Posts Tagged “feature”
Very light loadings of Oregon potato shipments have started….Meanwhile, New Jersey tomato shipments are in peak volume.
The early season potato harvest in Oregon is underway pretty much on schedule from normal past years.
Harvest of Oregon potatoes will continue until November. Plantings in the Klamath region was completed in early June, and that those potatoes are in their early stages.
About 13 percent of Oregon potato shipments are with table stock (fresh market), which is mostly russets with some reds and yellows, 7 percent chip potatoes, and the rest being processed russets or other varieties of the russet type.
Government figures show that in the region which includes Oregon, Washington and Idaho, about 65 percent of potatoes grown in those three states are exported internationally, and should once again include South Korea.
New Jersey Tomatoes
In 2017 New Jersey tomatoes were the third ranking crop in the Garden State, coming off of 4,000 acres, with shipments totaling 112 million pounds. New Jersey annually ranks in the top 10 in the U.S. in shipments of tomatoes.
Tomato loadings are at a peak now and that peak will continue for another week or so. However, the season will continue through October.
Growtopia of Swedesboro, NJ, was formerly known as Sorbello Farms. It is a third-generation family-owned farm that has 900 acres, with nearly 200 acres of Jersey Fresh vegetables and features its own packing facility. Growtopia/Sorbello Farms also grows asparagus, zucchini squash, cucumbers and Bell peppers throughout the year. The company ships Jersey Fresh vegetables across the United States and Canada.
Growtopia Farms is located off exit #10 on route 295 or exit #2 on the NJ Turnpike.
In 2018 the company was first farm in New Jersey to implement precision spraying through unmanned drones rather than a traditional ground sprayer. This produces a much smaller carbon footprint, a 75 percent reduction in pesticides, and thermal imaging to aid in its scouting program.
By Larry Oscar
With the increased amount of political activity our roads have been littered with all shapes and sizes of “Vote for Me ” yard signs. I counted 23 yard signs at one intersection alone.
What is note worthy is how they seem to magically appear overnight. They are kind of like the toad stools that appears after a recent rain. I’ll be glad when this is all over and the attack of these pests recedes into the sunset. What is interesting is how the candidates try to “Out-sign” their opponent. You can find four or five of the same sign within five feet of each other. I got news for you. If they spend that much money wastefully by placing four or five of the same sign in one spot, just think how they will spend your tax dollars.
We should vote for the candidate that didn’t litter the road with their signs. What would even be better would be for the bozo politician running for office to fix a pothole in the road with his sign money. He could spray paint over the fixed pothole and say “Vote for me, because I fixed this pothole.” That way we could kill two birds with one stone. And for sure we would vote for any bozo politician who fixes potholes rather than litters our roads.
Stealing political yard signs is illegal, but do we really want our police force spending time guarding these stupid signs. We should charge the politicians a fee for guarding their signs. Maybe they would plant fewer signs if they had to pay a sign security fee. What amazes me is what you don’t see. There was not one single negative yard sign. It seems to me that with all the negative radio and TV adds that there ought to be at least one negative yard sign.
How about a sign that reads “Don’t vote for Fisher cause he sucks eggs!” Now that would lighten up your day when driving to and from work wouldn’t it? “Did you know Bob Smith, who is running for Governor, is sleeping with your wife?” Or maybe “County Commissioner Sam Wilson has jock itch!” I think there is a real opportunity here to throw dirt on your opponent that they are flat out missing. The cost of these signs is about $2 – $4 each, so the total cost can’t be cheap when you add up how many there are.
This may explain the ever stretched out hands of the politicians looking for campaign contributions. What any smart candidate should do is ask for a donation with a promise not to use it for yard signs. How about handing out political cigars. Now that is something I could support. Yard signs are really not very effective. According to one study between 1984 and 2012 the use of political yard signs quadrupled. Yet they are only about 1.7 percent effective and have about the same effect as direct mail. That makes them 98.3 percent ineffective, for those politicians who can’t do simple math. And I’m sure a lot of them can’t.
Recently I asked one candidate why anyone would want to run for one of these worthless positions. The answer I got back was “maybe for prestige.” Can you imagine what a miserable life some people must have if that’s the main reason they are running for office? I never stopped to think about it, but I do seem to remember how our state legislators run around calling each other “senator” like it was some big shot title. Ego has no bounds. Then there are the politicians that thinks they can “make a difference.” How naive. History is full of these misguided souls.
Somehow these types all seem to end up with a bitter and cynical outlook on life. Societies all repeat history because they never can learn from it. One thing I have observed is that when the cycle of change occurs over several generations the younger generation tends to repeat the sins of their fathers almost without exception. Maybe that is because they never experienced the problems and failures of the past. And after all, they think that they can deal with it because they are more “enlightened” than their parents and grandparents were.
As the world enters a period of over population, and with the problems that will bring, we must all do a reality check. The truth is that some problems have no good solution. We must just learn to deal with them. This may be hard for some to accept, but it does not make it any more untrue. Facts are facts and our ability to deal with most of our problems in society is limited at best. This has been proven time and time again. The same will be for yard signs I guess.
As the years go buy I’m sure they will only proliferate. Although I do hope they gravitate toward some good old negative humor and mud slinging. Or maybe an honest campaign sign that reads “Vote for me because I’m running for this office to get away from my wife.” It helps if we all keep our sense of humor you know.
(Larry Oscar is a graduate from the University of Tulsa and holds a degree in electrical engineering. He is retired and lives with his wife on a lake in Oklahoma where he brews his own beer, sails, and is a member of numerous clubs and organizations.)
New York vegetable shipments were hindered by too much rain a year ago, but in 2018 farmers were wishing they had more rainfall. Still, crops seem to be in pretty good shape and normal shipments are taking place.
For example William Farms LLC of Marion, NY is reporting loadings occurring on a normal schedule thus far this season. In similar fashion, Turek Farms of King Ferry is reporting vegetables maturing on time, but could use some moisture.
Onion shipments for Raymond Myruski LLC of Goshen, NY should get underway the first half of August.
A look at USDA shipment figures for New York fruit and vegetable shipments showed mixed trends.
- Apple shipments, the top volume commodity in New York, were down 11 percent from 2016.
- Onions, the second-ranked fresh commodity by volume, saw shipments increase 18 percent in 2017 compared with the previous season.
- Sweet corn, ranked third in volume during 2017, recorded fresh shipments in 2017 that were up 30 percent from 2016.
- Cucumber shipments in 2017 were up 5 percent from the previous year, and fresh bean shipments were up 1 percent, according to the USDA.
- Cabbage shipments were off 3 pecent, and potato shipments were nearly unchanged from a year ago.
Green bean loadings started in early July for Torrey Farms Inc. of Elba, N.Y., while cabbage and squash have just started. Supply should be steady, and quality looks good.
At Eden Valley Growers of Eden, NY vegetable crops are coming on at about the same time as in 2017. The company started shipping lettuces, broccoli and cucumbers abut a month ago, which were followed by bell peppers and hot specialty pepper. Sweet corn loadings got underway the third week of July.
The company also ships squash and cucumbers. Eden Valley plans to ship through October, with hard squashes and pumpkins coming on in the fall. A majority of the New York vegetable shipments to markets in the Northeast which has 50 million consumers, but some product is destined to markets up and down the East Coast.
Fresh potato shipments got underway from Washington’s Columbia Basin and Oregon’s Umatilla Basin in late July with yellow and red potatoes, then with russet norkotahs.
Washington state potato acreage has been stable in recent years at about 170,000 acres, and it is expected to remain similar this year.
About 90 percent of Washington potato volume goes to processors for frozen potatoes. Much of this processing is attributed to access to deepwater ports in Seattle-Tacoma for export to Far East markets.
Strong global demand for frozen potatoes, growing at 6 to 8 percent a year could lead to an even higher percentage of spuds going to the processors in the future.
Only about 2 percent of Washington production is with organic potatoes, which is split evenly between fresh and processing uses.
Washington fresh potato shipments in 2017 totaled 22.9 million 50-pound cartons, up from 20.1 million cartons in 2016, according to the USDA.
Oregon Potato Shipments
Over the past three season Oregon potato shipments came off of 38,900 acres, where fresh volume accounts for about 12 percent of the production.
Limited water supplies could result in a decline in the Klamath Falls growing region in 2018. However, acreage could increase in the Blue Mountain-Hermiston area on the Washington border.
Oregon shipped 5.3 million 50-pound cartons in 2017, up from 5.1 million cartons in 2016. In comparison, the Idaho’s fresh shipments in 2017 were 73.9 million 50-pound cartons, up from 70.4 million cartons in 2016.
Idaho growers harvested 309,000 fall potato acres in 2017, off from 324,000 acres in 2016.
Truck Rates
The Washington/Oregon potato industry at times has expressed concerns over rising truck rates for potatoes pointing out the cost of freight has been equaling the cost of the product being hauled. For example, a common truck rate has been $9 per 50-pound carton, which is the average price of a box of russets. This is believed to be possibly opening the door for more regional potato production so receivers can save on freight rates.
By Index Fresh
Riverside, C.A. — Since its opening on January 9, 2018, the Index Fresh facility in Pharr, TX, has seen steady progress and is rounding out support for the company’s operations across the United States. The leading avocado marketer broke ground on this 60,000 sq. ft. ripening, packing and distribution center just over a year ago in June.
“The bagging and repacking in the facility has increased in the last few months,” said Manrique Palacios, Distribution Center Manager of Index Fresh in Pharr.
With its proximity to the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, the facility has been a great point of contact for Index Fresh expanding its Mexican program this year, said Santiago Pacheco, VP of Operations at Index Fresh.
“Mexico is a year-round source and we bring all of our Mexican products through Pharr. It’s an integral part of our operation. We use it for staging, for shipping loads into the Midwest, Northeast, and the West.,” said Dana Thomas, President and CEO of Index Fresh.
Index Fresh is the first occupant in the Pharr Produce Park, a big step for Pharr’s economic development as construction of other facilities continue at the Produce Park.
The Index Fresh facility is equipped with 2600 pallet positions, 10 ripening rooms, and three bagging machines. “We are expecting our second Mexican season and complete our first year of operations. We are performing an analysis to enhance our bagging capacity for the next season and working on business development to expand our ripening volume in Texas and the Midwest,” said Palacios. “We are also open to offering 3PL services that include storage, ripening, bagging, and distribution to potential customers.”
ABOUT INDEX FRESH
Index Fresh is a worldwide marketer of avocados, sourcing from all major growing regions around the globe, including California, Mexico, Peru, and Chile. Headquartered in California, the company has facilities spread across Texas, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio, Colorado, and Illinois. Early this year, Index Fresh also started operations at its new packing, bagging, and ripening facility in Pharr, TX.
By Pacific Organic Produce
San Francisco, CA — Summer has arrived and with it, the start to the Imported Peruvian citrus season! Pacific Organic Produce now offers organic Peruvian citrus. Our 2nd generation grower operates his family owned and operated farm in the Huaura river valley in Peru, known for its fertile soils. The farm began its transition to organic in 2004 and was certified organic in 2010.
The farm focuses on using natural predators to maintain fruit quality and keeps a keen eye on balancing sugar and acid for optimum flavor. Food safety is of utmost importance to the family and the farm is Global GAP certified. They are the first certified organic citrus shipper to export to the US and we’re proud to offer the fruit for now the 7th season – time to get excited for the only “off season”, certified organic, specialty citrus available in the US – Satsuma, Minneola & Murcotts.
A steady supply of 9kg Satsumas will be available July and August, followed by a steady supply of 15kg Minneola and 9kg Murcott in August and September. A poly film 12×2# bag is also available for consumer convenience. Summer is looking even better!
About Pacific Organic Produce
Pacific Organic Produce represents organic growers from the United States and Latin America, providing the finest quality in organic fresh fruit and vegetables to retailers, wholesalers and processors across North America, featuring the Purity Organic brand.
Their growers are third-party certified organic, using the most up-to-date organic and sustainable farming methods. By partnering with these growers over the past 18 years, Pacific Organic has managed to bring year-round supplies of organically raised fruits and vegetables to marketplaces across the country.
By Black Gold Farms
Grand Forks, ND – Red potato shipments will begin the first week of August at Black Gold Farms’ operation in Winamac, Indiana, located about 2 hours south of Chicago and the same distance north of Indianapolis. Focusing exclusively on red potatoes for the fresh market, the Winamac farm grows premium quality Red Lassodas which will be harvested and shipped until the end of August.
“Our Indiana farm has really done a great job creating that important bridge between our Missouri crop and the upcoming Red River Valley crop. This will be our sixth year with fresh reds in Indiana, and each year, the demand for these red potatoes increases, so we’re doing what we can to keep up with it. The timing couldn’t be better to ensure that we’re keeping our promise of providing our customers Black Gold Farms grown red potatoes as consistently as possible. This is another way we’re working to add value to our customers by being the grower, packer and shipper,” commented Keith Groven, Fresh Sales Manager of Black Gold Farms.
Nathan Libey, Winamac, IN Farm Manager says, “This growing season has definitely been a win for us. Black Gold Farms has expectations for a high-quality product, and from what I’m seeing in the field we will be meeting those expectations. There aren’t many potatoes grown around here for the fresh market, so when our product is on the shelves our customers and their shoppers get pretty excited.”
“Each of our farming locations has their own unique characteristics. But, what’s valuable is that our customers have come to know that the red potatoes they’re getting are the best quality on the market, which they’ve come to expect from Black Gold Farms” remarked Groven.
Black Gold Farms is a fourth generation family farm and grower, shipper, marketer of all types of Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes and other commodities. They have an extensive network of farm locations throughout the United States, and are headquartered in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Black Gold Farms is committed to doing business that provides for ongoing quality, innovation, service and transparency with all of their business partners.
Here’s a preview of Red River Valley potato plantings for product that will start shipping in late summer….Also, Mastrondardi Produce has opened another greenhouse operation….In Wisconsin, shipper is now distributing Badger State grown celery in the mid-west.
The USDA recently reports slightly fewer potatoes planted in North Dakota this as acres declined from 75,000 in 2017 to 74,000 acres this year. The report shows more russets and fewer red potatoes were planted in North Dakota. In 2017 reds accounted for 27 percent of the potato acres, in 2018 that fell to 18 percent. Meanwhile russet acres jumped from 37 to 44 percent. White and yellow potato acres remained relatively steady at 36 and 2 percent respectively.
In Minnesota, the USDA reported 46,000 acres of potatoes planted, 2,000 fewer than last year. Unlike North Dakota, there was little change in the potato type percentages. Russets made up 69percent of the Minnesota potato crop, the same as last year. Next were reds at 19 percent (down 1 percent), whites steady at 10 percent and yellows moving from 1 to 2 percent.
Ohio Greenhouse
Mastronardi Produce is opening a sixth greenhouse in the U.S., with a 20-acre facility in Wapakoneta, Ohio.
The farm, known as The Ohio Greenhouse Company, will operate year-round, growing Sunset-brand products for shipment to retailers in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Mastronardi Produce grows on more than 4,000 acres. The new Ohio farm gives the company the ability to triple the acreage there.
Wisconsin Shipping Celery
By Alsum Produce
Markesan, Wisconsin — Alsum Farms & Produce grower partner, Trembling Prairie Farms Inc. started harvesting Wisconsin celery July 16th with the season expected to go through the first week of October. Fields are located in the muck soils of Green Lake County.
In 2012, Trembling Prairie Farms started with 3 acres of celery and today has expanded to over 45 acres. The farm starts with a Midwestern selected celery variety that grows extremely well in the Wisconsin climate.
The process of growing celery starts in local greenhouses in late February to early April and is then transplanted in 12 different plantings. Celery planting in the muck soil begins on May 1 with the goal of the last planting to be in the ground by July 1.
California fresh fig shipments are increasing from the San Joaquin Valley with normal quality and volume expected.
During the past five years fig shipments have actually got underway around the middle of July, so the timing of the 2018 fresh fig season in California is about two weeks later than recent years. Some observers compare season to be more similar to those of 10 or 20 years ago.
Stellar Distributing Inc. of Madera is one fig shipper noting the first of two fig crops this year was very light, but the second crop looks more normal. Shipments of central San Joaquin Valley figs will continue until around Thanksgiving.
California ranks first in the nation in fig shipments, accounting for nearly 98 percent of all U.S. figs produced.
The USDA reports there were 6,100 bearing acres of figs in the U.S. in 2016, and growers shipped 31,600 tons of figs. Of that total, 26,700 tons (84 percent) were processed.
Total fresh output has remained steady in recent years, though bearing acreage has declined slightly with improving yields. Fresh fig production in 2016 was 4,900 tons, or about 10 million pounds.
Western Fresh Marketing of Madera, CA has been packing brown turkey figs out of the California desert region since late May.
Desert region fig shipments are coming to a seasonal close, although harvest in the desert will resume later in the year with the return of cooler weather.
Although growing conditions have been favorable, observers say it is still impossible to tell whether the fig crop will be up or down compared with a year ago.
California fig shipments are often shipped to markets on both coasts because of the stronger demand, particularly from Florida up the East Coast and Los Angeles to Seattle on the West Coast.
In the U.S., imports of fresh figs in 2017 totaled 920,000 pounds from Mexico, 150,000 pounds from Chile and 150,000 pounds from Peru.
That is much higher than 2010, when Mexico shipped only 50,000 pounds and Chile 10,000 pounds to the U.S.
The primary fig varieties include black mission, sierras, brown turkey and kadota, with the tiger variety also significant.
San Joaquin Valley grapes and stone fruit – grossing about $9000 to Boston.
Wild Maine blueberry shipments are underway with limited fresh berry loadings from a crop grown mostly for the processors. If you your in the area, you might get at least a partial load, but this certainly a leading volume state.
Distribution ranges primarily from Maine to New York City and Wild Blueberry Commission of Orono, ME thinks they might get a little more fresh directed fruit out of the crop because of some new consumer research.
The commission is hoping consumer trends for natural/healthful eating might lead to more wild blueberries being consumed.
The commission sanctioned research showed, “wild has a place in today’s evolving real food movement….(and) people are looking for foods that are closer to nature…..and that it would taste better…and they probably would buy more of it and pay more for it.”
Wild blueberries are grown only in Maine and Eastern Canada for a few weeks from late July until early September. About 98 percent of the crop is frozen within 24 hours of harvest to ensure year-round availability.
The processed fruit is shipped all over the country and all over the world, often incorporated into granolas, cereal bars, muffins, purees, yogurt and ice cream. However, the fresh berries are only distributed in New England and as far south as New York.
A primary reason for hoping to boost sales of fresh-market blueberries, based upon the research, is fresh fruit is more profitable to growers than frozen ones.
The commission plans to increase its “Fresh from the Wild” sampling programs in supermarkets, will invite the media to visit the barrens where they’re grown for a firsthand look at the low-bush berries, and will feature growers in promotional materials.
The wild blueberries are being promoted as being really special because of its “amazing flavor.”
They’re grown on 10,000-year-old barrens of sandy, acidic soil.