Posts Tagged “feature”
As expected, Idaho continues to have the most product remaining in storage for United States potato shipments this season, with loading opportunities higher than a year ago. Meanwhile, we also take at look at the best hauling opportunities for onions.Potatoes remaining in storages as of June 1st from the major potato shipping states totaled 55.5 million hundredweight (cwt), up 8 percent compared with a year ago, according to a USDA report.
The report noted potatoes in remaining in storage to be shipped in the top 13 potato-growing states, totaled 14 percent of the fall storage states’ 2016 production, which was 1 percent more than at the same time a year ago.
Potato shipments were up 1 pecent from a year ago and season-to-date shrink and loss was 9 pecent greater than a year ago.
Idaho potatoes in storage made up 38 pecent of total remaining spuds from the 2016 harvest, followed by Washington with 23 percent and 10 percent for Wisconsin.
Potato shipments out of the nation’s leading state, Idaho, are averaging over 1900 truck load equivalents of spud loadings per week. Meanwhile, the San Luis Valley of Colorado is moving nearly 700 truck loads each week, while southern Washington’s Columbia Basin and northern Oregon’s Umatilla Basin are shipping about 425 truckloads weekly of potatoes.
An interesting note is while Central Wisconsin has the third most potatoes in storage, it ranks fourth in weekly loadings with about 200 truck loads.
Idaho potatoes – grossing about $4700 to New York City.
Onion Shipments
It is mostly dried onions coming out of storage right now. Volume is relatively low even among the leading volume onion shipping areas. Southern New Mexico has the most onion shipments right now averaging over 11oo truck loads per week. From here the drop off is significant as the combined Columbia Basin and Umatilla Basin (Washington and Oregon) is averaging only 425 truck loads a week – about the same as that area’s potato loadings.
In southeast Georgia where the sweet onion crop was one of the best in a long time, they are moving over 300 truck loads each week from storages.
New Mexico onions – grossing about $1500 to Dallas.
Washington, D.C. – On July 2nd, just in time for the 4th of July festivities, Avocados From Peru® (AFP) will treat baseball fans to a free topping of fresh Peruvian Avocado with the purchase of an Oriole dog during the Baltimore Orioles vs. Tampa Bay Rays game in Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Known as the ‘Avodog’, Peruvian Avocados add a flavorful twist to an American classic. Served with just a squeeze of lime or combined with other traditional hot dog toppings such as onions and tomatoes, freshly sliced or smashed Avocados From Peru make an ideal hot dog topping.
With nearly 20 essential vitamins and minerals, no sodium or cholesterol, and gluten free, it’s no secret why Peruvian Avocados are America’s favorite nutrient dense superfood.
Adding this heart-healthy fruit as a hot dog topping has already proven to be enormously popular with baseball fans –who devoured hundreds of fresh Peruvian Avocados during a New York Mets baseball game in July of 2015.
“We look forward to seeing Avocados from Peru become an integral part of the all-American tradition of attending a major league baseball game,” said Xavier Equihua, President and CEO of AFP.
Much like baseball, the season for Peruvian Avocados runs from May to September, earning them the nickname of “Summer Avocados.”
With the season in full swing, AFP has partnered with Walmart to feature and offer free tastings of this superfood at their stores. Fans who cannot attend the baseball game on July 2nd will still have the opportunity to try the Avodog at a local Walmart. Over 900 Walmart stores on the East Coast will also be demoing this baseball fan favorite on July 2nd.
Orioles fans taking public transportation to the game may also see city buses wrapped in a full-color billboard featuring the picturesque landscape of Peru and of course, delicious Avocados From Peru®. Various radio stations in the Baltimore area will also be featuring the famous frank throughout the summer.
For more ideas on how to top the classic hotdog with Peruvian Avocados, head to the AFP website:www.avocadosfromperu.com.
About the Peruvian Avocado Commission
The Peruvian Avocado Commission (PAC) is headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was established in 2011 to increase the consumption/demand for Avocados from Peru through advertising, retail promotion and public relations. The PAC’s promotional activities are conducted under the guidelines of the federal promotion program for Hass avocados, which is under the oversight of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Discount grocery retailer Aldi announced recently it would invest $3.4 billion to expand its U.S. store base to 2,500 by the year 2022.
The German grocer currently operates 1,600 stores in the United States and said earlier this year it would expand to 2,000 by the end of 2018 at a cost of $1.6 billion.
The $5 billion move would have Aldi as the third-largest U.S. food retailer by store count behind Walmart and Kroger.
“It should absolutely be more than scary to traditional grocers and retailers,” Mikey Vu of the consulting firm Bain & Co., was quoted as saying in a June 12 article in The Wall Street Journal. Vu said Aldi has improved its stores and products in recent years, and is attracting a larger mix of shoppers.
A point of differentiation by Aldi and other discounters, such as Lidl, which opened its first U.S. locations earlier this month, is their longstanding use of store brands to keep prices down, a common practice in Europe. U.S. consumers have traditionally been more brand loyal, but that is beginning to erode, especially with the millennial generation.
Millennials “are value-oriented and don’t hold the same stigmas about private-label items that older generations do,” Mike Paglia, director of the research firm Kantar Retail, was quoted as saying in the WSJ article.
“As we continue to expand and grow, our purchasing power continues to increase and allows us to bring products at better prices for consumers,” Scott Patton, Aldi’s head of corporate buying, said in an interview with CNBC.
Aldi said the new store openings would create 25,000 jobs over the next five years.
About Aldi
Aldi operates stores in 35 states, using a simple, cost-effective approach to grocery shopping to save shoppers on their grocery bills. The grocery chain’s website states shoppers have found that switching from national brands to ALDI exclusive brands can save them up to 50 percent on their weekly must-haves. More than 40 million customers each month shop with Aldi’s streamlined approach.
Here’s a triple threat for hauling opportunities out of the Western U.S. July means shipments of Montana cherries and San Joaquin Valley grapes, while Washington cherries are rapidly building in volume.
Although Central San Joaquin Valley grape shipments, similar to other California crops, will be a little later starting this season than last, grape haulers probably won’t notice the difference.
California grape shipments are initially estimated to total 112.1 million, 19-pound box equivalents. Last year’s volume was 109 million boxes. An official estimate is due in late July.
Many shippers will get underway with light volume loadings the first week of July in the Central San Joaquin Valley. Meanwhile, some Coachella Valley shippers will still will be shipping fruit into July, while others have finished the season during the last half of June.
Additionally, Mexican spring grape shipments are just wrapping up.
Montana Cherry Shipments
Glacier Fresh, cherry grower in the Flathead Lake region of western Montana was founded in 2001 and has traditionally grown high-quality fruit for the export market. However, this season it will also be providing fruit for markets in the U.S. by working with Giumarra Cos, based in Los Angeles.
Glacier Fresh cherry shipments will get underway in late July with Rainiers and dark red varieties. The Montana fruit operation works with Montana growers to pack and ship more than 1 million pounds of fruit, accounting for over 25 percent of the state’s annual cherry shipments.
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by FirstFruits Marketing of Washington
YAKIMA, Wash. – FirstFruits Marketing of Yakima, WA announces that the 2017 Washington cherry shipments are well under way with exceptional quality and great color available now.
FirstFruits is currently shipping dark sweet cherries and Rainier cherries were in limited quantities starting June 16, with full volume by June 22. Both dark sweet and Rainier cherries are available in conventional and organic varieties.
“The cherry crop looks excellent this season in terms of quality,” said Chuck Zeutenhorst, general manager of FirstFruits. “The color is just outstanding and we’re looking forward to working with our retail partners to present their customers with a great cherry program this season.”
Leamington, ON – Increased demand for premium greenhouse grown products across the NatureFresh™ Farms product line has prompted one of Canada’s largest independent growers to break ground on a new 106,000 sq.ft Distribution Center in Leamington, ON. Construction is to be completed by mid-summer.
“The continued expansion of our operations & launch of new products is a direct result of the growth of the NatureFresh™ Farms brand”, said Peter Quiring, President. “Over the last few years, we have increased our production capacity to meet the demands of our retail partners. Our commitment to quality, regardless of season, is enabling NatureFresh™ Farms to be an integrated supplier 12 months a year. Expanding our production capabilities in Leamington shows our commitment to growing our business in Canada”, commented Quiring. Family owned & operated, NatureFresh™ employs more than 500 people across all of its greenhouses & distribution centers in both Canada & USA.
The state of the art distribution center will enable NatureFresh™ to increase production and specialty packaging on site. The addition of the new facility will compliment the existing 5 distribution centers that are currently operational across the company’s 130 acres in Leamington, ON. NatureFresh™ also opened a 60,000 sq.ft facility in Toledo, OH in Fall 2016 to service the new 45 acres of greenhouse tomato production in Delta, OH. Due to the success of its Ohio tomato program, the company has already outgrown the Toledo facility 6 months after opening the doors and will be expanding in the months to come.
After doubling its Organic Bell Pepper acreage in 2016, NatureFresh™ recently launched their new USDA Certified Organic TOV’s and Organic Red Grape Tomatoes.
“The increasing demand for organics prompted our team to bring two new items to market this year, both are being grown in Leamington, ON”, said Ray Wowryk, Director of Business Development. The Organic TOV’s are available in bulk format whereas the Organic Red Grape Tomatoes are available in Dry Pint formats.
Lastly, the company also unveiled its new Canadian grown TOMZ™ Snacking Tomatoes in March that are being packed in new top seal formats. NatureFresh™ grows its proprietary TOMZ™ brand snacking tomatoes in Delta, OH (winter production) and Leamington, ON (summer production).
About NatureFresh Farms–
NatureFresh Farms™ has grown to become one of the largest independent, vertically integrated greenhouse vegetable growers in North America with growing operations in Leamington, ON and Delta, OH.
PhilaPort announced the acquisition of a 29-acre parcel of land, locally known as the former Philadelphia Produce & Seafood Terminal, located at Third Street and Pattison Avenue. With this purchase PhilaPort now owns 1,016 acres of land.
This purchase from Philadelphia’s public-private economic development corporation, PIDC, will allow PhilaPort to develop warehousing to support the growth in container operations at Packer Avenue Marine Terminal.
“As we densify and increase container capacity at PAMT, we needed more land to grow,” Jeff Theobald, chief executive officer of PhilaPort, said in a press release. “This land, located less than a half mile from [Packer Avenue Marine Terminal], allows us to enact a major component in our plan. It enables us to relocate warehousing adjacent to our main container operations.”
PhilaPort has enacted an aggressive timetable to grow Port cargo volumes. This new land will play a critical role and directly augment the $300 million port development plan set by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, the board and the CEO of PhilaPort.
“We are excited to support the continued expansion of PhilaPort with the sale of this strategic parcel,” John Grady, president of PIDC, added in the press release. “For more than 60 years, this site has played an important role in the movement of goods and services throughout the region, supporting business growth and thousands of family-sustaining jobs. With its strategic location, growing port, deep pool of skilled labor, and direct access to a large customer base in the northeast United States, Philadelphia is poised for even greater investment, development and job growth as a center for logistics, transportation, and distribution.”
The port is an economic engine in southeastern Pennsylvania; this purchase exemplifies the important role public and private warehousing plays in the Port achieving its full potential.
“The cooperation between the port, the city of Philadelphia and PIDC has been outstanding,” Deputy Mayor Richard Lazer said in the press release. “Mayor Kenney has placed a high priority on moving the port forward. In the weeks and months ahead, the city of Philadelphia will continue to move in lockstep with Governor Wolf’s goal of generating family sustaining jobs.”
Washington and Oregon pear shipments will be down only slightly when the new season arrives….Meanwhile Imported New Zealand apples are arriving at American ports.
2017 pear shipments from Washington and Oregon should total 17.6 million boxes, 2 percent less than in 2016 and 10 percent less than the five-year average, according to the first industry estimate for the season.
The forecast was compiled at the June 1 annual Pear Bureau Northwest meeting.
“Growers are reporting an excellent quality of pear crop on the trees, albeit a bit shorter crop than last season,” Kevin Moffitt, president and CEO of Pear Bureau Northwest, said in a news release. “At nearly 18 million boxes, we expect a high-quality crop in promotable numbers.”
Starkrimson pears are expected in early August with bartlett harvest expected in late August. Meanwhile, anjou, bosc and comice will be harvested from September through early October.
Concorde, forelle, and seckel will be picked in September and October.
By variety, the industry estimates are:
- 8.9 million boxes of green anjous, about 51 percent of total Northwest fresh pear crop and up 7 percent from 2016;
- 4.4 million boxes of bartletts (25 percent of the total crop), down 4 percent from 2016 and 2 percent off the five-year average;
- 2.2 million boxes of boscs (13 percent of the total crop).
- 1.1 million boxes of red anjous (6 percent of the crop), 10 percent higher than 2016.
The organic pear estimate for 2017 is pegged at 1.12 million standard boxes, which is 6.4 percent of the total Northwest crop. That’s 5.5 percent lower than a year ago but 10.5 percent above the five-year average.
The organic green anjou crop is estimated at 470,000 boxes, with organic bartletts at 377,800 boxes and organic bosc at 123,200 boxes.
Yakima Valley apples and pears – grossing about $5000 to Philly.
New Zealand Apple Imports
New Zealand’s apple season is well underway, and high-quality fruit is arriving at U.S. ports. The 22 million carton crop is now estimated at 19.5 million. Some of the major importers in North American are Oppenheimer, Vancouver, BC; and Giumarra Fruit Co. Inc., Los Angeles.
Despite a crazy growing season due to weather factors, Ohio vegetable shipments started a few weeks ago. If anything, some replantings of crops could mean heavier than normal loadings later in the season.
Green bean shipments will start anytime now. Sweet corn loading get underway in mid-July and like green beans, will run into October. Cabbage kicked off about a week ago and will run into November. Potato diggings will start in August and ship from storage into March.
A number of items got underway between mid-May and mid-June, so you can expect good volumes of radishes, cilantro, variety lettuce, collard, turnip, mustard, kale, green onions and parsley continuing through September.
Coming on soon in July will be beets, zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers, lasting through September. August will bring peak volumes of sweet corn, peppers, celery, carrots and fall squash. Also, shipments have started with leafy vegetables, root crops and summer squashes tomatoes and eggplant, following in late July. All of these items should be available into mid-October.
Harvest of soft squash begins in late June, and bell and hot peppers, eggplant and cucumbers will follow in early July, with hard squash in late August. Hard squash and pumpkin shipments, as well as gourds wrap up Ohio fresh vegetable shipments starting in late August.
Some of the major Ohio vegetable shippers include Buurma Farms, Inc.; Wiers Farms Inc.; and Holthouse Farms, all based at Willard, OH. There also is Onion Boy, Shelby, OH (onions that start in late July}, as well as Doug Walcher Farms of Northfield and Micheal Farms of Urbana.
The leading agricultural products in Ohio are soybeans, grain, corn, and greenhouse and nursery, which account for over one-half of Ohio’s total agricultural production. Wheat and hay are also important. But vegetables also play an important role with shipments covering nearly half of the United States and parts of Canada.
By Black Gold Farms
Grand Forks, ND – Black Gold Farms will soon be harvesting fresh red potatoes in the boot heel of Missouri. With ideal planting and growing conditions and plenty of moisture, this year’s crop looks to be one of the best yet.
“We’ve been growing red potatoes on the boarder of Missouri and Arkansas for about 10 years, and every year we get a little better. This year is no different.” commented John Halverson, COO of Black Gold Farms. “We’ve been able to learn a lot about growing potatoes in the summertime heat from over 30 years of chip potato experience in warmer climates. We’re able to transfer those leanings to the fresh market. While there are many differences, the principles are the same: use the right variety, get the timing correct, push them through the wash line and into the cooler as quickly as possible, and then, ship to our customers while they are still at their freshest” Halverson concluded.
Keith Groven, Fresh Sales Manager of Black Gold Farms states, “Our customers really find value pulling fresh reds out of Arbyrd, MO as the quality is consistent, and we are geographically central to many of the major cities which provides locally grown opportunities. Customers recognize that Black Gold Farms is the red potato expert, especially this time of year, in this geography.”
Keith Groven Black Gold Farms will be harvesting, packing and shipping their own crop of red potatoes out of their Arbyrd, MO farm and packing facility until the middle of July. After that, the Black Gold Farms Indiana crop will be ready. This allows for Black Gold Farms-grown product to be supplied to customers year-round.
“Each of our farms has their own unique characteristics, but what’s really valuable is that our customers know that the red potatoes they’re getting and the service they’ve come to expect is all Black Gold Farms” remarked Groven.
Black Gold Farms is offering up redventurous recipes like Red Potato and Chorizo Paella, as well as digital/social promotions geared towards bringing awareness to the adventurous side of red potatoes.
Some Western cherry shipments are finished, but the Northwest cherry crop is coming on….Meanwhile, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware is underway with vegetables.
California cherry shipments are ending up at nearly 9 million, 18-pound boxes, which would exceed the 8.7 million-box-record loadings in 2008. It may very well be California’s best and largest sweet cherry season ever as Washington state’s harvest gets underway. Hollister, CA finished about a week ago.
Last year California finished with 5.1 million boxes after losing about 3 million boxes to rain.
California’s cherry industry has had many disappointments in recent years due to rain or heat. Inadequate winter chill led to poor fruit set in 2014 and a crop of just 2.7 million boxes. And 2005 and 2006 were at 3 million boxes or less.
California shipments averaged 250,000 boxes per day between May 5 and June 4, with a peak of 377,000 boxes on May 23.
About 70 percent of California’s crop was shipped to all regions of the U.S. and 9.4 percent to Canada, 9 percent to South Korea and the balance to Japan, China, Hong Kong and a few others.
Pacific Northwest Cherry Shipments
Pacific Northwest cherry shipments are forecast at 22.7 million boxes with Washington cherry shipments accounting 81 percent of it. The Northwest counts by 22-pound boxes and California by 18-pound boxes.
The Washington harvest began with the Chelan variety at Doebler Orchard near Mattawa on June 6.
It was a limited run for the first cherries, but packing cranked up about June 15 as more orchards started picking.
Yakima Valley apple and pear shipments – grossing about $4500 to Dallas.
Eastern Shore Vegetable Shipments
All packing sheds on the Eastern Shore were running as of yesterday.
Fresh potato shipments are particularly good for Canada this season with reds, russets and yellows being shipped from areas of the Eastern Shore. However, the majority of potatoes are shipped throughout the Northeast when those areas are not producing.
The largest russet grower on the Eastern Shore is Yaros Farms in Lower Northampton County. Dublin Farms in Horntown is one of Virginia’s biggest potato operations. It ships 12 to 15 loads daily from late June through mid-August.
When the southern states stop shipping, loadings are redirected there. Depending on the volume from Canadian potatoes from year to year, the Eastern Shore also distributes into in Canada.
There typically is between 3,000 and 4,000 acres of potatoes grown on the Eastern Shore.
C&E Farms in Cheriton, VA, is one of the largest green bean operations in the nation. C&E Farms also ships green beans from North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Florida. The company has packing facilities in Cheriton and in Parrish, FL.
Virginia’s three major tomato operations, Lipman Family Farms, Pacific Tomato Growers and Del Monte, will be shipping about equal volumes of round, roma, grape, cherry and heirloom tomatoes from late June through September.