Posts Tagged “feature”
Following a slow start New Mexico onion loadings should be increasing as competition from other areas subside. In Michigan, blueberries will be joining mixed vegetable shipments.
New Mexico onion shipments got underway in light volume in early June. Loadings are expected to improve with seasons ending from onions out of West Texas and California’s Imperial Valley. The state ranks eigth in onion acreage behind Washington, Idaho-Eastern Oregon, California, Georgia, New York, Texas and West-Central Oregon. When considering yields, New Mexico actually comes in sixth nationwide. Most of New Mexico onion loads are available from a handful of shippers in the Las Cruces area.
Michigan Produce Shipments
Early reports in Michigan show an excellent bloom in apple orchards. Two years ago, freezing weather nearly wiped out the state’s apple crop, but last season it came back with record volume. The promising bloom this spring is bring early forecasts of another season for large volume apple shipments, despite the Grand Rapids area having a near record 116 inches of snow last winter.
Similar to mixed vegetable shipments out of Michigan this spring, the upcoming blueberry season is dragging, expecting to be a good week to 10 days later than usual. Michigan blueberry shipments should start in mid July.
New Mexico onions – grossing about $3800 to Chicago.
Here’s a checker board summarizing potential loading opportunities (or lack thereof) from areas ranging from the Southeast to the Northeast — and the Northwest.
Georgia Blueberry Shipments
Georgia blueberries are entering their peak shipping period from the Alma and Baxley areas that will continue through the Fourth of July. The season will end soon after the holiday.
Georgia blueberry and mixed vegetables – grossing about $3100 to New York City. Vidalia onions from storage – about $3900 to New York City.
Florida Produce Shipments
Not much happening for produce haulers in Florida this time of the year. However, avocado shipments get underway in late June, with decent volume coming in July. About 1.1 million bushels are expected to be shipped this season, similar to the volume of a year ago.
Western Berry Shipments
Strawberry shipments out of Watsonville, CA and blueberry volumes the Pacific Northwest should be good leading up to the Fourth of July.
Watsonville strawberries and Salinas mixed vegetables – grosssing about $8300 to New York City; often higher towards the end of the week.
Northwest Apricot, Cherry Shipments
Apricot shipments get underway in light volume this week, with much better volume next week from the Yakima and Wenatchee valleys of Washington. Apricot volume is predicted to be up 9 percent over last season. Cherry shipments have started. Although no record loadings are predicted, it is still one of the biggest crops on record.
New York Produce Shipments
Late start due to weather will probably limit New York state sweet corn loadings.
Watermelon Shipments
Watermelon shipments in many areas, particiularly on the East Coast are late, and loading opportunities will be down from normal prior to Independence Day.
North Florida watermelons – grossing about $3700 to New York City.
By Northwest Cherry Growers
YAKIMA, Wash. — A recent study published in The Journal of Nutrition has found that consuming fresh cherries may provide an array of health benefits and anti-inflammatory properties. Low on the glycemic index, cherries are a naturally sweet component in a healthier diet and may play an important role in fighting the severity of chronic diseases such as arthritis, cardiovascular disease, blood pressure and cancer.
According to the results of a recent study conducted at the USDA-ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center, researchers found that consuming about 45 (280 g) cherries daily may significantly decrease circulating concentrations of specific inflammatory biomarkers in the blood. Because of the link between inflammatory markers and some chronic diseases, the changes in the identified biomarkers suggest that consuming cherries may reduce risk or modify the severity of inflammatory diseases. The findings of the study were published in The Journal of Nutrition and are indicative of good news for those who want to reach for healthier snacks and ingredients on a daily basis.
Rich in fiber, potassium, melatonin, vitamin C and more, cherries are taking center stage as a healthful addition to the diet. Cherries are widely available nationwide during their summer season and don’t need added sweetener in order to be delicious. Cherries are easily eaten fresh out of hand, appeal to children, athletes, and adults and are an easy and convenient addition to the diet. They also make a flavorful and fiber rich addition to salads, salsas, soups, sauces and smoothies.
The 2014 cherry season is looking promising as the crop is progressing strongly and on target for an early harvest. James Michael of the Northwest Cherry Growers reported that the 2014 season could be the third largest and one of the tastiest crops on record. He explained, “We are gearing up for an early start to a strong harvest this year, thanks to ideal weather all spring, which also contributes to deeper flavor and a sweeter cherry. With our recent USDA study clearly indicating how cherries may play a role in fighting debilitating conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and cardiovascular disease, we are excited to be pushing out such a naturally sweet fruit to health conscious consumers!” Harvest should begin in the last few days of May, so look for fresh Northwest cherries in the produce section at your favorite neighborhood soon.
Consumers interested in working more cherries into their diets can find resources and recipes at www.nwcherries.com.
About Northwest Cherries
Founded in 1947, the Northwest Cherry Growers is a grower’s organization funded solely by self-imposed fruit assessments used to increase awareness and consumption of regionally-grown stone fruits. The organization is dedicated to the promotion, education, market development, and research of stone fruits from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Montana orchards. Collectively, the Northwest growers produce 2/3 of all U.S.-grown sweet cherries.
Changes in federal hours of service regulations, along with stricter rules by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) are two primary reasons refrigerated produce loads have increased this year by as much as 10 percent, according to DAT Solutions, a load board network based in Beaverton, OR, as reported recently in The Packer, a weekly national trade newspaper.
Over 99 million transactions annually are made and company bases rate estimates on $24 billion of freight bills, according the DAT website.
The hours-of-service changes require drivers to stop for rest breaks more often, meaning it takes longer to reach destinations such as distribution centers, many of which were located years ago based on drive times allowed under the old regulations.
Some (truckers) have gone to a relay system where the first one drives so far, then another driver picks up the trailer and takes it on. The downside, particularly with temperature-sensitive loads like produce, is that you don’t have the continuity of one driver taking care of the load for the whole trip,” Montague said.
Higher rates also are attributed to the tightening rates emissions regulations by CARB, which apply not only to trucks picking up and delivering produce in the state, but those merely driving through California.
Montague said as of early June, many of the highest rates in the nation were for trucks going into California. The data for the week ending May 31 showed per mile rates of $2.44 in California for reefers. “At least 90% of the fleets that haul fresh produce have 10 trucks or less,” Montague said, adding that many produce haulers are individual owner-operators with only one truck. “The changes in regulations really make it hard for the smaller operators because of the costs for upgrades. The overall message is a lot of smaller truckers are having trouble.”
There have been recent E. coili outbreaks associated with leafy greens such as lettuce and spinach and researchers in Tennessee, along with scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have released a study published in Foodborne Pathogens and Disease about the risk of E. coli O157:H7 in bagged salads. An estimated 63,000 STEC O157 infections occur every year in the United States.
A look at an outbreak of STEC O157 that was associated with bagged salads in institutional settings has been taken by researchers. The outbreak was in schools, and the case-control study was made up of controls matched by school and grade.
Seventeen patients from three states were identified. The median age of a cases was 23 years. 76 percent of the cases were female. Six people were hospitalized and two died in this particular outbreak. The illness onset dates ranged from April 29 to May 12, 2012.
The analytical epidemiology analysis identified a single significant food service exposure: lettuce provided by a school cafeteria. The bagged salad was traced back to a single facility. Growing areas were scheduled for more inspection during the upcoming growing season to see if a source of the contamination, whether runoff from animals farms, problems in harvest or shipping, or some other source could be found.
New Jersey continues to be one of the leading states for produce shipments, particularly to destinations east of the Mississippi River and into eastern Canada.
A cold wet spring has delayed maturity and harvest of Jersey vegetables up to three weeks this spring. However, items such as baby spinach, arugula and spring mix got started a couple of weeks ago. As June closes out there should be loadings available with peppers, cucumbers, squash, eggplant and tomatoes, among other items.
Some other New Jersey produce shipments are lettuce, cabbage, corn, parlsey, cilantrol, beans, as well as blueberries and peaches.
New Jersey blueberry shipments should get underway in light volume about June 19th. Peaches will be coming on a few weeks later.
Most New Jersey produce originates out of the Southern part of the state from rural areas such as Vineland, Cedarville and Hammonton.
California stone fruit shipments have started within the past couple of weeks and volume is building.
These items, primarily peaches, plums and nectarines – and to a lesser extent apricots – play a key role every spring and summer in determing how high produce rates will go out of California.
Early indications point to average volume for stone fruit this season – at the very best. Before it is over, total shipments could be below average.
Peach shipments started the third week of May, followed a week later by plums and nectarines. Most California stone fruit loadings occur during a 90-day period spread out between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
The San Joaquin Valley really gets humping as we enter July when table grape shipments crank up. Grapes seems to be one of the few crops in recent years that have had record setting volume.
Stone fruit – grossing about $5200 to Chicago.
It has been rainy, it has been cold, but Georgia vegetables seem have weathered the storms and are finally getting on track, albeit two weeks later – and in some cases even more – than we’re used to.
The biggest volume items coming out of Georgia are bell peppers, cucumbers and squash, although there are a number of other vegetables such as sweet corn, green beans, carrots, greens, and cabbage, as well as blueberries. There also are Vidalia sweet onions, which have been paying 25 to 40 percent more on the freight rates compared to mixed veggies.
This year is the latest start on record for mixed vegetable shipments out of central and southern Georgia, according to some shippers. Items such as peppers, cukes and squash are typically finished shipping in early July. With such a late start, it is up in the air whether the season will extend beyond early July. As always, weather factors rule.
In Southeastern Georgia, the season for non-storage Vidalia onions, as well as the harvest are complete. Further loadings will be coming out of storage and should continue into September. Sweet onions are not always known for holding up well in storage. However, thus far shippers are reporting good quality and let’s hope it holds up for the duration of the storage season.
South and central Georgia vegetables and blueberries – grossing about $2700 to New York City.
Vidalia onions – grossing about $3600 to New York City.
There’s no less than six regions currently active with California produce shipments. Here’s a look at each of those areas and how loading opportunities look. This is the time of year when produce freight rates are typically peaking and we’ll take a look at those as well.
Salinas Valley produce shipments, comprised primarily of mixed vegetables, strawberries and raspberries are moving into full volume, although there are some shipping gaps occurring with veggies. Lettuce shipments, led by iceberg and romaine are averaging over 1700 truckload equivalents per week. There also broccoli, cauliflower and dozens of other lesser volume vegetables being shipped.
You should gross about $8300 to New York City.
Santa Maria District is shipping many of the same items as the Salinas Valley, but in much smaller volume, with more pick ups, unless a shipper consolidates loads.
San Joaquin Valley produce shipments have every thing from mixed vegetables to stone fruit and blueberries and melons in the central valley.
Produce items grossing about $8200 to New York City.
Kern County has primarily carrots and potatoes available.
Southern California is relatively quiet with the exit of berries to Santa Maria and Watsonville. There are still some avocados and citrus and a few tomatoes — grossing about $7900 to New York City.
Desert Shipments including Coachella Valley table grapes, peppers, sweet corn and eggplant are available, grossing about $8100 to New York City.
A USDA Economic Research Service report reports higher consumption of fruit is associated with a lower body weight, but the same does not appear to be true for vegetables.
The USDA’s report, called “Healthy Vegetables Undermined by the Company They Keep,” said that processing and preparation methods plays a role in the influence of fruits and vegetables on body weight.
“Earlier ERS research found fruit consumption to be linked to healthier weight status, but for vegetable consumption there was no such link,” said report authors Joanne Guthrie and Biing-Hwan Lin. The report, issued in early May, said fruits are consumed in their natural states more than vegetables.
“Unlike naturally sweet fruit, Americans may find vegetables more palatable if prepared with added fats or oils, such as in fried potatoes or creamed spinach, or in a mixed dish like pizza,” according to the study. Americans often eat vegetables prepared in ways that add calories and sodium and remove dietary fiber.
Research in 2002 found that, on average, healthy weight children and adults ate more fruit than their overweight peers.
“Higher fruit consumption was associated with lower BMI for adult men and women and for adolescent girls and boys 10 years of age and above,” according to the study. However, total vegetable consumption had no association with body weight, the authors said. The 2002 study found that when vegetables were separated into two groups — white potatoes only, and all other vegetables — white potato intake was associated with higher BMI for both adult men and women. The study found that intake of vegetables other than potatoes was associated with lower BMI among women but not among any other age-sex groups.