Posts Tagged “feature”
Many years ago my grandfather told me countless times that “Things ain’t what they used to be.”
I never exactly knew what he was talking about, but now I think I do. Well, he was right. Things ain’t what they used to be. There was a time when Americans considered themselves wealthy, not because of the gold they carried in their pocket, but by the liberty they possessed as an American citizen. There was a time when you would never consider disrespecting a teacher. And If you even thought about dropping out of school you would have to face your father, and that would not be a pleasant experience at all. There was a time when you knew the world didn’t owe you one thin dime, and hard work for an honest wage was something you had to do to survive and prosper. There was a time when your word was your bond and contracts were made with a firm handshake. Your reputation depended on you keeping your word. There was a time when you worked to stand on your own two feet and taking a handout was unthinkable. There was a time when you respected your parents and honored the name that they handed down to you from your ancestors. And, believe it or not, there was even a time when you knew that the government would stay out of your business. You could manage your business with common sense and self-respect. There was a time when the American dream was to take up a trade or start your own business. And your business succeeded or failed by the sweat of your own brow, and not by government kickbacks and taxpayer subsidies. There was a time when you took pride in your work, and workers would work extra hours to insure the quality of their work was uncompromised. There was a time when all Americans cheered the success of others. And jealousy and envy were frowned upon, and would never be used, or even considered for use as a political campaign platform. There was even a time when Americans got teary eyed and choked up when singing the national anthem. Americans understood and respected those who gave their lives so that we may live in liberty. During the past few months I have had the good fortune of going through old family photos and memorabilia. Many of them pictures of my grandfather, aunts, uncles, and even a few family outlaws. People who lived through the great depression, the dust bowl, and WWII. People who taught me the value of the name that I carry, and the money in my pocket. There was not a Miley Cyrus, Madonna, Barrack Obama, Al Sharpton, Lady Gaga, or any other bozo among them. They were just solid Americans with a high moral certainty that produced and built a prosperous nation. A nation that is now sadly in decline. Who would have thought that you would see the day when McDonald’s fry cooks and Wal-Mart checkout clerks would think that these type of jobs should be a well paid career to live and raise a family on? Who would have thought that the President of the United States would foster, promote, and encourage a great divide among poor and rich Americans. You have to go back to the Civil War to find a time in American history when our country was as divided as it is today. “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a house divided against itself falls.” Luke 11:17 These words, spoken two thousand years ago by Jesus Christ, speak volumes today. How can we get our nation and economy back on track to prosperity without a unity of leadership? We have unions divided against management, states divided against states, federal laws divided against state laws, government regulators divided against businesses, parents divided against teachers, and politicians divided against our Constitution. There are so many divisions in our country that it is hard to find any common ground for agreement. Many people say that today is no different than our grandfathers’ day, and it will pass. Are you kidding me? This country is at a crossroads. In fact we may have already moved past the crossroads. One thing is for sure. Today we have more people living on some sort of government handout than those who don’t. This my friends is the crucial tipping point toward a national decline. When a politician can stand up and say, ”Vote for me and I’ll give you a tax payer funded government handout”, and get elected, it’s all over folks. Nothing left to do but to rename our country….The United States of Detroit
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From Washington state apples, to Nebraska and Texas potatoes, as well as North Carolina sweet potatoes and more, here’s some fresh produce loads to consider.
Washington Apple Loads
Apple shipments are really picking up from Washington state’s Yakima and Wenatchee valleys. They have finally got the old crop out the way and the focus has shifted to new season fruit. The harvest is still continuing, but volume should get heavy as we get into November.
Potato Loads
Shipments of red potatoes out of North Dakota and Minnesota remain only light to moderate as digging still continues. The harvest of Red River Valley potatoes is about two to three weeks behind schedule, with a little over half of the spuds now in storage. Loadings should increase in the weeks ahead.
Sweet Potato Loads
Another late harvest is with North Carolina sweet potatoes. Some sweet potatoes were being shipped uncured at the start of the season, but now there has been time for curing. Sweet potatoes are not very sweet or moist when first dug. It takes six to eight weeks of proper curing and storage before they have the sweet, moist taste and texture desired when baked.
Nebraska continues to ship light amounts of potatoes, mostly from the Imperial, Neb area in the southwest part of the state, and from O’Neill in Northeast Nebraska — about 200 loads weekly combined from both areas
There’s also similar volume of potatoes coming out of what’s know as the High Plains district of West Texas, around the Herford area.
Washington state apples – grossing about $6400 to New York City.
North Carolina sweet potatoes – about $1500 to Atlanta.
Shipments of Prince Edward Island potatoes have been taking place for several weeks across Atlantic Canada, but now loadings destinated for other parts of Canada, as well as the United States are gearing up. A majority of shipments to the US are along the eastern seaboard.
The PEI potato harvest is is approximately 85 percent complete across the Island. Yields are generally close to average and the quality of the crop is reported particularly good this year.
The potato industry continues to a major employer and an economic engine in Prince Edward Island, employing 12 percent of the Island labour-force directly or in spin-off employment. The potato industry in PEI creates a total economic impact of $1.065 billion dollars.
For new recipe ideas on how to include PEI Potatoes into family meals this fall, visit www.peipotato.com.
Prince Edward Island Potatoes are world renowned for the great taste and quality that comes from growing in the unique red soil of PEI. The Prince Edward Island Potato Board is a producer-controlled association dedicated to supporting the highest performance of an economically and environmentally sustainable potato industry.
Source: Prince Edward Island Potatoes
It will be a few more weeks before California citrus shipments really get cranked up from the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.
About 88 million cartons of California navels should be loaded this season, down slightly at 2 percent from last season. A few growers started harvest the week of October 7. Limited shipments will be underway at the end of October, with good loading opportunities coming the second week of November, just in time for the Thanksgiving holidays.
Table grapes continue to provide heavy volume from the San Joaquin Valley, and it is little wonder if you’ve tasted the fruit this season. With high sugar levels, consumers, including me, keep going back to the store for more. About 1,800 truck loads of grapes per week are being loaded in California.
Carrot Shipments
There is steady movement of carrots out of the Kern District in the Bakersfield area, averaging over 300 truck load equivalents per week.
Huron Lettuce Shipments
It’s only about a 30-day window for head lettuce loadings coming out of the Westside of the San Joaquin Valley, known as the Huron district. Harvest has just started, but it will be the week of October 28th before significant loadings occur….Meanwhile lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower continue out of the Salinas Valley in light to moderate volume.
Pistachio Shipments
The forecast pegs shipments amounting to 460 million pounds, off from 550 million pounds a year ago. Expect substantially higher prices in your local supermarkets.
By The Alliance for Food and Farming
Study after study continues to confirm the benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables. Recently, a new study was released from the Harvard School of Public Health where researchers found an association between eating at least two servings of fruit a week and having a 23 percent lower risk of Type 2 diabetes. Blueberries, grapes and apples seemed to be especially linked with the reduced diabetes risk. Prunes, apricots, peaches, raisins, bananas, oranges, strawberries and grapefruit were also included in the study.
This is more good news for consumers since the fruits included in the research are popular, plentiful and often kids’ favorites. It also seems to illustrate the nutritional punch of these healthy foods.
The study findings further support the Alliance for Food and Farming’s message to consumers – choose either organic or conventional fruits and veggies but choose to eat more. Both are safe and eating a diet rich in fruits and veggies is always the right choice for improved health and a longer life.
When you are headquartered on the East Coast near much of your customer base, but about one-half of the nation’s fresh fruits and vegetables are grown and shipped from California, the 3,000-mile hauls can present additional challengeover shorter runs. But when one adds the challenges of dealing with federal and state mounting regulations, it just makes doing business more difficult.
Rob Goldstein is president of Genpro Inc. of Newark, NJ and arranges loads of fruit and vegetables from various shipping points around the country, including California. Because of the ever changing and increasing number of rules and regulations, he maintains more team drivers are needed on the road to help meet delivery schedules.
As an example, Goldstein cites the changes in the hours of service rules last July, which in effect reduces the amount of driving time a trucker can legally perform.
“The bottom line is with the new hours of service, and what the truckers can do, if they can’t make more turns in their line hauls, the rates are going to have to go up. Drivers have to drive less hours under the new rules and this results in fewer turns,” Goldstein says. “Drivers get paid for the amount of miles they travel and they are logging fewer miles with these new hours of service.”
On the state level, Goldstein references the California Resources Board (CARB) rules as a hinderance to trucking.
“The average carrier has six or seven units. So we are asking these carriers to comply with the state of California where about 50 percent of the domestic produce production originates,” he notes. “They (California officials) are asking these guys to make significant investments in their equipment, which isn’t easy to do.”
That is a reference to CARB requiring trucking equipment be retrofitted when it reaches seven years old.
As owner operator Henry Lee of Ellenwood, GA says, it will cost him $10,000 to replace the motor on his Thermo King SB-310 reefer unit, to meet the CARB requirements.
Genpro works with a mixture of owner operators, small fleets and carriers. Goldstein says the average size of fleets they work with is about seven units.
We’re entering that time of the year when overall produce volume is declining and it will only get worse during the first few months or so in the New Year. For example, Florida is nothing to get excited about for produce haulers, and will remain that way until spring vegetable shipments take off in April.
Still there are some loading opportunities in the Sunshine state, with vegetables, strawberries and citrus.
Florida Vegetable Shipments
Grape tomatoes and cherry tomato shipments started in mid October from the Palmetto-Ruskin area.
Mature green tomatos should get underway from Central Florida in early November.
Bell peppers, grean beans and cucumbers should begin in light volume in early November from Homestead and Belle Glade.
Sweet corn is running late and is not expected to kick off until about a week before Thanksgiving, which is November 28th.
Georgia Vegetable Shipments
Southern Georgia has light supplies of sweet corn, and bell peppers. Loading should continue until about a week before Thanksgiving. It is around this time, the items will get started in Florida.
Florida Strawberry Shipments
Looking ahead, we’re only about five weeks or so away from the intial Florida strawberries coming on in late November, primarily around the Plant City area. Loadings will gradually build in December and January befor peak shipments hit in February.
Lettuce shipments from the Salinas Valley are expected to decline in coming weeks as the seasonal transition gradually shifts to the Imperial Valley in the California desert, as well as just to the East in the Yuma, AZ district. However, it will probably be around Thanksgiving before the change is completed. Sandwiched in between this the Huron district on the westside of the San Joaquin Valley. Lettuce shipments from Huron should get underway about the third week of October and last about a month.
Strawberry Shipments
The Watsonville area adjancent to Salinas is loading about 500 truck loads of strawberries weekly. There is much lighter volume coming out of the Santa Maria district, with Ventura County have very light movment as its fall season has just started.
Kiwfruit Shipments
Imports of kiwi from Chile and New Zealand are in a rapid decline, while California kiwi shipments are just gearing up. The California produce loads are predicted to hit about 6.5 million trays this season, down from 9-plus million trays last season.
California Nuts
No we’re not talking about California Gov. Jerry Brown, or the state’s assembly. California expects to load about 495,000 tons of walnuts this season, slightly below a year ago.
Date Shipments
California is the largest shipper of dates, with shipments forecast to be up about 20 percent this year, primarily from the California desert and Yuma, AZ.
Michigan could have a record, or at least near record apple crop this season, but there may be fewer loads available for produce haulers. In a nutshell, there’s not enough farm laborers and there are worries of fruit actually rotting on the trees.
Question. Unemployment is at 7.8 percentange, but some reports state it’s more like 17 percent when including people who have quit looking for work. So why is there a labor shortage? If there is a driver shortage amounting to 20,000 a year, as claimed by the American Trucking Associations, with unemployment so high, what’s the problem?
Could it be that government assistance has become so common and so excessive that folks figure why should they work when there are food stamps, free cell phones, housing assistance, etc.?
Michigan agricultural organizations teamed up to send “help wanted” postcards to more than 300 farm labor contractors, mostly in Florida and Georgia, informing them of the state’s large apple crop and need for hundreds of qualified workers for the next few weeks.
About 20 to 30 percent of the state’s apples remain to be harvested. If the fruit isn’t picked by early November there’s a good chance it will be lost.
Apple pickers are paid $15 to $20 and hour, plus are provided with housing during the season. The crop is estimated to be about 30 million bushels this season.
When it comes to driver respect, few people understand it better than Jimmy DeMatteis, and too many fail to practice what he preaches in this regard.
After all, he grew up with a dad who started hauling produce in 1951. His father eventually formed a brokerage in 1963 that eventually became Des Moines Truck Brokers. Jimmy has since became president of the company.
“Everything we do is useless unless we have a driver in that seat. When a driver walks into our office, our people (staff) get up, and walk over to that driver and shakes his hand. I’ve been in an environment where they see a driver and they get up and walk out of the room, or start staring at their monitor and suddenly start acting like they are busy,” DeMatteis says.
He believes the trucking industry needs to do a better job of recruiting, and that is only going to happen by making the driving jobs more attractive. First and foremost, he states that shippers and brokers alike need to recognize the value of drivers.
“I think produce shippers in general are one of the worst offenders. They tend to look at trucking strictly as a necessary evil. They fail to see it as an intregal part of the supply chain,” DeMatteis says, whose company expects to arrange about 9,000 loads this year.
He notes there are trucking jobs available where drivers can earn $50,000 to $60,000 a year, without having to be on the road for three weeks at a time. These are jobs “where you’re not treated like dirt.”
While DeMatteis sees plenty of room for improvement by shippers and brokers in their treatment of truckers, he also sees the other side of the coin.
“Some drivers with an 18 wheeler are driving 25 mph over the speed limit. They need to wise up and realize this is a profession. Some of these guys drive like they are reliving the NASCAR race they saw on Sunday. If you want to be treated like a professional, act like a professional,” he states.
Then he adds that there are too many “stupid” people driving four-wheelers as well.
While DeMatteis believes the majority of carriers are trying to conduct business the right way, he is critical of “the market squatters that are just trolling the load boards, waiting for the home run, and secure that $10,000 load from California to Boston (especially during the summertime peak produce shipping season).
He understands the market dictates rates, and the majority of time one is dealing with spot markets.
“The market squatters aren’t doing anything to be sustainable in the long run. They need to operate like a business. I’m not saying you should not take advantage of a market; everyone does. It is good business. But when you are churning and burning through customers, you can do that until there is nothing left. When I feel abused by a carrier, that’s the last guy I’m going to call when I need a load,” DeMattheis states.
He explains it is better when business is done right and you negotiate a fair rate, check one another out, provide the service, pay promptly and at the end of the haul you feel as if you can build upon a business relationship. There needs to be more of this in trucking, DeMatteis believes.