Archive For The “News” Category
Wish Farms recently held a groundbreaking for its new 3-story, 24,000 square foot office for their expanding operation. Construction of the 130,000 square foot warehouse and cooling facility is scheduled for completion in January 2020. Third and fourth generation family members were all in attendance commemorating the memorable groundbreaking event.
Wish Farms, based in Plant City, FL, is an international grower and year-round shipper of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.
“Along with my sister Elizabeth and our spouses, James Peterson and Stephen Cramer, we are proud to work for our family business and carry on its rich legacy,” said Nick Wishnatzki, Marketing Project Manager. “This is an exciting moment for everyone at Wish Farms; we are all looking forward to a bright future.”
The office is due to be occupied by staff in September 2020. Among other things, it will feature an indoor grove of trees, an adult-sized slide, a tree house conference room and employee gym.
Third generation owner, Gary Wishnatzki, started working as a dock hand for his father and uncle in 1974: “When my grandfather Harris arrived at Ellis Island from Russia in 1904, he could never have imagined what his American dream would become 115 years later. It brings me great pride to know that my children and their families will continue carrying the torch.”
Wish Farms, founded in 1922, is a 4th-generation family operated company growing both conventional and organic varieties.
The third location of an automated online order fulfillment center has been announced by Kroger.
“The new facility (in Forest Park, GA) will provide Kroger the ability to bring customers across the coverage area fresher food faster than ever before,” Tim Brown, president of Kroger’s Atlanta division, said in a news release. “I’m thrilled the Atlanta market was selected as one of the 20 (customer fulfillment center) sites.”
In the release, Kroger described the center as a $55 million investment. The company is building the centers in partnership with Ocado.
Luke Jensen, CEO of Ocado Solutions, said the facility will “transform the e-commerce experience for customers in the region.”
“In a fast-developing landscape for grocery retail, Kroger’s determination to continue delivering the best experience for its customers, online as in stores, is unparalleled,” Jensen said.
The Georgia facility will be 375,000 square feet, per the release. Kroger will break ground on it later this year, and it is expected to be operational in 2021.
Monroe, Ohio, and Groveland, Fla., are the locations for the first two automated fulfillment centers.
Kroger broke ground on the Ohio facility in June and also plans to break ground on the Florida facility this year.
Second-quarter vegetable sales totaled $7.68 billion, up 5.3 percent from the same period in 2018.
Fruit sales declined 0.6 percent to $8.16 billion on mixed performance of individual commodities, according to the latest FreshFacts on Retail report.
“Mandarins rebounded from supply challenges to return to strong double-digit growth,” the United Fresh Produce Association wrote in the report. “With just one commodity reaching more than half of all households during the quarter, opportunities exist to increase product reach.
“Private label also presents an interesting opportunity as it’s far less developed in fruit than vegetables but increased sales by double digits,” United Fresh wrote.
Strawberry volumes sales dropped 8.2 pecent, and dollar sales fell 7.8 percent to $814 million. Oranges saw a 5.4 percent dip in volume, and dollar sales dropped 11.6 percent to $268 million. Avocados also saw a 7 percent decrease in volume, but dollar sales increased 10.3 percent to $639 million.
Mandarins saw a 23.8 percent increase in volume and 13.5 percent increase in dollar sales to $423 million, and raspberry volume grew 14.4 percent, spurring a 6.5 percent jump in dollar sales to $237 million.
Vegetables that fared well in the second quarter included lettuce, with dollar sales up 6.8% to $454 million; bell peppers, with dollar sales up 5.6% to $406 million; broccoli, with sales up 9.3% to $254 million; and onions, with sales up 15.1% to $553 million.
The value-added vegetable category also saw growth in the second quarter, growing 6.2 percent in volume and 8.8 percent in dollar sales to $391 million.
The following items saw both volume and dollar sales increase substantially:
- Mixed vegetables: +7.4 percent to 27 million pounds, +8.0 percent to $106 million
- Broccoli: +13.5 percent to 21 million pounds, +15.2 percent to $61 million
- Celery: +23.9 percent to 11 million pounds, +26.9 percent to $28 million
Organic produce sales also grew in the second quarter, reaching nearly $1.5 billion, up 3.9 percent from the same time in 2018.
Berries were among the organic items with the most growth since last year, with volume increases of 11 percent for strawberries, 15.4 percent for blueberries and 27.8 percent for raspberries. Lettuce and the herbs and spices category also saw significant increases.
Latin American fruit and vegetable growers are primed for more growth according to a new 326-page report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
Providing the outlook for 2019-2028, there are “strong growth opportunities” in the Latin America region to produce high-value fruits and vegetables. That trend, according to the report, will help provide better opportunities for small land holders.
Since 2000, the report said fruits and vegetables gained considerable importance in Central America, Mexico and Chile.
Research by INIA, Chile’s chief agricultural research institution, has contributed to a 1,000 percent increase in nut exports from 2001-2011 and a big increase in blueberry output. “From being practically an unknown fruit to farmers only two decades ago, today Chile is an important blueberry producer and exporter in the Southern hemisphere,” the report said.
U.S. trade statistics show that Chilean berry exports to the U.S. (excluding strawberries) rose from about $19 million in 2000 to $465 million in 2018.
Future growth
The report said Latin American and Caribbean production of fruits and vegetables have grown considerably in the last few decades, with most volume of exports bound for the U.S. and Canada. Free trade agreements have spurred that growth, according to the report.
In addition to the North American Free Trade Agreement, the U.S. has the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) and separate trade agreements with Chile, Colombia, Panama and Peru.
While Mexico has traditionally been the main fruit and vegetable supplier to the U.S., the report said Central American countries and Chile have played an increasingly important roles in the U.S winter fruit and vegetable market.
For example, USDA trade statistics show that U.S. imports of fresh fruits and vegetables from Central America more than tripled from 2000 to 2018, rising from $920 million in 2000 to $2.94 billion in 2018.
Likewise, U.S. imports of fresh fruits and vegetables from South America more than tripled from $1.27 billion in 2000 to $4.37 billion in 2018.
U.S. imports of fresh fruits and vegetables from Mexico from 2000-2018 grew at an even faster clip, rising from $2.04 billion in 2000 to $12.1 billion in 2018.
In 2017, Mexico, Peru, Guatemala and Costa Rica accounted for 75.4% of U.S. total fresh vegetable imports, according to the report.
For fresh fruits, the report said nine Latin American countries represented 92.3% of total U.S imports, led by Mexico, Chile, Guatemala and Costa Rica.
Over the past two decades, harvested area of fruits and vegetables in Mexico increased 26.2% to 4.6 million acres. That compares with increases of 42.2% in Chile and 45.8% in Central America.
“The region’s traditional fruit and vegetable production and exports (Mexican tomatoes and avocados, Chilean grapes and peaches, Central American bananas and pineapples, for example) have risen considerably and have expanded to include, for example, Chilean cherries and cranberries; Central American chillies and peppers, and eggplant; and Mexican blueberries and raspberries,” the report said.
Reflecting favorable weather and labor conditions, Latin American and Caribbean countries may continue to enjoy a comparative advantage in fruit and vegetable production in the future, according to the report. That could be further strengthened by improving storage technology, infrastructure and production practices, according to the report.
Looking ahead, the report said that global population growth and improvements in per capita incomes will help fuel a 1.4% annual growth rate for bananas and tropical fruit in Latin America and the Caribbean over the next ten years. Bananas will account for about half of tropical fruit output, according to the report. Exports will grow at an even faster rate.
“Preference changes towards higher consumption of tropical fruits in developed regions, particularly in the case of avocado, should meanwhile stimulate a further expansion in trade,” the report said. The report said banana and tropical fruit exports from Latin American and the Caribbean are projected to grow at 1.7% annually between 2019 and 2028.
“Latin America/the Caribbean will continue to be the main source of global supplies in bananas and tropical fruits, with its share in global trade projected to remain close to 80% by 2028,” the report said.
A decline in U.S. citrus production land shipments during the next decade is predicted by the USDA, while increases with items such as nuts will increase.
Citrus production is projected to decline slowly over the ten-year projection period, according to the USDA’s Agricultural Projecions to 2018.
U.S. citrus production will decline from 16.07 billion pounds in 2019 to 14.7 billion pounds in 2028, the agency said.
“The expected declines stem from the loss of bearing acreage in Florida and the continued spread of citrus greening, a citrus disease spread by insects for which no cure currently exists and which has the potential to threaten the entire citrus industry,” the report said. “Declines in citrus production are projected to be offset by increases in noncitrus production.”
Meanwhile, the USDA reported expanding acreage of tree nuts in response to rising demand will boost production and tree nut output will continue to grow over the next ten years.
Big picture
U.S. fruit, nut and vegetable production farm value is projected to grow 2.7 percent annually for the next decade.
The USDA said estimated total farm value of fruits, nuts, and vegetables will reach $68.2 billion by 2028, up from $53.9 billion in 2019.
According to the report, fruits contribute roughly 43 percent of the total value, tree nuts account for 18 percent, and vegetables nearly 40 percent.
Measured by farm weight, the USDA said production of fruit and tree nuts, and vegetables, are projected to rise at an annual growth rate of 0.52% and 0.54 percent per year, respectively.
The USDA said:
- Overall fruit and tree nut production is expected to reach roughly 63 billion pounds in 2028;
- The value of farm production of fruit and tree nuts is projected to grow at roughly 2.7 percent annually, with tree nuts expected to grow 3% per year, citrus at just under 3 percent, and noncitrus at 2.5 percent per year;
- Over the next 10 years, the shares of vegetable production for fresh use and processing are expected to remain at current levels, according to the USDA;
- Fresh use is expected to account for roughly 28% of total vegetable production while processed vegetables are projected to make up about 30% of total production;
- U.S. fresh vegetable production is projected at 39.5 billion pounds in 2019, and is predicted to rise slightly to 39.8 billion pounds in 2028;
- U.S. noncitrus fruit production will grow from 37.6 billion pounds in 2019 to 40.3 billion pounds in 2028;
- U.S. tree nut production will rise from 6.8 billion pounds in 2019 to 8.3 billion pounds in 2028; and
- U.S. potato production will grow from 46.1 billion in 2019 to 47.4 billion pounds in 2028.
By Drew Costly, SFGate
Retail prices for avocados have nearly doubled amid a global shortage of the fruit, but there’s a farm in Florida that’s got those prices beat by a long shot.
Miami Fruit in Florida is growing Pura Vida avocados with long necks and selling them for as much as $47 for a box.
The avocados – that have the normal marble, dark green skin, light green flesh and hard seed center, but with a long neck that starts where the basic avocados come to a point – have been going viral since the farm posted a video to Instagram in early August.
Each of the long-neck avocados weigh between 1-3 pounds, according to NBC’s Today Show reportt on the viral fruit, while California Haas avocados typically weigh 1/3 of a pound. California Haas avocados reached a high price earlier this year at $3.37 each, but per fruit price for the Pura Vida avocados range between $4.38 and $$15.66.
The newly formed joint sales alliance of Michigan Fresh Marketing of Grand Rapids and BelleHarvest Sales Inc. of Belding, MI has added Elite Apple of Sparta, MI as another supplier.
The 500,000 cartons Elite Apple has committed to Michigan Fresh Marketing and BelleHarvest represents about half of Elite Apple’s 2019 projected volume, according to a press release.
“After having more than doubled our packing capacity, we’ve decided to add Michigan Fresh and BelleHarvest to our sales group,” Rich Kent, Elite Apple partner, said in the release.
Recently, Elite has added a second packing line to their facility.
“In order to keep up with retail consolidation and industry changes, this allows us the versatility to pursue larger programs for sustained periods of time,” Elite partner Ken Hubert said in the release.
Selling fruit from 8 packing facilities, Michigan Fresh Marketing and BelleHarvest project that they will ship over 3 million cartons of Michigan and Wisconsin apples in the upcoming season.
“We are looking at a favorable apple crop in the Midwest and are excited to work with the exceptional team and partners at Elite,” Michigan Fresh CEO Joe D’Ottavio said.
Broccoli has won for the second consecutive year in Green Giant’s annual poll of Americans’ favorite vegetable,
More than 5,000 consumers, from ages 13 to 73, took the frozen/canned vegetables company’s survey, and broccoli placed first in 39 states. The results were released in connection with National Eat Your Vegetables Day earlier this year, according to a news release.
igure>Here are some interesting findings from the survey, which was open-ended, letting consumers choose any vegetable:
- Potatoes ranked first only in Arkansas, a loss of four states from last year;
- Of the 7 states choosing corn, Iowa wasn’t included. (Yes sweet corn and field corn are vastly different, but still …);
- Despite the juicing craze that’s boosted celery prices to new heights, the fad didn’t elevate the stalk to the top in any state;
- Cucumbers did not carry a single state, unlike in 2018, when New Mexico and Louisiana residents chose them above other vegetables; and
- The “orange” candidate: Nevada and North Dakota opted for carrots;
- Asparagus led Alaska polling and cauliflower was the favorite in Montana, the first times for both vegetables.
The survey, conducted through Suzy, a company that offers an online consumer insights platform, took place April 26-May 10, according to the release.
By Vine Line Produce Distribution
Comstock Park, Mich. – Michigan-based Heeren Bros., Inc., and Walsma & Lyons announces a joint-venture merger that positions the new organization to become one of the Midwest’s leading full-service produce and distribution, brokerage, refrigerated transportation and logistics companies.
Re-branded as Vine Line Produce Distribution, the companies’ combined business lines include Heeren Bros. Produce, Vine Line Logistics, Vine Line Trucking and Walsma & Lyons.
“Based on shared vision, values and strengths, the merger between Heeren Bros. and Walsma & Lyons is a dynamic move,” said Joseph D’Ottavio, CEO of Vine Line Produce Distribution. “We are excited about the strategic advantages of working together, while building on core competencies to pursue future growth.”
Like Heeren Bros., Walsma & Lyons is a family-owned and operated business with deep roots in the Western Michigan region. Founded in 1955, it is a produce brokerage distribution business that provides a full line of fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as tailored solutions for meeting customers’ unique needs. Company owner Gary Lyons has over 40 years of experience in all aspects of the produce industry.
“The produce and transportation landscape is ripe for a company that is willing and able to invest in multiple distribution facilities. Vine Line Produce Distribution has never been more agile and focused on meeting customers’ produce and transportation needs in an ever-changing market,” said Gary Lyons, President of Vine Line Produce Distribution.
Headquartered in Comstock Park, Michigan, Vine Line Produce Distribution operates out of a 180,000 sq. ft, LEED Certified, state-of-the-art facility that combines wholesale distribution with cold storage and packaging. A second 46,000 sq. ft. facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, provides direct distribution into Central Midwest and Western markets.
Established in 1933, Heeren Bros. has a long history in produce distribution, as well as strong partnerships with Michigan apple growers in packing, shipping and storing the state’s largest fruit crop. The company is currently owned by 42 North Partners, a Grand Rapids private equity firm, which guided the recent merger with Vine Line Logistics. 42 North Partners is led by Mike and Sue Jandernoa. It invests in projects that provide a catalyst for the growth and vitality of the entrepreneurial community with a focus on Western Michigan.
By Gladstone Land Corporation
MCLEAN, Va. — Gladstone Land Corporation (Nasdaq: LAND) (“Gladstone Land” or the “Company”) announced that it has acquired approximately 1,000 gross acres of farmland in Coalinga, California, for $33 million. The farm consists of 911 planted acres of mature pistachio trees. In connection with the acquisition, the Company also entered into an eight-year, triple-net lease with RTS Agri Business and Canoas Creek Pistachios. This is the first closing of a two-part acquisition; the second closing is scheduled to occur during the fourth quarter of 2019 and is slightly larger than this one.
“We are excited to be adding another large pistachio orchard in the San Joaquin Valley,” said Bill Reiman, Managing Director of Gladstone Land. “More than just adding another property to our farmland holdings, we are also adding another high-quality grower-tenant. This transaction has been very smooth, and it has been a pleasure to work with Rod Stiefvater, Paul Nugent, and their broker, Cameron Kay. Rod and Paul farmed this property prior to its development as a pistachio orchard, and they are excited to continue their operations on the property into the foreseeable future. This is a large holding with its own solar facilities to help reduce energy costs, and the farm has added value due to the water infrastructure that allows the grower to deliver surface water to the orchard.”
“This is our second large acquisition of the quarter,” said David Gladstone, President and CEO of Gladstone Land. “We continue to build our diverse portfolio of farmland focused primarily on healthy foods, such as fresh produce and nuts, and we are very encouraged by the number of large, high-quality farms we have been able to acquire recently. This orchard has just reached peak production and is a great representation of our ability to partner with esteemed operators and purchase farms that we expect will produce steady rental income and allow us to continue growing the dividends we pay to our shareholders.”
About Gladstone Land Corporation:
Founded in 1997, Gladstone Land is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns farmland and farm-related properties located in major agricultural markets across the U.S. and leases its properties to unrelated third-party farmers. The Company reports the fair value of its farms on a quarterly basis. The Company currently owns 93 farms, comprised of approximately 81,000 acres in 10 different states, valued at approximately $768 million. The farms are predominantly located in regions where its tenants are able to grow fresh produce annual row crops, such as berries and vegetables, which are generally planted and harvested annually. The Company also owns farms growing permanent crops, such as almonds, apples, figs, olives, pistachios, and other orchards, as well as groves of blueberries and vineyards, which are generally planted every 10 to 20-plus years and harvested annually. The Company may also acquire property related to farming, such as cooling facilities, processing buildings, packaging facilities, and distribution centers. The Company pays monthly distributions to its stockholders and has paid 78 consecutive monthly cash distributions on its common stock since its initial public offering in January 2013. The current per-share distribution on its common stock is $0.04455 per month, or $0.5346 per year. Additional information, including detailed information about each of the Company’s farms, can be found at www.GladstoneFarms.com.