Archive For The “News” Category
The continued decline of Florida’s commercial citrus industry, as reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently, surprised nobody.
Total citrus acreage continued its 19-year decline with another 3 percent fall in grove land to 501,396 acres compared to 515,147 acres last year. Those groves also had 2 percent fewer trees since 2014 with a total of 66.9 million trees, down from 68.1 million trees a year ago.
“These are the lowest numbers in the series across the board,” said Candi Erick, administrator at the USDA’s Florida Field Office in Maitland, which oversees the annual citrus census.
Erick was referring to the 49-year census series back to 1966, when the USDA began its current aerial survey method. USDA officials met with a growers’ advisory board at the Florida’s Natural Growers Grove House.
The new survey showed 12,343 acres of new citrus groves planted over the year, the highest total since 2009, but the increase was not enough to overcome the loss of 26,094 grove acres since 2014, she said. On the bright side, Erick said, most of the acreage removed was probably abandoned or marginally productive groves.
Of greater concern to growers is the decline in the value of the citrus crop.
The USDA reported the preliminary on-tree value of the 2014-15 Florida citrus crop at $1 billion, a 12 percent decline from a revised value of nearly $1.2 billion in the 2013-14 crop. A year ago, USDA had valued the 2013-14 crop at $946.5 million.
Because of rising costs and declining value, the 2014-15 season was a tough one economically for most growers, said Larry Black, a Fort Meade-based grower and president of Lakeland-based Florida Citrus Mutual, the state’s largest growers’ trade group. Grove caretaking costs have risen to about $2,200 per acre, triple the costs just 15 years ago.
In 2014, certified and exempt organic farms in the US sold a total of $5.5 billion in organic products, according to a report published by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The top 10 states in terms of sales accounted for 78 percent of total US organic sales, with California being the leading state with sales of $2.2 billion.
The selection of organic products sold by US farms in 2014 was diverse and ranged from dairy to proteins, fruits & vegetables and grains. Lettuce and apples rank 4th and 5th in the top five commodities in organic sales with a value of $264 million and $250 million respectively. They follow after milk, eggs and broiler chickens.
Organic producers are able to get their products from farm to table more efficiently as their products don’t travel far to the consumer. Almost half was sold within 100 miles of the farm and two percent was sold internationally.
Almost 40 percent of survey respondents indicated they intend to increase their organic production within the next five years.
As a veteran I 
had about as good a duty as you get. My first 18 months was in the Philippines. I was editor of a base newsletter at the Cubi Point Naval Air Station, plus I had an additional job as editor of the officer’s club newsletter at nearby Subic Bay. That meant $100 extra per month for an E-2 grade sailor right out of boot camp. As icing on the cake I had full access to the officers club since I interviewed and photographed acts performing at the officer’s club ranging from Johnny Mathis to the Ink Spots. From the Philippines I spent 2 months on a heavy cruiser based out of Norfolk, VA before transferring to a submarine base in Groton, CT, where I served in the public affairs office on the admiral’s staff, which included doing a Navy news program on local radio.
I point this out because today is Veteran’s Day – and I want to honor those that are the real heroes. I could have easily received duty where I may have been killed in a Vietnam jungle as 50,000 American heroes did, including a handful of friends I grew up with. I well remember flying home for leave from a U.S. Air Force base in the Philippines to Anchorage Alaska on a medivac flight that was filled with injured service men from Vietnam. Now those are real heroes.
I’ve often thought that young people in America who have never spent time in poor countries, where poverty and sickness are rampant, often don’t really appreciate what they have here in the United States.
So here is to the real American heroes, our service men and women who serve and have served so valiantly to protect and preserve the freedoms we enjoy in this great country. God Bless you. —
JO2 Bill Martin, USN
REEDLY, CA – Youngstown Distributors is offering consumers even more reasons to say, “I love pomegranates” with new additions to their pomegranate product line. Their organic and conventional pomegranate arils have new packages ranging in convenient sizes that customers are sure to love!
Organic pomegranate arils are now available and packed in 16 oz., 8 oz., 5.3 oz. and 4.4 oz. packages. Consumers will be able to enjoy the nutrition, along with the flavor that the fresh organic arils have to offer, by simply opening the package and adding to their favorite recipe or eating by the handful.
New conventional arils are also available in cups, offered in 4.4 oz. and 2 oz. sizes and sold as individual cups or 4-packs. These cups are perfect for children and adult lunches, on-the-go consumers looking for a healthy alternative to traditional snacks, or as a flavorful addition to any meal.
“Pomegranates are more popular than ever, and our new aril products help meet that demand,” says Youngstown Distributors’ President, Mike Forrest. “Consumers are looking for convenience and nutrition; these new package options, offer both to consumers without having to sacrifice nutrition for convenience.”
Youngstown Distributors also offers whole pomegranates, and they are currently supplying Early Wonderful variety fruit from California. Product availability for Wonderful variety whole pomegranates will begin soon, starting in October and continuing through April. Learn more about all of Youngstown Distributors’ product offerings, by visiting them at PMA booth 2111.
About Youngstown Distributors
Youngstown Distributors is a year-round supplier of whole pomegranates and pomegranate arils along with California Stone Fruit. They value their strategic partnerships, which allow them to supply high quality product year-round.
Sweet potato production is surging in the United States, according to a an article issued by the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
“U.S. sweet potato production has increased substantially over the last 15 years,” the authors wrote. “In 2000, total U.S. production was 13.8 million hundredweight and close to the 10-year (1990-99) average of 12.42 million hundredweight. In subsequent seasons, sweet potato production increased by an average of 6.1 percent per season, ultimately resulting in record high production (29.6 million hundredweight) for the 2014 marketing year.”
While sweet potatoes are grown across the United States, the authors said, “They are best suited for cultivation in southern states which have warmer climates and longer frost-free growing seasons relative to other regions of the United States. In particular, North Carolina’s climate and soil conditions are ideal for sweet potato production. Since 1971, this state has been the No. 1 sweet potato producer and, in 2014, North Carolina produced 53 percent of all sweet potatoes grown in the country.”
North Carolina’s industry grew 185 percent over the past 15 years, buoying the domestic industry. “However, other states make significant contributions and have also experienced gains. Over the same 15-year period, California production has increased by nearly 100 percent; Mississippi’s production has increased by 155 percent,” the report stated. These two states accounted for 30 percent of domestic sweet potato production in 2014.
North Carolina, California, Mississippi and Louisiana accounted for 91 percent of aggregate sweet potato production, and the authors attributed increases to gains in yield and area harvested. “North Carolina leads the nation in area harvested and total production; however, California typically posts the highest average yields,” the report stated. “In 2014, California producers harvested an average of 275 hundredweight per acre; in North Carolina farmers realized 220 hundredweight per acre.”
A new report claims that over 14,000 U.S. farms grew organic produce and other agricultural products in 2012.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistic Service’s 2014 Organic Survey, recently released, analyzes data from the 2012 Census of Agriculture. About 3.7 million acres of land had organic products in 2012, 687,000 of them in industry leader California.
Of the 14,093 certified or exempt U.S. farms, 2,805 were in California.
The value of U.S. organic agricultural products in 2012 was $5.5 billion, according to the report. California accounted for about $2.2 billion of that total. About 164,403 acres of organic vegetables, potatoes and melons worth $1.25 billion were harvested in 2012.
Organic grape production totaled 98,805 tons and was worth about $188 million. About 563 million pounds of organic apples, worth $250 million, were produced in 2012. In the “other fruit, nuts and berries” category, about 3,523 farms produced $579 million worth of product in 2012.
Grapefruit consumption has declined, according to USDA data.
While consumers haven’t completely abandoned grapefruit, as of 2013, Americans ate just over 2.5 pounds of fresh, pulpy citrus on average each year.
In 1976, at the height of America’s love for grapefruit, few fruits were more popular. The average American citizen ate almost 25 pounds of grapefruit each year. Since then, however, fresh grapefruit consumption has plunged by 70 percent, and total grapefruit consumption, which includes the processed kind often used for juice, has tumbled by almost 80 percent.
Grapefruits are likely falling victim to the growing demand for convenience in the United States. Americans want foods that are fast and easy, fruits that can be eaten with a single hand.
It’s not a convenient fruit eat, especially when people can grab a banana, an apple, and head out the door.
USDA data show that this is, in many ways, true. Americans eat almost 40 percent more fresh fruit that they did some 40 years ago. Bananas, in particular, have grown in popularity over the years, with consumption being over 60 percent greater per person than it was in the 1970s.
Nothing, however, has been more detrimental to America’s ability to enjoy grapefruits over the years than an insect-borne disease called citrus greening, which has ravaged production. The disease, which first crept into Florida, where some three-quarters of all grapefruits are grown in the country, in the early 2000s, has turned grapefruit farming into a nightmare.
Grapefruits, which are typically among the cheapest citrus, have gotten more expensive over the years. And higher prices have meant even lower demand.
by Idaho Potato Commission
EAGLE, Idaho – The Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) recently released the latest addition to its series of highly memorable television commercials starring the Real Idaho® Potato Farmer Mark Coombs in search of his famed Big Idaho® Potato Truck. In this fourth spot, Farmer Mark sets off on a mission with his bloodhound, Otis to find his missing truck after he sees college football sideline reporter, Heather Cox with his truck on the local news.
The “Missing” commercials featuring Farmer Mark made their debut four years ago during the first Big Idaho® Potato Truck Tour.
“Pairing our two largest marketing campaigns has proven to be highly successful,” says Frank Muir, President and CEO, IPC. “By featuring the Big Idaho® Potato Truck in our ads, we are essentially promoting the tour ten months out of the year. And, we know the campaign works because almost everywhere the truck travels, folks who have seen the commercial tell the traveling Tater Team to go home!”
The new commercial made its national debut during the Boise State University vs. University of Washington football game on September 5 and began running regularly in mid-October on national cable networks including The Food Network, CNN, Headline News, Fox News, The History Channel and The Cooking Channel. The commercial will air through early February and generate more than 550 million audience impressions.
Heather Cox, a college football sideline reporter who has been working with the IPC for three years made a cameo appearance as herself in the commercial. During football season, the Idaho resident helps generate excitement for Idaho® potatoes among college football fans and spud lovers across the country. Currently she is helping the IPC promote its first online tailgating recipe contest.
The Big Idaho® Potato Truck just completed its fourth cross-country journey. The tour began in 2012 as a one-year campaign to celebrate the IPC’s 75th anniversary and it was apparent from the start, based on the reaction from consumers, the industry and the media, that the truck would not be retiring anytime soon. Today, it’s a solid part of pop-culture that has visited 48 states, met millions of folks across the country and generated billions of media impressions.
To view the commercial online, please visit the IPC’s YouTube Channel.
The Golden Gate Wholesale Produce Market will undergo a major renovation effort that will include a solar installation and other infrastructure, environmental, food safety, traffic and sustainability improvements for the first time since it was built in the 1960s.
Located in South San Francisco, the renovation is the most extensive in the market’s 53-year history and is designed to meet the changing needs of businesses located at the market and customers who shop there. By strengthening the market’s infrastructure and advancing its commitment to sustainability, it plans to create a better experience for everyone who works at or visits the market.
Located across the freeway from San Francisco International Airport, this 742,000-square-foot facility, is the largest and busiest produce terminal in Northern California. The state-of-the-art enhancements are planned over the next year and include new solar/energy efficiency upgrades, cold chain food storage management and worker safety systems, as well as smoother traffic flow within the facility.
Twenty-three independent and family-owned businesses operate at the market, including wholesalers, jobbers, commission merchants, brokers, foodservice distributors, processors and one restaurant. More than 15 million packages move through the market each year.
(While this story doesn’t apply to produce trucking directly, in reality it really does. The PACA system in the U.S. fails to provide protection for produce truckers in the event of a dispute involving problems ranging from claims to rejected loads and unfair deductions from the load. In effect, the trucker has little recourse in a dispute, but to seek remedy through the court system, which can be very expensive, time consuming and not very practical. Currently, the best solution is deliver to reputable produce receivers. It also helps to deal with shippers, truck brokers, logistic companies, etc.
that will back you in an unfair claims dispute. HaulProduce.com for decades has called for PACA to include produce trucking, but the produce industry, which has very close ties with the USDA, which administers the PACA, has strongly opposed it.)
The Canadian Produce Marketing Association and the Canadian Horticultural Council applaud the commitment from the Liberal Party of Canada and Liberal Agriculture Critic Mark Eyking to establishing a Canadian mechanism comparable to the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act(PACA) in the United States and to restoring Canada’s preferential access to PACA programs.
“CPMA raised this issue when we met with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau last September, where he committed to resolving this critical problem for the produce industry,” CPMA President Ron Lemaire said in a press release. “We are thrilled that he is following through on this commitment and that the Liberal Party recognizes the importance of a strong produce industry that can continue to provide fresh, healthy food for Canadians.”
“Growing and selling fresh fruit and vegetables is risky, which makes this commitment to ensuring strong, equitable payment protection tools, both in Canada and when exporting to our largest market, all the more important,” Anne Fowlie, executive vice president of the CHC, added in the press release. “We are grateful of the Liberal Party’s support of those who bring fresh fruits and vegetables to our tables every day.”
The lack of payment protection in Canada is the number one issue for fresh fruit and vegetable growers and sellers across Canada. The industry has long advocated for a PACA-like trust in Canada. The highly perishable nature of fresh produce makes the industry uniquely vulnerable during bankruptcies, risking financial ruin for those affected.
Produce sellers in the United States have PACA, which provides a deemed trust mechanism that ensures that growers and sellers are paid should a buyer go bankrupt or simply refuse to pay for the product they receive. Canada had been the only country whose exporters were granted the same protections as U.S. companies under PACA.
The U.S. revoked Canada’s special access due to the lack of similar trust protection and the lack of progress in fulfilling the Canada-U.S. Regulatory Cooperation Council commitment to establishing a comparable approach in Canada.
Long vulnerable in Canada, the situation became more urgent after the decision last fall made exporting to the U.S. a much riskier enterprise for Canadian companies, who currently send 40 percent of all produce grown in Canada to U.S. customers.
Since Oct. 1, Canadian companies trying to recover unpaid bills have had to post a bond of double the value of their claim to move forward with a formal claim under PACA. Many cannot afford to do so and must simply walk away from what they are owed, a decision several have already had to make.
CHC and CPMA have been asking all parties to commit to resolving this issue in their platforms this election. A limited statutory deemed trust, like the PACA model, is a no-cost solution and the most effective means to resolve the issue. Other options would result in high cost to both sellers and government, while still providing ineffective protection.