Posts Tagged “feature”
I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. There is my beautiful family, not the least of which is our newest member, my first grandchild, Sawyer, born on November 1st. I am thankful to live in this great country. I’m thankful for my health. I could go on and on, but right now I want to focus on the trucking industry, why I am thankful for it, and in particular the small fleet owners and owner operators.
When folks think of the truck industry, they often relate to the large fleet operations. There are 2.7 million Class 8 trucks registered in the U.S. However of the 500,000 registered trucking companies, 97.2 percent are operations with 20 trucks or less.
HaulProduce.com focuses on the transportation of our nation’s fresh fruits and vegetables — produce haulers. While produce is a small segment of the overall trucking industry, it is so vital in providing healthy foods, on a timely basis to receivers across North America, who supply consumers.
Of that 97.2 percent of trucking companies previously mentioned, 90 percent have five trucks or less. In other words the owner operators and small fleet owners are the backbone of the distribution system in this great country!
While we tend to hear only of the delays at loading and unloading docks, the unfair claims, the excessive rules and regulations, every day thousands of loads are delivered on time and in good shape, without problems.
There is a need in a well rounded transportation system, not only for the medium and large truck lines, but the small fleets, owner operatiors – and yes truck brokers or third party logistics companies.
It is the small operations that provide the flexiblity, and service that is so vital in delivering perishable food products.
For this I am thankful. It is because of you I go to my local supermarket every week to find healthy, fresh food products.
God Bless. Wishing each of you a great Thanksgiving. — Bill Martin
A wireless temperature tracker, Emerald, that connects to smartphones through Bluetooth, has been introduced by Ryan Systems Inc.
The company’s TransCert divison of Canyon Lake, CA, is providing the product, which specializes in cold chain food safety and quality compliance for fresh produce and other cargo.
Emerald stores up to 4,000 temperature readings, according to a news release, and does not require dedicated computer equipment. The EmeraldView smartphone application connects via Bluetooth to program Emerald devices and view data. There’s also an option to upload information — including location information from the smartphone — for authorized parties to check online.
Two inches in diameter, Emerald supports temperature ranges of -40°C to +85°C (or F) and integrates. The battery is replaceable. The technology is remotely configured, includes alert capabilities and a free app download. Start, stop and read interval times are remotely set.
A 20% discount is offered through the end of 2013. Cloud data storage is optional.
“Emerald leverages today’s widespread use of smartphones to read temperature data and push it to the Cloud,” John Ryan, president of Ryan Systems, said in the release. “This provides a point-by-point tracking solution similar to those offered by national and international shipping services, without any heavy infrastructure or dedicated equipment.”
Even though Thanksgiving is a couple of days away, most orders by receivers now involve restocking after the big turkey feast.
Desert Vegetable Shipments
Here’s an update on desert shipments from Yuma, AZ and California’s Imperial Valley. Plus, here’s a glimpse at loading opportunities regarding Washington state apples and Idaho potatoes.
With San Joaquin Valley lettuce from the Huron district all but history, the head lettuce harvest has just started from Yuma, AZ, although shipments remain minimal. Yuma typically about starts about a week or two ahead of shipments from the Imperial Valley. Lettuce from there won’t get underway until around December 9th.
However, cauliflower, as well as some leafy greens have just started from Brawley in the Imperial Valley, with broccoli following in early December.
Celery will continue to be shipped out of Ventura County through the end of the year, when loadings then shift to the Imperial Valley.
Desert veggies, plus cantaloupe – grossing about $5200 to Atlanta.
Washington Apple Shipments
Never mind Washington apple shipments are down this season, it is still a huge crop and plentiful loading opportunities remain for at least the next six months. Yakima Valley apple shipments, as well as the Wenatchee Valley are shipping on average about 2,500 truck load equivalents of apples a week, and this doesn’t even include pear loadings.
Washington apples and pears – about $7000 to New York City.
Idaho Potato Shipments
Idaho also has fewer potato shipments this season, but there’s still plenty of tubers for hauling. Idaho is averaging about 2,000 truck load equivalents per week of potatoes.
Idaho spuds – about $2900 to Chicago.
Texas citrus shipments from the Lower Rio Grande Valley have moved into good volume…..In Florida, tomato loadings are underway, but will not hit decent volume until the end of November.
In Texas, there has been a major change in citrus shipping. Paramount Citrus of Delano, CA has acquired Rio Queen Inc. in Mission, TX and Healds Valley Farms Inc. in nearby Edinburg.
As a result, Paramount Citrus now owns 10,000 acres in the valley, plus is handling sales and marketing for 40 growers with another 10,000 acres.
About 60 to 70 percent of the Lower Rio Grande Valley citrus shipments this season will be through Paramount Citrus. Consolidations in south Texas have been occurring for the past 25 years. There are now just a handful or so companies that both grow and ship their own citrus.
About 85 percent of the valley’s citrus shipments are with grapefruit, with the balance being in oranges. Total citrus shipments from south Texas this season are expected to be slightly below that of a year ago, but still will be a good sized crop.
South Texas Citrus, plus Mexican produce – grossing about $2300 to Chicago.
Florida Tomato Shipments
Due to heavy September rains, Florida mature green tomato shipments will be down by about 25 percent from the Homestead and Palmetto-Ruskins areas. Loadings also are taking place later than normal this year. Shipments typically start in late October and hit volume in mid-November. This year, however, volume shipments are not expected to begin until late November. Florida tomatoes are shipped in 25-pound cartons.
South Florida produce shipments – grossing about $2400 to New York City.
The 2012 pesticide residue report has been released by The California Department of Pesticide Regulation, showing the bulk of items tested had no detectable pesticide residues.
Of the 3,501 samples collected at farmers markets, wholesale and retail outlets, and distribution centers, 57.5 percent had no residues. The samples included both domestically grown and imported produce.
An additional 38.9 percent of samples were within the legal tolerance levels, and 2.7 percent had illegal residues of pesticides not approved for use on that commodity.
The pesticide residues that exceeded established tolerances were less than one percent.
In total, 98 percent of all California-grown produce sampled by the department had pesticide residues within the legal limits.
Most of the samples with illegal residues were from other countries and contained very low levels.
In 2012, scientists most frequently found illegal residues on yardlong beans, limes, tomatillos and chili peppers from Mexico; snow peas from Guatemala; ginger from China and the United States; and spinach from the United States.
The report comes about a week after Dr. Oz aired a segment on his television show about pesticide residues titled, What the Food Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know.
The show was “clearly designed to scare viewers and raise produce safety concerns,” according to a news release from the Watsonville, Calif.-based Alliance for Food and Farming.”
Oz and numerous other health experts have gone on record to encourage the public to consume more conventionally or organically grown produce to improve their health.
Nearly 200 young men in the U.S. were asked to follow diets containing a variety of fruits and vegetables before testing to see what effect it had on sperm. Researchers at Harvard University found yellow and orange foods were found to help make the sperm stronger, according to a story in The Daily Mail.
The boost was attributed to pigments called carotenoids because the body converts some of these into health-boosting antioxidants. These include beta-carotene, which the body can make into the antioxidant vitamin A.
The sperm-boosting qualities come from chemicals called carotenoids, which give such foods their familiar colour. Antioxidants help to neutralize free radicals, destructive groups of atoms that are a by-product of metabolism and can damage cell membranes and DNA.
Sweet potatoes and melons can enhance the quantity and sperm quality, but carrots were found to improve sperm performance by between 6.5 and 8 per cent, according to a report in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
Red fruit and veg, particularly tomatoes, which contain the anti-cancer chemical lycopene, were associated with fewer abnormally shaped sperm. They contributed to between 8 and 10 per cent more ‘normal’ sperm, said the research, which could make a significant difference for couples having problems conceiving.
The news comes amid reports that the quantity and quality of male sperm is declining in Western countries, with some studies showing that average sperm counts have fallen by over half.
A previous study from Harvard showed that men eating diets containing most saturated fat had the lowest sperm counts and poorer quality sperm. However, men who ate more ‘good’ fats – including omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and some plants – had better quality sperm than those eating less.
Carrots have long been prized for their proven ability to help maintain eye health. They are a prime source of vitamin A, which the retina of the eye needs to function. The vitamin’s antioxidant properties may help prevent cataracts and a deficiency causes night blindness.
It is another big season for apple haulers. There are about 120 million bushels of U.S. fresh-market apples were in storage as of November 1st, 10 percent more than last year at the same time.
The November total also is 10 percent higher than the five-year average.
The nation’s leading apple shipper, Washington state, has about 99 million bushels of apples still in storage…..Michigan has about 8.3 million bushels left to ship, while New York has 7.4 million and Pennsylvania 1.7 million.
Michigan apple shipments are expected to be 10 times as plentiful as last year’s puny output.
In a typical year, Michigan’s 9.2 million trees produce 20 million to 23 million bushels.
The state’s 2013 harvest is projected to be around 30 million bushels, which roughly equals out to 382 medium-sized apples for every state resident; 12 for every American.
Nationally, about 21.6 million bushels of galas have yet to be shipped, up from 20.6 million bushels. Granny smith holdings were up from 11.5 million to 14.5 million bushels.
Red delicious in storage dropped from 35.5 million to 35.2 million bushels, fujis from 15.5 million to 13 million bushels and golden delicious from 12.4 million to 10.8 million bushels.
Holdings of traditional Eastern varieties including mcintoshes, jonathans, empires, romes and cortlands were up significantly from 2012, when freezes devastated Michigan and New York crops.
Washington apple shipments – grossing about $6400 to New York City.
Michigan apples – about $3000 to New York City.
Very light volume with vegetables from the California and Arizona desert areas have started, but it will December before any significant loadings occur.
The transistion from Salinas and Santa Maria to the Coachella and Imperial valleys should provide better volume than has occurred in recent months for up north, but we’re still talking mid December before this occurs — particularly with broccoli. Shipments should continue through March.
There has been limited volume underway since last week from the Coachella Valley with red leaf, green leaf, butter leaf, spinach and this week romaine is starting. There’s also other items becoming available soon from the Coachella Valley such as artichokes, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, and fennel.
A small amount of desert lettuce got undeway last week at Yuma, AZ, while more lettuce should start around Brawley, Calif., the first week of December.
In the weeks ahead keep a close eye on weather reports for the desert areas as the whims of Mother Nature in the winter can drastically affect available loadings.
Meanwhile, back in the San Joaquin Valley, table grape shipments continue steady in good volume averaging nearly 1,400 truck loads per week….A similar situation remains with carrots, primarily from Kern County, which are averaging about 450 truck loads each week.
Desert veggie loads (not accounting for multiple picks) – grossing about $6500 to New York City.
There are Florida produce loading opportunities available, but keep in mind it is autumn and volume is much lighter than it will be next spring. However, there are hauls available for vegetables, and strawberry loadings will be available this year, earlier than normal.
Vegetable growers in Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties are shipping cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, herbs and fall watermelons while also preparing land and planting for later winter crops. In Miami-Dade County loadings of the fall vegetables and winter plantings have started. Cabbage and leafy greens are in the ground in Flagler and Putnam counties. Florida growers are also shipping eggplant, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, fall watermelons and some specialty items.
Florida strawberry shipments will be starting earlier than normal this year.
Light loadings typically begin in late November, and slowly build in early to mid-December, with good volume occuring by late December.
Because of earlier maturing berries this year, excellent volume will be taking place in time for Christmas holiday deliveries. Produce truckers should expect high volume by late November and early December, with shipments hitting full stride around December 20th or so.
Florida strawberry shipments could be up as much as 20 percent this season. Big volume loadings typically occur through March and finishing by mid-April.
Florida veggies – grossing about $2400 to New York City.
LongHorn Steak House went decades without serving so much as one Brussels sprout. Nor, for that matter, a slice of butternut squash, according to an article recently in USA Today.
But this year, its new Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin has emerged as its most popular side dish. In January, when it plans to roll out butternut squash risotto, “I guarantee you we’ll be the largest seller of butternut squash in the country,” boasts executive chef Kurt Hankins.
Restaurants have little choice. Americans are eating — make that, demanding — fresh veggies at the one place no one expected them to: the restaurant. Gone are the days when meat ‘n’ potatoes basked in all the menu glory and an indistinguishable medley of peas, carrots and green beans were pushed to the wee corner of the plate. When Americans go out to eat — when most folks prefer to splurge — they’re increasingly splurging with vegetables, reports USA Today.
So much so that vegetable offerings on restaurant menus nationally have jumped 11% over the past three years, reports Technomic, the restaurant research specialist. Chief among them is kale, the leafy, dark-green vegetable that has seen a remarkable 400% increase in appearance on restaurant menus over the past five years. About 67% of Americans says a vegetarian meal can be just as satisfying as a non-veggie version, Technomic reports.
About nine in 10 consumers say that menus containing a full serving of vegetables are more healthful, reports Technomic. But that’s not always the case, warns Hope Warshaw, a registered dietitian and author of Guide to Healthy Restaurant Eating. She’s no fan of what LongHorn is doing with Brussels sprouts, and what it soon will be doing with butternut squash, the USA Today article says.
“Vegetables that are slathered, smothered and buttered come loaded with calories, so what’s the gain?” she asks. Instead, she advises: “Eat your vegetables pristine.”
Even so, the veggie fan club is a rapidly growing one, whether the vegetables are pristine or not. Parents, too, are driving this trend.
At Applebee’s, 80% of kids’ meals were served with fries just a handful of years ago. Now, more than 40% are served with veggies, and that number keeps growing. McDonald’s has plans to keep boosting the veggie offerings in its Happy Meals. “We want to have kids consume more fruits and vegetables around the world — and we want to make access easier,” says McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson.