail price that is 20% higher than the average for the total apple category. Volume growth at these levels combined with higher retail prices is only sustainable if consumers like what they’re buying and come back for more.”
Lutz said that despite the strong category volume gains, the report shows it’s not all good news. Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Jonagold and Cameo® all lost significant market share over the two year holiday period. Lutz noted that Cameo® volume dropped by 43% while Braeburn lost 28%.
The analysis also indicates how supermarket distribution practices are impacting store-level volume. Impressions per store per week (a measure of the unique items in each store each week) increased by 8.1% for the category as more apple varieties and items were stocked on retail shelves.
“It’s pretty clear that over the past two years, retailers encouraged consumers to discover these new varieties by putting more items on more shelves more often, said Lutz. “Ambrosia impressions jumped by 48% while Cripps Pink/Pink Lady® and Honeycrisp both increased by over 16%.”
Not all apple varieties secured incremental retail impressions. McIntosh, Braeburn, Romes and Cameo® varieties all suffered declines in retail impressions. “This clearly shows that there is a finite amount of space available for apples,” said Lutz. “Romes volume was bailed out by a substantial drop in an already low retail price, but those other varieties were hit hard by the loss of retail shelf support.”
Greenhouse growing of vegetables continues to increase whether it is in Mexico, the U.S., or in this case Ontario. It’s popularity is rising, not only because weather conditions can be controlled, but the product itself is ususally better tasting, especially with something like tomatoes. Ontario does have loading opportunities for produce haulers, although we are not normally talking in truck load quantities.
Most of the Ontario greenhouse vegetables are located along the northern shores of Lake Erie, including the towns of Leamington and Kingsville. The reason is this area receives more sunshine than anywhere else in Canada.
The leading green house vegetables are tomatoes, English cucumbers and peppers. This year it is estimated Ontario will ship 448 million pounds of tomatoes, an increase of nearly 18 percent over last year. There should be 250 million pounds of English cucumbers (nearly 23 percent more) and 170 million pounds of peppers, up nearly 31 percent.
There also is much smaller volume with eggplant and specialty peppers and specialty tomatoes.
About 70 percent of the Ontario greenhouse veggies are shipped to the U.S.
While the cukes, peppers, and egglant are compatible for loading together in a truck, the tomatoes are not a good fit. That’s too bad since volume wise at any one time, greenhouse tonnage is relatively low, even though it continues to increase.
If you ever want to check out what fruits and veggies are good for putting on the same truck, check out the Fresh Produce Mixer & Loading Guide from TransFRESH Corp. These are the same folks that provide the Tectrol atmosphere that adds shelf life to strawberries and other products, which helps to maintain quality.
To check this info out, just click on the TransFresh ad on this website.
There’s been plenty of cold weather in Florida this winter, but the bottom line is it has mostly dodged the wrap of Mother Nature and any wide spread deadly freezes (knock on wood). But the cold has often meant Florida produce shipments being lighter than normal and later than normal for this time of the year.
Heaviest volume out of Florida is from the central and southern regions with tomatoes, which are averaging around 750 truck loads per week. There’s also a number of mixed vegetable items being shipped in light volume, but are behind normal shipping schedules.
An example is cabbage, which is available in areas from northern to southern Florida. The further north in the state cabbage is grown and shipped, the further behind it is in maturing and being harvested. One example is at Bunnell in nothern Florida where loadings are running a full month behind schedule. About four hours to the south in Central Florida the product is only a couple of weeks late. Cabbage is a big item for St. Patrick’s Day, which is March 17th.
Florida grapefruit shipments are down siginificantly this year, but more so from a disease called citrus greening than due to the weather. One major shipper is reporting pack out at only 50 to 60 percent of normal, when it would normally pack out at about 90 pecent.
Another item trailing is Florida strawberry shipments from the Plant City area.
Central Florida produce items – grossing about $2300 to Chicago.
California strawberry shipments are head of this time last year, while Washington state pear loadings are on a record setting course.
California strawberry shipments
Unlike much of the country, it has been an exceptionally mild winter thus far in California (unless you’re a California citrus grower). Temperatures into the mid-80s along the coast have brought on good strawberry shipments in the region. As of February 1, about 4.6 million cases of strawberries had been shipped, compared with 3 million cases at the same time in 2013. The 1.2 million trays shipped the week ending Feb. 1 was well above the 805,000-tray projection. Most of the berries are coming out of Ventura and Orange counties, and shipments are aided by the fact fewer strawberries have been loaded from Florida and Mexico due to cold weather.
There’s also decent strawberries volume coming out of the Baja California pennisula, where it is consolidated at warehouses in the San Diego area. The Baja California and Oxnard growing areas have similar climatic conditions.
Southern California berries – grossing about $4200 to Chicago.
Apple Shipments, Pear Shipments
While apples dominate Northwest fruit shipments, as of January 31st there has been a record number of pears had loaded out of the Pacific Northwest, mostly from Washington state’s Yakima and Wenachee valleys. We are talking around 14.2 million boxes of pears from Washington and Oregon.
There were over 1.3 million boxes shipped the first two weeks of January and 1.4 million boxes in the last two weeks. That compares to 1.2 million boxes in each of those two-week periods at the same time last year. The Northwest is on track to ship a record 22.2 million boxes of pears this year, 14 percent more than last season.
One important note is that both apples and pears ship well together in the same load.
Washington state apples and pears – grossing about $6500 to New York City.
By Larry Oscar
With the recent decline in the
United States as a world and economic power, it should be no surprise that many of our citizens are turning to weird philosophies and religions for guidance in their lives. So it isn’t too surprising when we have a lot of interest in science these days. And that is a good thing. Science makes people think, and that is something a lot of people don’t do very often today.
Instead they let someone else or some group do the thinking for them. I was discussing this over lunch one day with some friends when it dawned on us that most of the problems people seem to have coping with life are a result of letting someone else do your thinking. This behavior results in low self esteem. After all, when you are letting others do your thinking, then you have no sense of accomplishment; mainly because anything you achieve in life is a result of following some else’s advise and not your own idea.
You do however, get to blame everyone else for your problems because the mess you find yourself in is a result of taking someone else’s advise. The only problem with this is you will find yourself in hopeless situations. You can’t get out of it because the very people telling you what to do are the ones who got you in the mess in the first place.
No wonder so many young people want to commit suicide and take the people they blame for their misery with them. Science doesn’t have all the answers either, and the one thing that science has proven is …. “The more we know, the more we know we don’t know.” Sort of like a dog chasing his tail. We do have some bright spots in science now and then.
One recent bright spot has been the Large Hadron Collider built by Cern from 1998-2008. It is located on the Swiss/France border just outside Geneva, Switzerland. It is the largest particle collider ever built, and it was built by people who definitely think for themselves. This is the biggest leap into scientific discovery that the human race has ever done.
The LHC can accelerate protons to just slightly less than 10 miles per hour of the speed of light. That’s 186,000 miles/second. At those energy levels the protons collide and break apart into the fundamental particles that make up everything in the universe. That includes you and me. The LHC has already discovered what is believed to be the particle that is responsible for gravity, the “God Particle” or Higgs boson. By understanding what all matter is made of we can
This is done to have a better understanding of our universe and what makes time and space exist. Space-Time, as we know it, is rather strange. In 1929 Edwin Hubble observed that the universe was expanding at an ever increasing rate. This was contrary to what Einstein had postulated, and Hubble’s observations have since been confirmed. The universe is indeed expanding, and space is expanding. Something we don’t understand.
The expansion of space and space-time is a very big deal. After discussing this with a friend, over some beers of course, it was pointed out that this increase in the expansion of space-time could be the reason for the increase in the size of the average American today. Come to think of it, it may just be that the expansion of space-time has caused the increase in the obesity of many Americans. It may not be the huge consumption of food substances after all. It may be the expansion of space that is causing the increase in the size of the average American.
In fact, we may have a non-linear space time expansion. That would account for the fact that some are getting bigger while others stay the same size. Now see what thinking for yourself accomplishes. Will someone please tell New York’s Michael Bloomberg, quick, before he tries to outlaw hot dogs or Big Macs?
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.
Consumers’ favorite apple varieties may be changing according to newly released supermarket performance data for November.
Steve Lutz, Vice President of Marketing for CMI, reports shoppers are increasingly seeking out apples believed to be high in flavor.
A report by Nielsen Perishables Group shows that older varieties like Red and Golden Delicious are losing ground, while new varieties like Gala and Honeycrisp are showing growth. Apple volume in supermarkets increased by 2.5 percent, apple retail prices fell by 6.5 percent, and the gains in volume were said to be supported by these falling prices. Gala was the largest volume apple in U.S. supermarkets, and has increased by 3 percent over the same period last year. Honeycrisp rankead second in volume, jumping by 14 percent.
Lutz reports more consumers are selecting newer variety apples like Gala, Honeycrisp and Fuji at the expense of some traditional favorites. Pink Lady volume jumped by 44 percent, while Ambrosia volume increased by 22 percent, despite supermarket shelf prices substantially higher than the average price for all apples.
Lutz stated, “Increasingly, for retailers success hinges not only on knowing which apple varieties to put on the shelf, but also knowing which apples to emphasize in merchandising and which varieties should be dropped.”
From New York state to the Appalachian States and in Michigan, here is a round up of some loading opportunities.
After devastating freeze losses in 2012, New York apple shipments are enjoying a very strong comeback season, while expecting a record volume exceeding 32 million boxes. Loadings reported brisk, averaging around 250 truck loads per week. While the Hudson Valley leads apple shipments, loadings also occur from the Champlain Valley, Central and Western areas of the state. New York shippers expect a relatively normal end to its season when some companies will finish shipping in late May or June, while others will continue shipping into July.
New York also is shipping storage onions, led by Orange County, with around 150 truck loads are being shipped weekly. Additonally Western New York is shipping cabbage.
New York cabbage – grossing about $1600 to New York City.
Michigan Produce Shipments
In a similar situation to New York, the state of Michigan has made a major rebound this season with apples. It is moving similar volume compared to New York as well, averaging around 250 truck loads per week. Michigan also is shipping a moderate amount of potatoes, along with light volumes of onions. A majority of Michigan winter produce shipments originate in the Western part of the state.
Michigan apples – grossing about $3300 to Dallas.
Appalachian Apple Shipments
The apple shipping region known as the Appalachian District comprises portions of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. There is light, but steady volume with apples being loading here.
Gosh! March arrives this Saturday. That means St. Patrick’s Day will be only a couple of weeks off. That also means as we enter March it will be the biggest period for cabbage shipments.
We’ll also take a peek at a few other commodities and areas where loadings should be available.
While cabbage growers in Southern Florida were expected to produce normal, high-quality crops, Northern Florida was hit by freezes. In Texas, most cabbage originates from the Winter Garden District just south of San Antonio. Volume is expected to be down 30 percent this season.
Sweet Potato Shipments
Cabbage isn’t the only item hit by weather. Sweet potato shipments are down this winter. North Carolina acreage is off 10 percent, and there’s less product for hauling out of California as well. Similar situations exist in Mississippi and Louisiana. There also are sweet potato shipments from Arkansas, especially in the Northeast part of the state.
Eastern North Carolina sweet potatoes – grossing about $1800 to New York City.
Potato Shipments
After a slow beginning to the season, exacerbated by truck shortages, red potato growers in the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota are back on track and see increased movment as we approach St. Patrick’s Day March 17. Trucks were a bit short as well, but the equipment delimmea has eased. There’s about 300 truckloads of primarily red potatoes being shipped weekly.
However, it’s Idaho that really moves the tonnage with it russets. Idaho potato shipments are averaging around 800 truckload equivalents per week.
About this time each year South Florida begins shipping it new crop of red potatoes. Loadings are now under way.
South Florida potatoes – grossing about $3200 to Boston.
Idaho potatoes grossing – about $2900 to Chicago.
Red River Valley potatoes – about $1900 to Chicago.
Food transportation companies will be required to adhere to certain sanitation standards to prevent food from becoming contaminated during transit under a new rule proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to a recent article by Reuters.
Carriers and shippers under the rule would be required to properly refrigerate food, clean vehicles between loads and protect food during transportation.
The rule is the seventh and final plank of the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, a sweeping initiative designed to reduce food-borne illnesses by giving the FDA greater powers to intervene before an outbreak occurs.
It would establish standards for vehicles and transportation equipment, transportation operations, information exchange, training and records.
“This proposed rule will help reduce the likelihood of conditions during transportation that can lead to human or animal illness or injury,” said Michael Taylor, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine.
Excluded from coverage will be shippers, receivers or carriers whose operations generate less than $500,000 in annual sales. The rule also excludes food that is fully packaged and stable, and live food animals and raw agricultural commodities transported by farms.
The FDA proposes staggering the implementation of the rule based on the size of a business, ranging from one to two years after publication of the final rule. The proposed rule is open for public comment through May 31.
Port Everglades has begun construction of an intermodal rail facility , which handles almost half of the fresh produce entering Florida by ship. Crews from Jacksonville-based Florida East Coast Railway are installing tracks and crane pads for the intermodal container transfer facility at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., port.
The $73 million, 43-acre rail operation is scheduled to open this summer and will be used to transfer domestic and international shipping containers between ship and rail. The operation, at the Southport container cargo area, replaces a 12-acre intermodal yard that is several miles from the port. The road leading to the facility is being paved and workers are constructing buildings.
The facility will allow the railroad to assemble 9,000-foot unit trains without blocking city streets. When finished, cargo can move through the port to and from Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., in two days and to Nashville, TN, and Memphis, in three days.
The railroad’s connections to CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads should also allow rail service to 70 percent of the U.S. population within four days. At this point it isn’t known how much produce will go through the port.
During fiscal year 2013, the port handled 928,000 TEU (20-foot equivalent units). Of those, refrigerated cargos accounted for 134,597 TEUS or 15 percent of volume, with imports constituting 75 percent of refrigerated container movement.
By Columbia Marketing International
Supermarket sales data released by Nielsen Perishables Group reveals continued strong apple sales over the December holiday period. A three year analysis of apple performance by CMI shows retail volume continues to grow, led by newer varieties. During the month of December, apple category volume at retail increased by 3.2% over 2012 but is up 9.5% over 2011.
“It’s very encouraging to see near double digit volume growth in December compared to the same period just two years ago,” said Steve Lutz, Vice President of Marketing for CMI. “The numbers validate that consumers are buying more apples overall while embracing new varieties.”
The Nielsen Perishables Group data for December 2013 shows the Fuji, Cripps Pink/Pink Lady®, Ambrosia™ and Granny Smith varieties all increased in volume by more than 20%. Honeycrisp and Rome volume in December 2013 vs. 2011 increased by 18.3% and 17.4% respectively.
“The December data really reveals how consumer preferences are shifting while growing the category in the process,” said Lutz. “Over two years, Honeycrisp volume is up by over 17% despite an average retail price of $2.40 per pound. Ambrosia™ volume is up by 24% with an average retail price that is 20% higher than the average for the total apple category. Volume growth at these levels combined with higher retail prices is only sustainable if consumers like what they’re buying and come back for more.”
Lutz said that despite the strong category volume gains, the report shows it’s not all good news. Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Jonagold and Cameo® all lost significant market share over the two year holiday period. Lutz noted that Cameo® volume dropped by 43% while Braeburn lost 28%.
The analysis also indicates how supermarket distribution practices are impacting store-level volume. Impressions per store per week (a measure of the unique items in each store each week) increased by 8.1% for the category as more apple varieties and items were stocked on retail shelves.
“It’s pretty clear that over the past two years, retailers encouraged consumers to discover these new varieties by putting more items on more shelves more often, said Lutz. “Ambrosia impressions jumped by 48% while Cripps Pink/Pink Lady® and Honeycrisp both increased by over 16%.”
Not all apple varieties secured incremental retail impressions. McIntosh, Braeburn, Romes and Cameo® varieties all suffered declines in retail impressions. “This clearly shows that there is a finite amount of space available for apples,” said Lutz. “Romes volume was bailed out by a substantial drop in an already low retail price, but those other varieties were hit hard by the loss of retail shelf support.”
Greenhouse growing of vegetables continues to increase whether it is in Mexico, the U.S., or in this case Ontario. It’s popularity is rising, not only because weather conditions can be controlled, but the product itself is ususally better tasting, especially with something like tomatoes. Ontario does have loading opportunities for produce haulers, although we are not normally talking in truck load quantities.
Most of the Ontario greenhouse vegetables are located along the northern shores of Lake Erie, including the towns of Leamington and Kingsville. The reason is this area receives more sunshine than anywhere else in Canada.
The leading green house vegetables are tomatoes, English cucumbers and peppers. This year it is estimated Ontario will ship 448 million pounds of tomatoes, an increase of nearly 18 percent over last year. There should be 250 million pounds of English cucumbers (nearly 23 percent more) and 170 million pounds of peppers, up nearly 31 percent.
There also is much smaller volume with eggplant and specialty peppers and specialty tomatoes.
About 70 percent of the Ontario greenhouse veggies are shipped to the U.S.
While the cukes, peppers, and egglant are compatible for loading together in a truck, the tomatoes are not a good fit. That’s too bad since volume wise at any one time, greenhouse tonnage is relatively low, even though it continues to increase.
If you ever want to check out what fruits and veggies are good for putting on the same truck, check out the Fresh Produce Mixer & Loading Guide from TransFRESH Corp. These are the same folks that provide the Tectrol atmosphere that adds shelf life to strawberries and other products, which helps to maintain quality.
To check this info out, just click on the TransFresh ad on this website.
There’s been plenty of cold weather in Florida this winter, but the bottom line is it has mostly dodged the wrap of Mother Nature and any wide spread deadly freezes (knock on wood). But the cold has often meant Florida produce shipments being lighter than normal and later than normal for this time of the year.
Heaviest volume out of Florida is from the central and southern regions with tomatoes, which are averaging around 750 truck loads per week. There’s also a number of mixed vegetable items being shipped in light volume, but are behind normal shipping schedules.
An example is cabbage, which is available in areas from northern to southern Florida. The further north in the state cabbage is grown and shipped, the further behind it is in maturing and being harvested. One example is at Bunnell in nothern Florida where loadings are running a full month behind schedule. About four hours to the south in Central Florida the product is only a couple of weeks late. Cabbage is a big item for St. Patrick’s Day, which is March 17th.
Florida grapefruit shipments are down siginificantly this year, but more so from a disease called citrus greening than due to the weather. One major shipper is reporting pack out at only 50 to 60 percent of normal, when it would normally pack out at about 90 pecent.
Another item trailing is Florida strawberry shipments from the Plant City area.
Central Florida produce items – grossing about $2300 to Chicago.
California strawberry shipments are head of this time last year, while Washington state pear loadings are on a record setting course.
California strawberry shipments
Unlike much of the country, it has been an exceptionally mild winter thus far in California (unless you’re a California citrus grower). Temperatures into the mid-80s along the coast have brought on good strawberry shipments in the region. As of February 1, about 4.6 million cases of strawberries had been shipped, compared with 3 million cases at the same time in 2013. The 1.2 million trays shipped the week ending Feb. 1 was well above the 805,000-tray projection. Most of the berries are coming out of Ventura and Orange counties, and shipments are aided by the fact fewer strawberries have been loaded from Florida and Mexico due to cold weather.
There’s also decent strawberries volume coming out of the Baja California pennisula, where it is consolidated at warehouses in the San Diego area. The Baja California and Oxnard growing areas have similar climatic conditions.
Southern California berries – grossing about $4200 to Chicago.
Apple Shipments, Pear Shipments
While apples dominate Northwest fruit shipments, as of January 31st there has been a record number of pears had loaded out of the Pacific Northwest, mostly from Washington state’s Yakima and Wenachee valleys. We are talking around 14.2 million boxes of pears from Washington and Oregon.
There were over 1.3 million boxes shipped the first two weeks of January and 1.4 million boxes in the last two weeks. That compares to 1.2 million boxes in each of those two-week periods at the same time last year. The Northwest is on track to ship a record 22.2 million boxes of pears this year, 14 percent more than last season.
One important note is that both apples and pears ship well together in the same load.
Washington state apples and pears – grossing about $6500 to New York City.
By Larry Oscar
With the recent decline in the
United States as a world and economic power, it should be no surprise that many of our citizens are turning to weird philosophies and religions for guidance in their lives. So it isn’t too surprising when we have a lot of interest in science these days. And that is a good thing. Science makes people think, and that is something a lot of people don’t do very often today.
Instead they let someone else or some group do the thinking for them. I was discussing this over lunch one day with some friends when it dawned on us that most of the problems people seem to have coping with life are a result of letting someone else do your thinking. This behavior results in low self esteem. After all, when you are letting others do your thinking, then you have no sense of accomplishment; mainly because anything you achieve in life is a result of following some else’s advise and not your own idea.
You do however, get to blame everyone else for your problems because the mess you find yourself in is a result of taking someone else’s advise. The only problem with this is you will find yourself in hopeless situations. You can’t get out of it because the very people telling you what to do are the ones who got you in the mess in the first place.
No wonder so many young people want to commit suicide and take the people they blame for their misery with them. Science doesn’t have all the answers either, and the one thing that science has proven is …. “The more we know, the more we know we don’t know.” Sort of like a dog chasing his tail. We do have some bright spots in science now and then.
One recent bright spot has been the Large Hadron Collider built by Cern from 1998-2008. It is located on the Swiss/France border just outside Geneva, Switzerland. It is the largest particle collider ever built, and it was built by people who definitely think for themselves. This is the biggest leap into scientific discovery that the human race has ever done.
The LHC can accelerate protons to just slightly less than 10 miles per hour of the speed of light. That’s 186,000 miles/second. At those energy levels the protons collide and break apart into the fundamental particles that make up everything in the universe. That includes you and me. The LHC has already discovered what is believed to be the particle that is responsible for gravity, the “God Particle” or Higgs boson. By understanding what all matter is made of we can
This is done to have a better understanding of our universe and what makes time and space exist. Space-Time, as we know it, is rather strange. In 1929 Edwin Hubble observed that the universe was expanding at an ever increasing rate. This was contrary to what Einstein had postulated, and Hubble’s observations have since been confirmed. The universe is indeed expanding, and space is expanding. Something we don’t understand.
The expansion of space and space-time is a very big deal. After discussing this with a friend, over some beers of course, it was pointed out that this increase in the expansion of space-time could be the reason for the increase in the size of the average American today. Come to think of it, it may just be that the expansion of space-time has caused the increase in the obesity of many Americans. It may not be the huge consumption of food substances after all. It may be the expansion of space that is causing the increase in the size of the average American.
In fact, we may have a non-linear space time expansion. That would account for the fact that some are getting bigger while others stay the same size. Now see what thinking for yourself accomplishes. Will someone please tell New York’s Michael Bloomberg, quick, before he tries to outlaw hot dogs or Big Macs?
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.
Consumers’ favorite apple varieties may be changing according to newly released supermarket performance data for November.
Steve Lutz, Vice President of Marketing for CMI, reports shoppers are increasingly seeking out apples believed to be high in flavor.
A report by Nielsen Perishables Group shows that older varieties like Red and Golden Delicious are losing ground, while new varieties like Gala and Honeycrisp are showing growth. Apple volume in supermarkets increased by 2.5 percent, apple retail prices fell by 6.5 percent, and the gains in volume were said to be supported by these falling prices. Gala was the largest volume apple in U.S. supermarkets, and has increased by 3 percent over the same period last year. Honeycrisp rankead second in volume, jumping by 14 percent.
Lutz reports more consumers are selecting newer variety apples like Gala, Honeycrisp and Fuji at the expense of some traditional favorites. Pink Lady volume jumped by 44 percent, while Ambrosia volume increased by 22 percent, despite supermarket shelf prices substantially higher than the average price for all apples.
Lutz stated, “Increasingly, for retailers success hinges not only on knowing which apple varieties to put on the shelf, but also knowing which apples to emphasize in merchandising and which varieties should be dropped.”