Archive For The “Trucking Reports” Category
U.S. pumpkin loadings have gotten underway across North America with peak shipments coming later in September and October.
The 2017 U.S. Census of Agriculture reported a total of 93,563 acres of pumpkins were harvested from 15,224 farms that year, up from 90,165 acres harvested from 15,840 farms in 2012.
Fresh market pumpkin acres harvested in 2017 totaled 75,341.
Bay Baby Produce Inc. of Mount Vernon, WA., began harvest of pumpkins and ornamental squash in mid-August. The initial pickings were for pie pumpkins for bulk shipments and painting, followed by wee be little pumpkins. Those can be sold as-is and also painted. This is followed by later varieties including the long-stem ornamental tiger stripe, casper and sparkler pumpkins.
Bay Baby Produce ships from its Washington state farm to all parts of the U.S. and also exports to Canada, Taiwan and Japan. The company reports retail buyers are buying pumpkins earlier in the season due to demand.
At Wallendal Farms of Grand Marsh, WI, the firm will start its pumpkin harvest this week.
Schmieding Produce Co. LLC, Springdale, Ark., is expecting normal volume in early September.
Schmieding sells mostly to retail but also ships to some distributors and some pumpkin patches.
The company offers ornamental heirloom varieties, including cinderella and fairy tale pumpkins in addition to the standard jack-o-lantern pumpkins.
Normal volume of Florida avocado shipments are expected this season following a down year caused primarily by Hurricane Irma.
Florida shippers are expected to load about 800,000 bushels of green-skin avocados between June and April.
Last year’s crop was reduced by about 40 percent as a result of the hurricane.
Brooks Tropicals of Homestead, FL ships about 40 percent of that volume, which has a trademark on the name SlimCado for its green-skin avocados, which are hydrocooled to extend shelf life. The name was selected at least in part because SlimCados are promoted by the company to have less fat and fewer calories than hass avocados.
They are shipped from Florida starting in June and continuing through March. Additionally, they are sourced from the Dominican Republic between October and May.
While the majority of SlimCados are shipped to markets in the South and on the East Coast, more of the fruit is going to markets in the west.
J&C Tropicalsl of Miami gland normal avocado shipments once again. The company reports July and August as two the biggest months for volume, with good volume to continue through December.
J&C Tropicals, which ships the fruit nationally, will start bringing in similar varieties from the Dominican Republic in the fall.
Florida avocados are bigger than hass, weighing on average about 1 pound.
A whopping increase of nearly 20 percent in Washington apple shipments compared to a year ago is forecast for the new season. That would place shipments at 137.3 million boxes.
The estimated 2019 fresh crop is 18 percent larger than the 2018 crop of 116.7 million boxes, according to the Washington State Tree Fruit Association.
“WSTFA members are expecting an ample 2019 apple crop with a good mix of varieties for today’s market,” Jon DeVaney, WSTFA president, said in a news release. “Favorable summer growing weather means that Washington growers are expecting a crop with excellent quality and finish.”
By variety, the crop estimate reported gala is projected to total 23 percent of loadings, with red delicious at 20 percent, fuji at 13 percent and granny smith at 12 percent of total fresh shipments.
The estimate projected Honeycrisp at 12 percent of the state’s fresh crop, while cripps pink is estimated at 5 percent of the total.
Andy Tudor, vice president of business development at Rainier Fruit, Selah, WA, said some industry leaders had been predicting a crop as big as 150 million boxes.
He said apple sizes may be down a bit from last year, with galas projected to have peak sizes of 88s, 100s, and 113s.
“The fruit size is probably not as good as growers wanted it to be this year,” Tudor said.
At the same time, the large Honeycrisp crop has projected peak sizes of 72s to 88s, which are ideal sizes for retail promotion.
The 2019 estimate projects organic apple production at 13% of the total, or 18.3 million boxes, according to the release.
The forecast is based on a survey of WSTFA members, according to the release, and represents a “best estimate” of the total volume of apples that will eventually be packed and sold on the fresh market.
Washington state will also produce its first commercial volume of Cosmic Crisp apples in 2019, said Lynnell Brandt, president of Proprietary Variety Management LLC, Yakima, WA.
Brandt said the 2019 Washington Cosmic Crisp crop is expected near 450,000 boxes, with third leaf fruit (three-year-old trees) released for sales Dec. 1 and second leaf fruit (two-year-old trees) released January 1.
Harvest of the variety will begin in mid-September and continue into October.
With about 11 million trees of Cosmic Crisp planted so far, Brandt said Cosmic Crisp production will rise to about 2 million boxes by 2020 and see further big jumps after that.
Proprietary Variety Management is managing the marketing of the Cosmic Crisp, and the apple will be sold by most if not all Washington shippers.
By Applewood Fresh Growers LLC
SPARTA, Mich. — Applewood Fresh Growers LLC expects shipments to increase 20 percent over last year for SweeTango®.
As the lead marketer in the Midwest for the variety that comes from the Minnesota breeding program, Applewood Fresh promotes the marriage of the Honeycrisp and Zestar! varieties in SweeTango for its standout flavor and texture.
SweeTango is expected to start in Michigan around September 3rd.
Applewood Fresh is the exclusive seller of the KIKU® and Kanzi® managed varieties in the Midwest. Increased volume of 50 percent is projected for the 2019 season with Kanzi and a 10 percent increase with Kiku.
The newest variety expected to catapult Applewood Fresh’s reputation for excellence is Rave®. The company has grown the juicy, early season Honeycrisp-meets-MonArk cross as a test for the past 3 years. An agreement has been signed with Stemilt, a family-owned fruit tree growing, packing and shipping company based in Wenatchee, WA, to plant significant acreage of the variety in 2 locations in Michigan.
A second packing line at the facility where Applewood Fresh headquarters is located in Sparta, MI, will more than double the capacity for all varieties.
“More capacity allows us to bring on more quality fruit from some of the finest young growers and family operations in the Michigan industry,” says Scott Swindeman, Co-owner of Applewood Fresh Growers “Working together to produce the very finest apples is important to all of us—our growers, Applewood Fresh and our valued customers.
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About Applewood Fresh
Applewood Fresh Growers LLC, a grower, packer, shipper and marketer of the finest Michigan apples, can trace its roots back to 1935 and the founding of affiliate company Applewood Orchards, Inc. With its third generation of family ownership, the company represents growers at primarily family-owned orchards across the state that inspire a mission to bring quality apples to consumers year-round. Applewood Fresh currently ships 21 apple varieties, made possible by its network of 50+ growers.
For more information, visit ApplewoodFresh.com.
NAPIERVILLE, Quebec — Most Quebec commercial growers have a mixture of different vegetables when it comes to shipping their produce to domestic customers and exporting to the U.S. and elsewhere.
Delfland of Napierville is shipping shallots from last year’s crop, but the new season will soon start. Movement is expected to be brisk as both France and Holland had less than stellar seasons.
About 50 percent of Delfland’s carrots, onions and shallots are exported, with the remainder shipped to eastern Canadian markets.
Les Fermes Hotee and Van Winden of Napierville began farming 40 years ago with 100 acres, and now has 780 acres. Half of it is iceberg and romaine lettuce, a fourth is onion and the remaining fourth is bok choy, napa cabbage, yellow beets and celeriac.
The company began shipping yellow onions the last week of July.
Some of their crops are processed for fast-food chains Taco Bell, Burger King and Subway, while others go into bagged salads for retail.
In winter, the operation grows product in Florida, but processes it in Quebec, before trucking it six hours south to the New York market.
Les Fermes Hotee and Van Winden ships 75 percent of its vegetables to the U.S., and 20 percent to Vegpro in Sherrington to be processed for bags for Quebec’s main retailers — Loblaw, IGA and Metro — and 5 percent goes to the fresh market.
At Ferme A. & R. Trucot, of Saint-Roch-de-I’Achigan 80 to 85 percent of its products goes to destinations in the Quebec province, and the remainder exported to the Northeastern U.S.
At Ferme GNC, 70 percent of its vegetables goes to Quebec, and 30 percent is exported to the U.S. Customers are processors, retailers, food sellers and wholesalers — all with different packing needs.
A 4 percent increase in U.S. apple shipments is forecast by the USDA for the upcoming 2019-20 season.
The 2019 crop — fresh and processing crops — is forecast at 10.6 billion pounds, or 252.4 million (42-pound) cartons. An increase of 4 percent from a year ago.
“Washington growers reported favorable summer growing weather, contributing to a crop with excellent quality and finish,” the USDA reported in its forecast.
New York growers also reported good growing conditions. In Michigan, a wet spring hampered pollination. Below normal fruit counts in Michigan were partially offset by good fruit sizing, according to the report.
The USDA forecast for the major apple shipping states are:
- California: 300 million pounds, up 20 percent from 250 million pounds last year;
- Michigan: 1.05 billion pounds, unchanged from a year ago;
- New York: 1.25 billion pounds, down 10 percent from 1.4 billion pounds last year;
- Pennsylvania: 500 million pounds, up 2 percent from 488 million pounds in 2018;
- Virginia: 185 million pounds, down 9 percent from 204 million pounds a year ago; and
- Washington: 7.2 billion pounds, up 7 percent from 6.7 billion pounds in 2018.
By Pear Bureau Northwest
PORTLAND, Ore. – Northwest pear growers have released their latest crop estimate for pear shipments in the 2019-20 season. The estimate is based on data reported from Washington’s Wenatchee and Yakima districts and Oregon’s Mid-Columbia and Medford districts.
While the initial season estimate – reported in May – came in at 17.3 million standard box equivalents, the current estimate is around 18.6 million standard box equivalents, or 408,800 US tons. This marks an 8 percent increase from the initial crop estimate, coming in 1 percent higher than the 5-year average and 1 percent less than the 2018 harvest.
“The increase from the initial estimate is due to the fruit sizing up very well in the last two months. Growers are reporting large, beautiful fruit on the trees with sizes that are in demand from retailers in the U.S. and Canada. With ample larger sized pears, there will also be plenty of smaller fruit to fill the demand for bagged pears and for the export markets that prefer smaller fruit,” stated Kevin Moffitt, President and CEO of Pear Bureau Northwest (PBNW).
Picking is just about to begin throughout the four growing regions of the Northwest and will continue throughout August and September. Pick dates for the 2019-20 season are later than last season, but close to the historical average. Starkrimson harvest is beginning this week in most districts, with the Bartlett picking starting this week in Mid-Columbia and next week in the other districts. Later in the month, harvest of Comice, Bosc, Forelle and Seckel will begin along with Anjou harvest, with harvest completed by late September.
Based on the current estimates for this season, Green Anjou will be the leading variety with 9.5 million standard boxes (about 51 percent of total Northwest fresh pear crop), with Green Bartlett following at 4.8 million standard boxes (about 26 percent of the total crop), and Bosc with 2.5 million (about 13 percent of the total crop). There will be 1.1 million standard boxes of Red Anjou, representing about 6 percent of the crop.
Organic pear numbers are included in the overall estimate and their numbers continue to grow with more acres in transition. This year’s organic estimate is 1.9 million standard boxes (42,000 tons), making up 11 percent of the total Northwest crop. Looking at the entire organic crop, growers project 705,350 standard boxes of Green Anjou, with the Green Bartlett and Bosc crops sizes projected at 700,550 and 273,400 standard boxes, respectively.
About Pear Bureau Northwest
Pear Bureau Northwest is a non-profit marketing organization established in 1931 to promote the fresh pears grown in Washington and Oregon, home to 88 percent of the US commercial fresh pear crop. The Bureau represents close to 900 grower families and partners with outlets throughout the world in an effort to increase overall success with the pear category. The organization provides marketing and merchandising expertise that is customized specifically for each retail organization, using its pear consumer research findings as well as individual store analysis using an in-house data system that measures pear category performance nationwide and third-party research to show retailers how they perform versus their competition.
Stemilt Growers of Wenatchee, WA was in the third week of harvest of Artisan Organics peaches and nectarines in early August and will be shipping well into September.
“It’s been a strong start to our all-organic peach and nectarine season thanks to ideal temperatures in southeastern Washington state,” Brianna Shales, Stemilt communications manager, said in a news release.
Peak loading season for Artisan Organics peaches and nectarines is until mid-September, according to the release.
Stemilt has a new pop-up bin display for retailers featuring Stemilt fruit with the Artisan Organics logo, according to the release.
“Display bins are an effective merchandising tool, but especially helpful with organic fruit,” Shales said. “Retailers can build larger displays of organic peaches and nectarines with these bins in order to drive impulse sales.”
Stemilt differentiates themselves with organic peaches and nectarines through their ten-year partnership with the Douglas family.
“The move to organics was a move to produce fruits with complex flavors,” Shales said. “Flavor is what consumers crave, and we’re confident that we’ll keep delivering on that promise with our Artisan Organics peaches until season’s end.”
While we haven’t seen any estimate for Wisconsin potato shipments, reading between the lines it appears a fairly normal season is expected.
While some diggings got underway the last week of July, the main crop, which is russets, is just now starting.
The Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association reports a decent crop with adequate rain.
Alsum Farms & Produce Inc. of Friesland reports Wisconsin has been shipping reds and gold potatoes since the first week of August.
Alsum is just starting to dig its new crop russets this week and will immediately start shipping its new-crop of fingerlings.
Alsum apparently avoided heavy rains in late July, despite other regions of the state being heavily impacted by strong storms.
Bushmans’ Inc. of Rosholt reports spring rains delayed planting schedules, but the crop has been rapidly catching up during the summer. However, the company notes it was catching up due to favorable weather and is cranking up its packing shed this week with russets. It has been shipping reds and round whites since late July.
Okray Family Farms of Plover reports too much rain put the harvest behind about 10 days for the normal starting date of August 1st.
A similar report comes from RPE Inc. of Bancroft, WI although it is reporting a great looking crop, although its about 7 to 10 days late.
Farmers Potato Exchange Inc. of Antigo reports a similar situation.
OVIEDO, FL– After concluding a successful domestic citrus season in the United States, Duda Farm Fresh Foods launched its imported citrus program for the 17th consecutive summer.
Beginning mid-May through October, Duda imports citrus to the U.S. from the southern hemisphere.
During the 2019 season, Duda introduced Argentinian lemons. Available in stores now, Chilean easy-peeler clementines display vibrant colors and a premium sugar-to-acid ratio, which results in a sweeter flavor perfect for late summer snacking. Duda’s line of imported citrus, sold under the Dandy® label, includes clementines, lemons, navels and Cara Cara oranges.
“Preserving our relationships with growers in the southern hemisphere for over 17 years now is a great accomplishment and one we are very proud of,” said Alberto Cuellar, vice president of global business at Duda Farm Fresh Foods. “As consumer demand for citrus in the summer increases, we will continue to meet that need through our citrus import program.”
Once the domestic market is out of the citrus growing season, Duda ensures their customers receive fresh-tasting fruit year-round by maintaining its long-lasting relationships with growers in the southern hemisphere. The brand primarily has sourced fruit from Chile, Peru and Uruguay, and looks to continue bringing high-quality products with new additions from Morocco and Argentina.
“At Duda Farm Fresh Foods, we are constantly improving our citrus variety to provide quality fruit for our customers year-round,” said Dan Duda, president of Duda Farm Fresh Foods. “Importing citrus from our growers in the southern hemisphere allows us to provide a solution to seasonal gaps in the U.S. market.”