IRVINE, Calif. – The California Avocado Commission estimate shipments of 257 million pounds of avocados, which is a slight decrease compared to the 2021-22 season crop volume of 276 million pounds.
“The recent California rainfall has been welcomed by our growers throughout all districts,” said Jeff Oberman, president of CAC. “Growers have related increased sizing and crucial replenishing of water sources, during my recent visits to all production regions. We do not yet know if there will be any change to the expected harvest timing, however excitement is building from our retail partners for the kick-off of the California season.”
Weather and market conditions will be key factors for when California avocado growers begin harvesting and some growers may delay picking to allow their avocados time to increase in size.
California avocado volume is expected to begin ramping up around March, with peak availability from April through July then tapering off through Labor Day.
Created in 1978, the California Avocado Commission strives to enhance the premium positioning of California avocados through advertising, promotion and public relations, and engages in related industry activities. California has about 3,000 avocado growers.
The majority of California avocado shipments are to destinations west of the Rocky Mountains.
FOLSOM, Calif. – The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) is encouraging consumers to make heart-smart choices – like grabbing a boost of blue – in February for American Heart Month. A growing body of scientific evidence shows that blueberries can be part of eating patterns to improve heart health, especially as part of an overall healthy lifestyle. To promote more heart-healthy boosts of blue, USHBC is sharing blueberry recipes, nutrition information, research and more throughout the month. Health professionals in USHBC’s “Blue Crew” will also contribute original recipes, blog posts and social media content as part of the campaign.
American Heart Month serves as a valuable reminder to keep heart health top of mind, as heart disease continues to be a major health concern in the U.S. The term “heart disease” refers to several types of heart conditions, including coronary artery disease, the most common; it decreases blood flow to the heart and can cause heart attacks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cites heart disease as the leading cause of death among both men and women today.
One of the best ways to help fight heart disease is to maintain an overall healthy dietary pattern and lifestyle, according to the American Heart Association®. Blueberries are Heart-Check certified through the American Heart Association Heart-Check Food Certification Program. Each serving (a handful or cup) is a good source of fiber, which helps support heart health and digestive health. And, whether fresh or frozen, blueberries provide a variety of vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin K and manganese.
“The heart is at the center of everything we do, and keeping it healthy isn’t just about exercise – it’s about nutrition, too. Blueberries are a heart-healthy choice, delivering a wide variety of beneficial vitamins and minerals,” said Manuel Villacorta, MS, RDN, an internationally recognized, award-winning registered dietitian nutritionist, author, and founder and owner of MV Nutrition. “Even better, every boost of blue is packed with flavor, and that’s important. When you enjoy what you eat, you’re more likely to stick to those healthy eating habits. Simple, delicious blueberries make it easy.”
The February promotion is USHBC’s first “power period” of 2023, which is part of Grab a Boost of Blue, a strategic positioning and call to action backed by new tools and consumer research for retailers. The Heart Health Month toolkit, available now, features plug-and-play social posts and digital ads, tip sheets, recipe cards and other resources. The toolkit will be promoted in USHBC’s health professional and consumer e-newsletters, along with a new consumer landing page. The Blueberries and Heart Health page provides blueberry health information and engages fans with an interactive quiz to find Heart-Check certified recipes tailored to their preferences.
USHBC also is engaging consumers through American Heart Month activations with 10 key blueberry retailers. In addition to vibrant blueberry displays, activations include a variety of consumer communications and resources unique to each retailer, such as feature ads, in-store audio ads and announcements, email blasts, social media activations, broadcast segments with local media, and more.
Several partnerships also will help amplify blueberry and heart health messaging – in February and beyond. During American Heart Month, USHBC will send an e-blast to WebMD’s 80,000 heart-health focused consumers, driving to them to the landing page and quiz, as well as a research-focused e-blast to SmartBrief’s eatrightPRO audience of registered dietitians and nutrition professionals. The Produce for Better Health website also will have a blueberry display ad and featured blueberry recipe. Later in the year, USHBC will participate in the American Heart Association’s 2023 Heart Challenge/Wall Street Run & Heart Walk in New York as a sponsor.
“Heart health is a serious topic, but we make it fun for consumers to form healthy habits – like taking a quiz to find heart-healthy blueberry recipes. A boost of blue makes every meal more nutritious and delicious,” said Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council. “We’re always excited to partner with trusted health professionals and share simple, tasty ways to enjoy blueberries, supporting healthy hearts and happy taste buds.”
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About the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council
The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council is an agriculture research and promotion group, representing blueberry growers and packers in North and South America who market their blueberries in the United States and overseas, and works to promote the growth and well-being of the entire blueberry industry. The blueberry industry is committed to providing blueberries that are grown, harvested, packed and shipped in clean, safe environments. Learn more at blueberrycouncil.org.
Ciruli Bros. LLC, of Rio Rico, AZ reports winter vegetable movement and volume well below what it has been used to due to colder than normal weather.
However, they seem to be turning the corner with Mexico finally experiencing temperatures in the high 80s and 90s, which should really accelerate production.
Historically, Mexico doesn’t have freezes after Valentine’s Day, so the time has arrived for the Mexican spring season to surge.
For Ash Wednesday (February 22) eggplant shipments are expected to soar. The company expects new sets of cucumbers and zucchini will be coming into production resulting in good loadings for the spring.
Chilean fruit exports during 2022 totaled 3.44 million tons with a value of $7.44 billion FOB, an increase of .6 percent in volume and decrease of .4 percent in value when compared to 2021.
Of this total value, 68.4 percent was with fresh fruit, 22.9 percent to processed fruit, and 8.7 percent to dried fruit, ODEPA reported.
Fresh fruit sales totalled 2.615 million tons for $5.085 billion, reflecting a decrease in volume of .1 percent and 4.7 percent in value compared to the previous year.
The main commodity exported during the analysis period were cherries, reflecting a volume of 397,000 tons for $2.130 billion FOB, reflecting an increase of 18.1 in volume and 17.3 percent in value compared to the previous year.
They are followed by table grapes, with a volume of 605,994 tons for $871.6 million FOB, showing an increase of 15.4 percent in volume and decrease of 5.1 percent in value. Apples followed with a volume of 602,478 tons for $518.4 million FOB, representing a decrease of 6.4 percent in volume and 15.7 percent in value. Finally there were blueberries, with a volume of 105,403 tons for $428.8 million FOB, reflecting a decrease of 6.6 in volume and 26.1 percent in value.
Nuts reached sales of 153,408 tons for $648 million FOB, reflecting an increase of 7.3 percent in volume and decrease of 4.4 percent in value.
Processed fruits reached sales of 670,785 tons for $1.706 billion FOB, reflecting an increase of 1.7 percent in volume and 17.1 percent in value.
For the first time in a quarter of a century, California’s almond acreage has decreased instead of grown, according to Land IQ, an agricultural and environmental research and consulting firm. In an August crop report, total almond tree acreage was estimated at 1.64 million acres, down from 1.66 million acres in August 2021, according to a news release.
California’s tight water restrictions and lack of rain continues to be a major problem. A recent report by Land IQ, commissioned by the Almond Board of California, confirms that even the resourceful almond industry has felt the sting of drought conditions.
Almond crop production typically begins in August, with final shipments at the end of July the following year.
Echoing Land IQ’s findings, the USDA California almond forecast predicts 2022 production will come it at 2.80 billion pounds, 4% lower than 2.92 billion pounds in 2021.
Citing a dry winter and warmer temperatures in early 2022, the USDA forecast outlines how these factors contributed to “a shorter bloom period than in recent years” that was further affected by a late February freeze, causing frost damage in many orchards. While late-blooming almond varieties reported to have fared better than early blooming varieties, according to the USDA, “the 2022 crop is not expected to be as large as the past two years.”
Land IQ also found that an estimated 30,000 acres were identified as stressed or abandoned. These acres were included in the total acreage because, according to Land IQ, they may still recover.
“Land IQ’s report may indicate a possible trend towards lower California almond acreage in the year ahead,” Richard Waycott, ABC president and CEO, said in a news release. “This acreage estimate was based on data collected through Aug. 31, so it does not reflect any additional removals that may have occurred as the harvest and post-harvest seasons progressed this fall. Those data will be incorporated in the next acreage estimate to be published in April 2023.”
MOREHEAD, Ky. — AppHarvest, Inc. (NASDAQ: APPH, APPHW), a sustainable food company, public benefit corporation and Certified B Corp building some of the world’s largest high-tech indoor farms to grow affordable, nutritious fruits and vegetables at scale while providing good jobs in Appalachia, today announced it has started commercial shipments from its first harvest of tomatoes at its new 60-acre high-tech indoor farm in Richmond, Ky. This marks the first time ever that all facilities in the AppHarvest four-farm network are shipping to top national grocery store chains, restaurants and foodservice outlets under a variety of brands for Mastronardi Produce.
The opening of AppHarvest Richmond last December delivered on the company’s commitment to quadruple the number of farms operating in its network by the end of 2022, in what the company believes is the largest simultaneous build out of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) infrastructure in U.S. history. With this milestone, the company is moving from a focus on construction and development to the next phase of the business focused on operations. On January 3, 2023, AppHarvest named CEA industry veteran and AppHarvest Board Member Tony Martin as Chief Operating Officer to leverage his extensive background in CEA. Martin is working to optimize production, revenue and costs across the AppHarvest four-farm network totaling 165 acres under glass.
AppHarvest Richmond
AppHarvest Richmond, the 60-acre high-tech indoor farm growing tomatoes in Richmond, Ky., is harvesting and shipping from its first growing season of Campari and Maranice varieties of “Tomatoes on the Vine.” Opening in a two-phased approach, the second 30-acres in Richmond is expected to be planted later in 2023. With AppHarvest Morehead, the company expects to grow nearly 1.5 million tomato plants across the combined 120 acres.
AppHarvest Berea
Located in Berea, Ky., this 15-acre salad greens farm is believed to be the world’s largest high-tech indoor farm for autonomously harvested salad greens featuring a “touchless growing system.” AppHarvest Berea is designed to grow about 35 million lettuce plants at a time and is a supplier of the “Queen of Greens®” washed-and-ready-to-eat salad greens. On December 27, 2022, AppHarvest announced the completion of a $127 million sale-leaseback of the Berea farm to Mastronardi Berea LLC, a joint venture between Mastronardi Produce and COFRA Holding. Mastronardi Produce is AppHarvest’s exclusive marketing and distribution partner.
AppHarvest Somerset
The 30-acre high-tech indoor farm in Somerset, Ky., is shipping strawberries under the “WOW® Berries” brand for AppHarvest customer, Mastronardi Produce. AppHarvest Somerset is designed to grow nearly one million strawberry plants at a time, which are expected to produce for about eight months of the year. The crop is expected to alternate seasonally with long English cucumbers. In advance of the seasonal summer refresh for strawberries, the Somerset farm is expected to plant multiple acres of cucumbers to kick off its initial cucumber crop.
AppHarvest Morehead
AppHarvest Morehead, the 60-acre flagship farm in Morehead, Ky., kicked off its third season of harvesting ahead of schedule and is growing beefsteak tomatoes, Tomatoes on the Vine and snacking tomatoes. The Morehead farm has further diversified its crop set adding new varietals of premium snacking tomatoes sold under the Sunset brand as “Flavor Bombs®” and “Sugar Bombs®.”
About AppHarvest
AppHarvest is a sustainable food company in Appalachia developing and operating some of the world’s largest hightech indoor farms with robotics and artificial intelligence to build a reliable, climate-resilient food system. AppHarvest’s farms are designed to grow produce using sunshine, rainwater and up to 90% less water than openfield growing, all while producing yields up to 30 times that of traditional agriculture and preventing pollution from agricultural runoff. AppHarvest currently operates its 60-acre flagship farm in Morehead, Ky., producing tomatoes, a 15-acre indoor farm for salad greens in Berea, Ky., a 30-acre farm for strawberries and cucumbers in Somerset, Ky., and a 60-acre farm in Richmond, Ky., for tomatoes. The four-farm network consists of 165 acres under glass. For more information, visit https://www.appharvest.com.
NORWOOD, Mass. – Addie’s, the drive-up grocer redefining the grocery shopping experience, officially launched today its first concept store with $10.1 million in seed funding led by the Disruptive Innovation Fund, the venture capital arm of Clay Christensen’s Rose Park Advisors.
Instead of patchworking together in-store grocery, online grocery, and direct-to-consumer delivery models, Addie’s has built an entirely new one: a pick-up-only store designed solely for stocking, storing, and bagging groceries without the need for a shopper ever to step foot in the store itself.
The pandemic accelerated the need to reinvent how busy consumers get their groceries, but traditional retailers and established grocery delivery apps have struggled to optimize the experience for consumers. Mercatus predicts that online grocery shopping will double to $200+ billion by 2026.
Delivery-only options cannot scale beyond population-dense urban environments, and curbside pick-up out of traditional supermarkets is inefficient, unreliable, and unprofitable. These models have significant limitations: few available time slots, low-quality produce, service fees, and frequent out-of-stock items, resulting in frustrated shoppers.
Addie’s has reimagined every aspect of grocery shopping, from inventory management to store layout, enabling accurate and affordable grocery pick-up in minutes. Consumers purchase groceries through Addie’s custom app or website and choose a pick-up window that works best for their schedules.
Addie’s saves time, money, and valuable resources by redesigning the store as an onsite warehouse and the parking lot as a convenient drive-up experience. These savings translate to higher starting wages for store employees ($20 per hour), all while maintaining competitive pricing for customers and using just a quarter of the energy required of regular supermarkets.
“We believe that taking better care of busy families should be done in a way that also takes care of our team, our community, and our planet,” said Jim McQuade, co-founder and CEO of Addie’s. “With our seed funding, we’ve built an end-to-end experience to serve people in and around Norwood in a way that can be replicated in suburbs nationwide. We look forward to quickly expanding, offering busy families across the country drive-up grocery convenience without compromise.”
“The 100-year-old grocery business is not immune to disruption,” said Matt Christensen, CEO and Managing Partner at Rose Park Advisors. “The traditional business model of in-store shopping makes serving convenience-focused shoppers highly challenging. We see disruptive potential in Addie’s technology-powered drive-up grocery model and are excited to support them as they launch.”
Addie’s first store, a 22,000 sq. ft. retail location, is now open in Norwood, Massachusetts. The company stocks a curated selection of national brands and local favorites, constantly improving its assortment based on customer searches and requests. To learn more about Addie’s, visit Addies.com.
About Addie’s
Addie’s is the first-of-its-kind drive-up grocer redefining the grocery experience. By eliminating in-store shopping, Addie’s has reimagined every aspect of grocery shopping, from inventory management to store layout, enabling accurate and affordable grocery pick-up in minutes. Consumers purchase groceries through Addie’s custom app or website, then choose a pick-up window. Backed by Clay Christensen’s Rose Park Advisors, Addie’s plans to expand across the U.S. The first concept store is now open in Norwood, Massachusetts.
Ocean Mist Farms of Castroville, CA is expecting an outstanding 2023 winter artichoke season with abundant volume and excellent quality throughout February and early March.
Ocean Mist Farms winter artichoke crop is grown mostly in the Coachella Valley, with smaller volumes coming from farms in Baja, Mexico. The strong volume of artichokes is due in part to growing conditions, with few weather-related interruptions in Coachella. Quality is excellent, with the crop showing an abundance of larger sizes.
“We are expecting excellent quality, with sizes peaking at mostly 12’s and 18’s,” said Ben Wilson, Ocean Mist Farms Artichoke Commodity Manager. “After a smaller than normal holiday crop, our winter crop will provide retailers with excellent promotional opportunities, especially on our largest sizes.”
Ocean Mist Farms, a fourth-generation family-owned business in Castroville, CA. and the largest grower of fresh artichokes in North America. The company’s full line of over 30 fresh vegetables includes the award-winning Season & Steam and Ocean Mist Organic product lines.
Southern California has escaped the soggy weather compared to other parts of the state, despite periods of heavy rain.
The California Strawberry Commission of Watsonville estimates farms in Ventura County suffered 300 acres of catastrophic losses. Statewide, the losses were 1,840 acres.
The Oxnard district expects 6,358 acres of strawberries this season, an increase of 408 acres compared to 2022.
Naturipe Farms LLC of Salinas, CA notes rains put a damper on early season loadings, which will result in fewer shipments than normal for Valentine’s Day. However, long term, the rainfall should help with plant health, which will lead to improved production and quality. Excellent fruit quality, size and flavor are expected.
Naturipe plans on more volume this year due to slightly more acreage planted than last year.
Oxnard, Calif.-based Bobalu Berries of Oxnard, CA doesn’t plan to ship many berries from its Oxnard or Santa Maria growing areas until at least the end of February. Currently the company is relying on product coming out of Mexico right now.
Well-Pict Inc. of Watsonville, CA also had fewer shipments in January, but in spite of all the rain, the outlook was improving.
The company lost three weeks of production out of Oxnard but was able to pick up much of the slack from its grower in Florida. A good season out of Southern California as planting picks up. Well-Pick is predicting large-size fruit, good volume and good quality.
Seven Seas Fruit of Visalia, CA is part of the Tom Lange Co. of St. Louis and currently has acreage planted in Santa Maria and Lompoc, CA. The company anticipates a mid-March start to the season in those areas.Seven Seas Fruit also is sourcing some fruit from Mexico.
Gem-Pack of Irvine, CA reports volume of conventional and organic strawberries should be up this season compared to last year.
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. – South Mill Champs, one of North America’s largest growers and suppliers of fresh mushrooms and mushroom products announced the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art farm in Oxford, Pa.
The new facility will be one of North America’s largest single-site mushroom farms and one of the largest phase 3 composting operations. The grand opening marks the completion of the first phase of the multi-year, multi-phase farm and compost operation buildout.
“We’ve been innovating since the beginning,” said Mike Pia Jr., VP of Business Growth at South Mill Champs. “Our family has been producing compost and growing mushrooms for over 90 years in Pennsylvania. Our approach is, and has always been, to stay nimble and adapt to new technologies as they become available and proven. There is a growing demand for fresh quality produce, and we want to meet that demand with the best product possible for our partners and, ultimately, the consumer. This new facility will allow us to do just that.”
Green initiatives, including solar panels and water reducing processes and technologies, are being implemented at this facility in line with the company’s commitment to sustainability and water stewardship. Once fully implemented, on an annual basis, the facility will generate the majority of its electricity from a renewable source, capture and reuse millions of gallons of rain and wastewater, and upcycle thousands of tons of agricultural byproducts and other waste materials in the making of compost.
South Mill Champs is a leading vertically integrated compost producer, grower, and supplier of North American-grown fresh mushrooms and functional mushroom foods. Headquartered in Kennett Square, PA, South Mill Champs is a leading innovative and customer-focused supplier. It offers mushrooms and other products with full-service logistics and storage and has a reputation for superior quality and consistent supply.
South Mill Mushrooms of Pennsylvania, Champs Mushrooms of British Columbia and Loveday Mushroom Farms based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, merged between 2017 and 2020 to form South Mill Champs. Together, South Mill Champs supplies fresh mushrooms and other produce to customers in all segments of the mushroom marketplace throughout the United States and Canada.
In November 2020, South Mill Champs expanded its distribution capabilities with the opening of a new distribution center in Winter Haven, Florida. In December 2020, the company acquired The Mushroom Company, a full line mushroom processor located in Maryland. During 2021 and 2022, South Mill Champs established distribution capabilities in Sacramento and Indianapolis and expanded its fresh mushroom production capacity in British Columbia, Manitoba and Pennsylvania.
