Archive For The “News” Category
Lake City, Minn. – Members of the Next Big Thing Growers’ Cooperative recently released their estimates for the 2016 crop of SweeTango, the sweet, tangy, and remarkably crunchy apple that was developed by the University of Minnesota to feature the best characteristics of the Honeycrisp and Zestar! apple varieties.
The projected crop yield is 450,000 standard 40-lb boxes, which is an 18% increase over last year’s crop of 380,000, and 9% larger than the 2014 harvest of 413,000 boxes.
Preliminary projections estimated a yield of 465,000 boxes for 2016, however severe storms on July 8 in Suttons Bay in northern Michigan produced hail up to 2” in diameter that caused extensive damage to the crop in that region, thereby reducing the overall estimate. Other growing regions across the U.S. and Canada have not been adversely affected by weather to date.
The timing of the harvest varies by growing region, as orchards are spread across differing climates in locations like Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, and Nova Scotia, Canada. Washington will begin harvest first in early August, which means SweeTango will start appearing in the market around Labor Day.
As the SweeTango apple crop has continued to grow over the past decade, so does the length of the season. Once a hyper-seasonal fruit due to limited yields from a relatively small number of young orchards, SweeTango’s season is now expected to extend from early September to late December. This is great news for SweeTango’s enthusiastic and loyal consumer following.
Theron Kibbe, executive director of Next Big Thing Growers’ Cooperative noted, “We are looking forward to a good size SweeTango crop of excellent quality, with sizes that retailers are successful with. We have a robust marketing program in place that will drive shoppers to stores with SweeTango apples on their lists. We also will be partnering with retailers with in-store activities designed to increase trial and introduce new shoppers to SweeTango’s tangy-sweet flavor and exceptional crunch.”
NEXT BIG THING
Headquartered in Lake City, Minn., Next Big Thing, A Growers’ Cooperative is a 45-member cooperative of family growers, spread over five time zones from Nova Scotia to Washington State, that grows and markets managed varieties of apples, beginning with SweeTango. You can find more information on SweeTango at http://www.sweetango.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sweetango.
By Frank Yiannas
With 795 million people in the world reportedly going hungry, food waste is an ugly problem to face. In the U.S. alone, it’s estimated that consumers throw away $29 billion worth of edible food each year in their homes. Walmart is especially concerned with reducing food waste – not only because we’re the world’s largest grocer, but as an integral part of our EDLC philosophy that provides you everyday low prices.
Two culprits of food wastage are confusion caused by food labels and the tossing of imperfect, but perfectly usable, fresh produce.
Consumers often mistake date labels as food safety indicators; however, most of the labels are created based on peak quality. Adding to the confusion is the different language used on labels, including “best by”, “use by” and “sell by”. That’s why, in the last year, we started requiring suppliers of nonperishable food products under our Great Value private label to use a standardized date label, “Best if used by”.
The switch will go into full effect this month and involves thousands of products.
What really got our attention was a report released in 2013 by the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic and the Natural Resources Defense Council, The Dating Game: How Confusing Food Date Labels Lead to Food Waste in America. My team has been working on a solution since then.
After surveying our customers about how they would choose a food label that indicated a change in quality but not safety, there was a clear winner: “Best if used by”. I expect the standard labels to have an even bigger impact on waste reduction since many of our suppliers sell products under their own labels outside of Walmart. This is significant, as the global economic impact of food wastage comes to about $750 billion each year.
Although food waste has been making headlines in recent months, including an in-depth article in the Guardian, Walmart has been doing its part for more than a decade to create a zero waste future by affecting change in the way we do business and throughout our supply chain, especially where fresh produce is concerned.
For years we’ve worked with farmers to repurpose fruits and vegetables that may be slightly blemished or oddly shaped. These items usually make up a very small part of a harvest and aren’t a major contributor to food waste; however, we know every bit counts. A customer may not take home a triangle-shaped apple from our produce bins, but that apple is just as tasty when made into apple juice.
Earlier this year we began selling Spuglies, Russet potatoes that were less than perfect on the outside thanks to rough weather in Texas. Working with our supplier, we found a way to offer these at a value price. Our wonky veg test at Asda in the UK was so popular, we now offer it year round when farmers have enough supply.
Because customers around the world shop very differently, our team here in the U.S. has been working for months on our first spec for this type of produce. We’re exploring the ways to make these items available while providing value to our customers and supporting farmers.
The booming U.S. organic industry posted new records in 2015, with total organic product sales hitting a new benchmark of $43.3 billion, up 11 percent from the previous year’s record level and far outstripping the overall food market’s growth rate of 3 percent, according to the Organic Trade Association’s 2016 Organic Industry Survey.The industry saw its largest annual dollar gain ever in 2015, adding $4.2 billion in sales, up from the $3.9 billion in new sales recorded in 2014. Of the $43.3 billion in total organic sales, $39.7 billion were organic food sales, up 11 percent from the previous year, and non-food organic products accounted for $3.6 billion, up 13 percent. Nearly 5 percent of all food sold in the U.S. is organic.
U.S. organic sales and growth over time
2015 was a year of significant growth for the industry despite the continued struggle to meet the consumer demand for organic. Supply issues persisted to dominate the industry, as organic production in the U.S. lagged behind consumption. In response, the organic industry came together in creative and proactive ways to address the supply challenge, to improve and develop infrastructure, and to advocate for policy to advance the sector.
“The industry joined in collaborative ways to invest in infrastructure and education, and individual companies invested in their own supply chains to ensure a dependable stream of organic products for the consumer. Despite all the challenges, the organic industry saw its largest dollar growth ever,” said OTA’s CEO and Executive Director Laura Batcha.
Produce the gateway to organic
Organic produce retained its longstanding spot as the largest of all the organic categories with sales of $14.4 billion, up 10.6 percent. Produce has always been and continues to be a gateway to organic. It’s easy for shoppers to make the connection between agricultural practices used in the field and the fresh fruit or vegetables they bite into. Almost 13 percent of the produce sold in this country is now organic.
The demand for fresh organic was most evident in the continued growth of “fresh juices and drinks,” which saw explosive growth of 33.5 percent in 2015, making it the fastest-growing of all the organic subcategories. The fastest-growing of the eight major organic categories was condiments, which crossed the $1 billion mark in sales for the first time in 2015, on 18.5 percent growth.
More accessible, but challenges persist in supply chain
Increased consumer demand for organic products in 2015 could also be attributed to greater access to these products from mainstream retailers. As supermarkets, big box stores, membership warehouse clubs, and other outlets continued to up their organic offerings, organic options have become more available than ever before.
Despite strategic challenges, OTA’s Batcha is confident about the industry’s future prospects. “Organic is a bright spot in agriculture and the economy of America. Our success will continue to be built on a solid foundation of stakeholder engagement, transparency and meaningful organic standards that consumers trust in.”
OTA’s 2016 Organic Industry Survey was conducted and produced on behalf of OTA by Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ). The survey was conducted from January 7, 2016, through March 25, 2016. More than 200 companies responded to the survey.
Between 2009 and 2014, per capita sweet potato consumption grew 60 percent in the United States to 7.5 pounds, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
North Carolina easily leads sweet potato shipments, where about half of all domestic sweet potatoes are grown.
Sweet potato popularity has taken off with a 400 percent increase in sales since 2009 and a 30 percent increase in 2015 alone. Already this year the dollar value of shipments is tracking 30 percent ahead of 2015’s record year, which exceeded $100 million for the first time. The United Kingdom receives over half of all exports from North Carolina, followed by the Netherlands and Canada. Belgium and Germany have seen big bumps in recent years and new markets like Norway are taking off. The Tar Heel State has also been investing to develop export markets, particularly in Europe, where sweet potatoes are not a traditional part of the diet.
North Carolina sweet potatoes are an unfamiliar food for many Europeans, but their sweet flavor, healthy profile and versatility are quickly winning over new consumers. The North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission has partnered with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ International Trade Office to run education and promotion campaigns to introduce sweet potatoes to Europeans and show how to prepare and enjoy them. Current NCSPC Executive Director Kelly McIver came from NDACS’ marketing division and managed those programs.
“Introducing sweet potatoes to Europe gave us an opportunity to build our story for this ‘exotic’ vegetable,” McIver said in a press release. “We executed an integrated campaign that reached the trade, media and consumers to make N.C. sweet potatoes part of their diet.”
Europeans have adopted sweet potatoes in meal preparation throughout the year. While popular for holiday tables, sweet potatoes are also being grilled or added to salads in the summer, while being roasted or added to soups and stews in colder months. Their extensive nutrition benefits, delicious taste, and versatility are making sweet potatoes a regular part of meals at home and in restaurants.
Sweet potato shipments from the Benson, NC area to Miami, FL – grossing about $2000;$1500 to Philadelphia; and $1000 to Atlanta.
Here’s a smorgasbord of produce loading opportunities from around the nation ranging from Michigan to Missouri, the east coast, Idaho and the southwest.
Michigan Produce Shipments
There is light to moderate shipments of summer vegetables coming out of Michigan, primarily in the western half of the state. Cucumbers are one of the heavier volume items, but it is still only about 200 truck loads per week. Other items range from squash to celery. Blueberry shipments continue to increase in volume, while sweet corn is just getting started. Peach loadings will be down significantly this season.
Michigan blueberries and vegetables – grossing about $850 to Chicago.
Midwest Produce Shipments
Watermelon shipments are your best bet here. In the boot heel of Southeastern Missouri, about a 1,000 truckloads of watermelons were loaded last week, and volume is still increasing….Meanwhile, southwestern Indiana and southeastern Illinois watermelon shipments are very light and it will be another two weeks before substantial volume is available.
Missouri watermelons – grossing about $1500 to Chicago.
Eastern Produce Shipments
In New Jersey, peach loadings are just getting underway, while the blueberry season is coming to an end….New York state is starting to wake up with items ranging from Hudson Valley sweet corn to cucumbers picking up in August….Watermelon loadings should be moving into decent volume in a couple of weeks from Delaware, Maryland and the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
Idaho Potato Shipments
Idaho continues to ship potatoes from the 2015-16 crop. The state is moving nearly 1,900 truckload equivalents weekly. Potato loadings are relatively light by comparison from other states.
Idaho potatoes – grossing about $5000 to New York City.
New Mexico Onion Shipments
Onion shipments are available from the southern part of the state and averaging around 750 truckloads per week….Across the state line in the Hereford, Tx area, potato shipments are moving into good volume with the new crop. Shippers are still trying to sell some of the old crop, which increases your chances of quality problems at destination.
New Mexico onions – grossing about $3400 to Atlanta.
Now wasn’t this a smorgasbord?
Within a few weeks PortFresh Logistics, a Georgia-based company, plans to open a 100,000 square-foot cold treatment facility dedicated to perishable cargoes. These items will be imported through the Port of Savannah. The facility will strengthen Savannah in its role as a new entry point for South American produce.
Brian Kastick, CEO of PortFresh Logistics, said the company has been working for more than two years to meet the need for additional chilled cargo infrastructure in Savannah.
“Currently, more than 90 percent of imported fruits and vegetables entering the U.S. East Coast arrive via Northeast ports,” Kastick said. “That means cargo headed to the Southeast must be trucked down, adding time and expense to the logistics supply chain.”
Thanks to a new U.S. Department of Agriculture program allowing South American citrus fruit, grapes, blueberries and other produce items to enter via the Port of Savannah, substantial cost savings are now available to customers across the Southeast and beyond.
“Using the Port of Savannah offers significant time and money savings per container for areas throughout the Southeast region,” Kastick said.
PortFresh’s state-of-the-art cold storage facility, on 20 acres of a 182-acre site, is specifically designed to allow multiple climate zones. Engineered to maintain cold chain integrity, the facility will ensure delivery of the freshest and safest produce from the port to the customer.
Chris Logan, GPA senior director of Trade Development for beneficial cargo owner sales said “Citrus, avocados, blueberries and other products are already moving through the Port of Savannah, and we hope to grow that portfolio.”
The facility will handle both import and export cargo.
California’s 2015 almond acreage is estimated at 1,110,000 acres, up 6 percent from the 2014 revised acreage of 1,050,000, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Of the total acreage for 2015, 890,000 acres were bearing and 220,000 acres were non-bearing. Kern, Fresno, Stanislaus, Merced and Madera were the leading counties in almond acreage, having 73 percent of the total bearing acreage.
In 2013, almonds took the top crop spot from dairy and earned the title as the county’s first $1 billion crop at $1.2 billion. It’s a testimate to the rising popularity of the almond. Almonds were also the top crop in 2014, with 164,314 harvested acres bringing in an overall value of $1.4 billion.
The almond industry has done a terrific job in marketing the almond to global consumers, which has created an increasing demand for the nut — 70 percent of the state’s almonds are exported out of the United States, According to Stanislaus County Farm Bureau Executive Director and almond grower Wayne Zipser.
Even with the historic growth in almond acreage, Zipser said state farmers still haven’t out-produced the demand. According to the NASS, preliminary almond bearing acreage for 2016 is already estimated at 900,000 acres, an increase of 10,000 over 2015.
A recent analysis by Sacramento-based agricultural and environmental consulting firm Land IQ confirms what Zipser is seeing locally.
Almond acreage growth across California over the last 10 to 15 years has replaced both perennial and annual crops. This includes cotton, vineyards, non-irrigated grasslands, alfalfa, grain and hay crops, tomatoes, corn, mixed field crops, irrigated pasture and more. Of the almond acreage planted during this time, 96 percent of it lies within the Central Valley’s historic irrigated area, most often replacing other irrigated crops. According to Land IQ, only 42,000 acres of growth over the last 10 to 15 years has occurred within previously non-irrigated grasslands.
“Almonds take up about 14 percent of the state’s irrigated farmland but uses 9.5 percent of California’s agricultural water, less than a proportionate share,” said Almond Board of California President and CEO Richard Waycott. “Because of the industry’s commitment to research and efficiency, growers use 33 percent less water to grow a pound of almonds than they did two decades ago.”
One of the ways the Almond Board is working to better the state’s water situation is through groundwater recharge. ABC partnered with University of California researchers, conservation nonprofit Sustainable Conservation, Land IQ and others to investigate leveraging California’s one-million acres of almond orchards for groundwater recharge.
By USDA
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the availability of $22 million in grants to help citrus producers fight Huanglongbing (HLB), commonly known as citrus greening disease. This funding is available through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program (CDRE), which was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and is administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
“Since 2009, USDA has committed significant resources to manage, research and eradicate the citrus greening disease that threatens citrus production in the United States and other nations,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Thanks to the continued, coordinated efforts between growers, researchers, and state and federal government, we are getting closer every day to ending this threat. The funding announced will help us continue to preserve thousands of jobs for citrus producers and workers, along with significant revenue from citrus sales.”
USDA has invested more than $380 million to address citrus greening between fiscal years 2009 and 2015, including $43.6 million through the SCRI CDRE program since 2015.
HLB was initially detected in Florida in 2005 and has since affected all of Florida’s citrus-producing areas. A total of 15 U.S. states or territories are under full or partial quarantine due to the detected presence of the Asian citrus psyllid, a vector for HLB. Those states include Alabama, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
USDA has employed both short-term and longer-term strategies to combat citrus greening. Secretary Vilsack announced a Multi-Agency Coordination framework in December 2013 to foster cooperation and coordination across federal and state agencies and industry to deliver near-term tools to citrus growers to combat Huanglongbing. The Huanglongbing MAC Group includes representatives from the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), USDA NIFA, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, Environmental Protection Agency, State Departments of Agriculture from California, Florida, Texas and Arizona, and the citrus industry
If you haul bananas or pineapples from the Gulf of Mexico, Chiquita Brands International is once again moving. Over the years they have set up shop in New Orleans twice, where they are currently located. But within weeks they’ll be moving to Gulfport Mississippi for the second time.
Two years after returning to The Big Easy, Chiquita plans to leave New Orleans.
Based in Orlando, FL, Chiquita U.S. Corp., announced July 5th in a press release its plans to relocate its Gulf of Mexico operations from the Port of New Orleans to the Port of Gulfport.
The move is scheduled for August, according to the release.
“We are pleased to return our port operations to Gulfport where our Chiquita ripening and distribution facilities are located,” Andrew Biles, Chiquita’s president and CEO, said in the release. “We believe that Gulfport is optimally situated to service our customers most efficiently with both north and southbound vessel services.”
In May, rumors circulated “around the docks” at the New Orleans port that Chiquita Brands International, a part of Chiquita U.S. Corp., was considering moving its cargo business.
In May 2014, Chiquita announced plans to return to New Orleans after relocating operations to Gulfport, Miss., in the mid-1970s.
Chiquita, which then did business as United Brands, had imported bananas and other fruit for more than 70 years in New Orleans.
As part of the deal to return to The Crescent City, the port agreed to invest $2.2 million in improvements at a port-owned distribution and ripening facility to be leased to Chiquita as well as fund $2 million in refrigerated-container electrical infrastructure improvements and rehabilitate a container freight warehouse.
Chiquita distributes and markets fresh bananas and pineapples from the Gulf.
Chiquita Brands International Inc. is an American producer and distributor, not only of bananas, but other produce. The company operates under a number of subsidiary brand names, including the flagship Chiquita brand and Fresh Express salads. Chiquita is the leading distributor of bananas in the United States.
Despite all the hoopla in the media over the latest trendy vegetable – kale – head lettuce remains much more popular with American consumers.
At first glance, it looks like kale has taken over the American palate. The number of times restaurants have mentioned iceberg lettuce as a menu ingredient in salads has dropped 17 percent in the last three years, according to research from the market-research firm Mintel. Mentions of kale are “off the charts,” said Caleb Bryant, a food-industry analyst at Mintel. “Kale is just exploding in all restaurants, whether it be salad or roasted kale,” he said. And on store shelves, there is a similar rise in kale products, from kale chips to kale smoothies and juices, he said.
The mentions of kale from 2014 to 2015 as an ingredient in salads jumped 63 percent; before 2014, mentions of kale were so infrequent that there aren’t even kale-and-iceberg comparable data, Bryant said.
American are eating a lot more iceberg (head) lettuce, even though kale appears to be far more popular on menus. The U.S. either produced or imported 13.5 pounds of iceberg per capita for use in 2015, a drop from 20.9 pounds per person in 2005, according to the USDA. Kale, meanwhile, has remained relatively steady for the last decade, with the U.S. producing and importing just 0.6 pounds of kale per person in 2015, up from 0.4 pounds per person in 2005.
Pre-made salads and salad kits at grocery stores have increased in popularity, and many contain at least some iceberg Plus, iceberg is an ingredient in foods that aren’t salads, such as wraps, he said. Iceberg also has a long shelf life and a resistance to turning brown, which may be attractive to restaurants and companies that produce bagged salads.
It will take some time for the kale trend to really change what farmers are producing, because it takes time for Americans to acquire a bigger appetite for it. Agriculture specialists are constantly analyzing restaurant and retail patterns and trying to anticipate what new products are becoming popular. However, even when they can predict a trend, farmers need several years to build up a sufficient supply of seeds and to dedicate land to grow a new crop.