Posts Tagged “feature”
While overall food prices rose slightly in September, fresh produce prices actually declined.
According the Consumer Price Index issued by The Commerce Department, there was a .4 percent drop in fruit and vegetables prices in September, comapred to August. This resules from a .9 percent drop in frest fruit prices. September overall consumer food prices were .1 percent higher, following a .2 percent increase in August.
The USA average retail price in September for fresh oranges was $1.30 per pound, down from $1.44 per pound in September 2011. The red delicious apple USA average retail price in September was $1.53 per pound, up from $1.51 per pound this time last year. The average retail banana price was 60 cents, down from 61 cents per pound at the same time a year ago.
Fresh vegetable prices increased .8 percent in September compared with August. However the Commerce Department said the fresh vegetable index is still 4.9 percent below year-ago levels.
Fresh potato prices in September were down 1.9 percent from August and 13.6 percent below 2011 levels. Retail prices for lettuce were up 1.1 percent above August but 3.4 percent down from 2011, the report read.
While fresh tomato prices in September were up 2.9 percent from the previous month, it was 4.9 percent lower than a year ago. levels. The average retail price for tomatoes in September was $1.38 per pound, down from $1.50 per pound the same time a year ago, according to the report.
Potato haulers should find the quality of Maine’s potato crop this year to be the best in a number of years. Last year, growers were plagued with too much water and a disease known as blight.
The Maine potato harvest was recently completed, which is always a race against finishing before the first hard freeze, which damage spuds remaining in the ground. The majority of the state’s spuds are shipped throughout New England, the northeast and as far south as the mid-Atlantic states.
55,000 acres of Maine potatoes were harvested this year. This is small in comparison the nation’s biggest shipper. Idaho has increased its acreage by 25,000 every year for the past several years. This year, the state is reporting 345,000 acres. In 2011, it planted 320,000, and in 2010 it had 295,000 acres.
Idaho has increased in just two years the equivalent of the entire state of Maine’s production.
By comparison, Wisconsin has 63,000 acres, Colorado and Maine are at 55,000, Minnesota 51,000, Michigan at 46,000, Oregon has 41,000, and New York 17,000 acres.
Added together, these states tally 332,000 acres, 13,000 less than Idaho alone produces.
Most of Maine’s potatoes are grown and shipped from Aroostock County, the state’s largest county. It is the northern most county in the state and has a population of 71,482 as of 2011. In the Native American language it means “beautiful language” and is aptly nicknamed The Crown of Maine, in part because of its location.
The potato is northern Maine’s primary agricultural product and in the 1940s Maine’s potato production was tops in the nation. By 1994 however, Maine had fallen to the eighth ranked potato producer and the seventh in the number of acres devoted to potato cultivation in the United States.
The number of acres of farm land devoted to potatoes has decreased in recent years because of rotational crops, conservation and fewer farmers. However, in the year 2000, Maine grew 63,000 acres of potatoes and nearly 90 percent of that was in Aroostook County.
During recent years the sales of sweet potatoes (also known as yams) have grown by about 20 percent per year. The product is a staple in food magazines, cookbooks and on television shows.
According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration the orange flesh sweet potato is the only major vegetable that contains four nutrients that exceed 10 percent of the recommended daily amount.
These four nutrients are vitamin A (beta carotene), vitamin C, fiber and potassium.
Researchers at the University of Ulm in Germany recently released a study stating serum concentration of the antioxidants vitamin C and beta carotene were shown to be significantly lower in patients with mild dementia than in control persons. This opens the door to the possibility of influencing Alzheimer’s dementia by a person’s diet or dietary antioxidants.
It also has been reported previoiusl that the orange fleshed sweet potato is the most nutritional fresh produce item on the planet.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest names sweet potatoes the No. 1 most nutritious food because they are loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium and fiber.
Sweet potatoes also are city as a leading food item in ending world hunger? Apparently, they are. A grassroots advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, has a campaign in action now that aims to do just that.
The project demonstrates how, by providing much-needed nutrients like vitamins C, A and B6 to undernourished children, sweet potatoes are helping to avert stunting and ensuring proper growth. In addition, sweet potatoes are cheap to produce and they are easy to grow in uncertain conditions: perfect for regions prone to drought and famine.
California orange shipments should hit 59.5 million cartons this season, up from 57.5 million boxes a year ago. The increase in available loads will be from early and midseason navels. Valencia shipments, which will come next year as the navel season is ending, should experience a slight decline.
Shipments of California lemons is predicted to remain about the same as last year.
This year’s California navel orange crop, estimated at 93 million cartons, should be slightly larger than last year’s estimated 89 million cartons.
Shipments navel shipmens should begin in early November, with good loading opportunities arriving around the middle of the month.
The fresh produce industry has a history of becoming too anxious to get started shipping – and in fact some shipper take pride in being the first to ship a vegetable or fruit from their district. The problem lies in the fact that too often produce is shipped before it is mature as the shipper seeks to get in on a high market. Cudos to the California citrus growers. In an effort to provide end users with a better-eating piece of fruit than in past years, the state’s growers have agreed to implement what they’re calling the California Standard.
That means some growers may have to hold onto their fruit a bit longer than usual until it meets a specific maturity — and taste — standard.
Not only should this mean more pleased consumers — consumer that will more likely make repeat purchases — but it could also reduce claims and deductions at the receiving end.
Arizona lemon shipments are expected to nearly double from 800,000 cartons to 1.7 million cartons.
Are we in a decline? That is one of the big emerging questions in political debates. Now just how smart does someone need to be to know the answer to that one?
Let’s see now. We have a complete failure of the public education system with dropout rates equal to or exceeding graduation rates. Larry Oscar We have lowered our standards and test scores for employment requirements until it isn’t even worth having standards anymore. We have teachers, ministers, priests, politicians, and just about every other form of our leaders having sex with minor students and their staff.
Those employers who are hiring can’t find qualified workers, except in other countries. It is easier to do business in almost any country in the world other than the USA. The American population has turned into a bunch of government handout ridden lemmings. And the one who is supposed to lead us out of this mess says, “We’ve lost our ambition, our — our imagination, and — and — our willingness to do the things that built the Golden Gate Bridge and Hoover Dam and unleashed all the potential in this country. What a crock!
This bozo has no idea what he just said. For one thing Mr. B.O., the Golden Gate Bridge and Hoover Dam could not be built today because of all the EPA environmental and OSHA safety government regulations you helped create. Meanwhile B.O. continues to make it worse. Why have any ambition when you can just sit back and let the government take care of you?
And those with a creative imagination dare not invent something here. Why you might just make millions of dollars with your imaginative invention, and then you would be one of the “Evil Hated Rich.”
Now I know that B.O. has had a rough time quitting smoking, but I thought it was tobacco he was smoking. Now I see it was something else. Our government has done more harm to our society than any of the founding fathers could have possibly dreamed up.
For starters in 1995 the government had the audacity to tell Americans that home ownership is the “American Dream.” Then the government started forcing banks to loan money to subprime borrowers so they could “Live the American Dream.” How dare anyone in the government tell us as individual Americans what the American dream is! The so called “American Dream” is for us to decide on our own, not the worthless government.
For many Americans it’s owning your own business. For others it is not even owning a home, but rather living where you have no upkeep or maintenance. And just why is it that some low life politicians think they can run our lives better than we can? Babbling Barney Frank of Massachusetts is a fine example of this. Who would want to trade places with this slobbering ugly wad of fat?
Yet this clown thinks he is a genius and knows what we want better than we do. Our nation is indeed in decline, and people like him are leading us there. This may be the first time in American history that the next generation of Americans will have a harder time being successful than we did. And we have the government to thank. It is time for new leadership in this country.
We need leaders who will step up to the plate and stop blaming others for the circumstances we are in. Blaming others will not solve the problems, and solve them we must. We need true leaders who value the rich and poor alike. Our next President needs to understand that he or she is the President of ALL Americans, not just the poor, or the middle class, but the rich as well. We should celebrate the economic diversity that this nation has produced rather than trying to tear down the successful Americans who pay the vast majority of the taxes collected.
Our politicians have made “wealth envy” a national fad. Shame on us as voters for electing these cads. Let’s show some good old American Christmas spirit this season. Let’s find a rich person and buy them a drink. Tell them how much you appreciate their tax contributions and ask them to keep paying their taxes, keep working hard, and please don’t move to China.
We need more wealthy people in this country. The richer people get the more they spend. With 70 percent of our economy based on consumer spending, we need more wealthy people to buy some very expensive things. And if you know some very rich dude who is looking to unload some cash just send him my way….I could use a new TV! — Larry Oscar
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.
Loading opportunities with Florida citrus will be up slightly from a year ago, following the trend of two other major citrus shipping states, California and Texas.
Overall orange shipments in Florida, which goes primarily to processors, is expected to increase four percent, from 206.2 million boxes to 214.9 million boxes.
The USDA predicts Florida loads to see only a slight increase, with the differnce coming in white grapefruit. However, a majority of grapefruit is for the fresh market.
Florida’s speciality citrus production is predicted to fall by seven percent for early-season and the later-season honey tangerines.
Overall Florida fresh produce shipments are entering the slowest time of the year. Good volume normally doesn’t return until late March or April when the spring mixed vegetable season cranks up.
As for USA citrus loading opportunities, the USDA sees a national increase for the fast approaching season. Overall USA citrus shipments are forecast to increase this upcoming season on all varieties except for Florida tangerines, California valencias and Texas oranges, which all are predicted to see slight declines. California’s main citrus volume is with navel oranges, while Texas typically ships a lot more grapefruit than oranges from the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
The USDA predicts the USA will increase overall citrus volume from last season’s 272.4 million equivalent cartons to 284.3 million equivalent cartons this year, a 4.2 percent hike.
Early, midseason and navel oranges are forecast to remain the same from last season, and late-season valencias are expected to increase from last season’s 73 million boxes to 80 million boxes this year.
Recent rains in the Red River Valley of eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota has helped the harvest due to badly needed moisture in the soil for digging operations. About 150 truck loads of potatoes was shipped last week and should be increasing in the weeks ahead.
Russet potato shipments are increasing from Central portions of Wisconsin. During the past week around 500 truck loads of potatoes were being trucked to various markets. There also are loadings of cranberries from Central Wisconsin, as well as cabbage from the Southeastern portions of the state.
Only about 25 percent of the Wisconsin potato volume is being shipped out of Nebraska. Most product is originating out out of the southwestern and the northeastern portions of the Cornhusker state.
In the Northeastern area of Colorado, there are moderate shipments of storage onions.
Michigan normally is shipping a lot more apples this time of the year, but a devastating freeze about six months ago has drastically reduced volume. There is light volume with potatoes, but the focus continues to be harvesting spuds for storage. Potato shipments should significantly increase in November.
Texas cabbage shipments are occuring from the Winter Garden District, just south of San Antonio. In another month shipments of grapefruit and oranges should be increasing out of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
Central Wisconsin potatoes – grossing about $2500 to Atlanta.
Grand Forks, ND potatoes – about
Colorado potatoes – about $4000 to New York City.
Troy Pecka has been in the trucking business for nearly a quarter of a century 
and has pretty much seen it all, or at least come fairly close to it. There is something to be said for someone who started out trucking out as a 19-year-old, and now owns his own small fleet at the “ripe” old age of 43.
The owner of Troy Pecka Trucking Inc. doesn’t have the time to get behind the wheel of a big rig anymore as much as he’d like, in part because he’s dealing with all the rules and regulations to keep the drivers of his 15 trucks and three leased owner operators doing what they do best – truck.
Troy is following in the footsteps of his dad who started trucking at age 18 and didn’t stop until his was 76.
Troy’s small fleet, based in East Grand Forks, MN, specializes in hauling a lot of loads of frozen foods and fresh red potatoes to the Southwestern and Southeastern USA. Return trips lean heavily towards mixed fresh produce going into Edmonton, Alberta.
When asked what rules and regulations in trucking he disliked most, Troy would not commit to any particular ones. “All of these things increase your cost of operation,” he notes.
There could be the refusal of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to delete inspection reports from a driver’s record, even after that driver is found not guilty by the courts.
Or how about the FMCSA’s flawed enforcement program in CSA’s Safety Management Systems. There have been reports of safe drivers being listed as unsafe in the system.
Another example, could be the Federal highway legislation passed last July. It calls for the FMCSA to require electric on-board recorders (EOBRs) in all heavy duty trucks. Many in trucking are concerned it will lead to driver harrasment by authorities. This could involve electronic recording of a driver’s hours of service, vehicle location (through a GPS), with information available to law enforcement.
It is examples such as these which makes it more difficult to get good qualified drivers. He says the older drivers are leaving the industry and there are not nearly enough young drivers coming on board. After all, long haul trucking certainly is not an 8 to 5 job.
Despite all the government red tape, Troy still enjoys the business. He just doesn’t have the time to truck as much as he used to, although taking command of one of his big rigs to someplace like Fargo isn’t out of the question.
“I just can’t get it (driving) out of my blood,” he states.
One of his favorite trucks (pictured) is a 2007 red conventional Kenworth. It houses a 475 hp Caterpillar diesel, riding on a 260-inch wheelbase with a 13-speed transmission. He also like the 72- sleeper featuring all the amenities. It pulls a 53-foot Utility trailer housing a Thermo King reefer unit.
On any given day there will 100 or more trucks either loading or unloading on the Atlanta State Farmers Market. Most of those loads involve fresh fruits and vegetables.
The original market was actually located on Atlanta’s West End district in 1939 before moving to its current location in 1959. It has since expanded into a 150-acre compound housing everything from cold storages, docks, offices for wholesalers, brokers and others, as well having a resturant, police force and other agencies and facilities.
The Atlanta produce market is owned by the state of Georgia and operated by the Georgia Department of Agriculture Markets Division. It is located a middle-class industrial district about 10 miles south of downtown Atlanta and only a couple of miles from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Rail lines crisscross the property. The complex is just off the east side of Interstate 75 and only a couple of blocks south of Interstates 85 and 20, providing easy access from the to the Southeastern USA.
The market’s Oak Room restaurant has a large, varied menu with good food, which of course serves produce fresh from the marketplace.
Georgia has about a dozen state farmers scattered around the state, which are home to more than 150 companies employing 3,700 farmers, packers, retailers, receivers, and staff with an estimated payroll over $75 million. The Atlanta market is home to 85 percent of those businesses. In 2009, those markets brought in receipts totaling almost $1 billion. The Atlanta market brought in more than half that amount and operates in the black with revenues of almost $6 million last year.
Potatoes and onions, c
ommonly known as “hardware items” because they are less perishable and generally pose fewer problems when hauling, also normally do not pay as good a freight as most more perishable items. However, the further into fall and the closer to winter, overall fresh fruit and vegetable volume declines, and so do freight rates — and loading opportunties. Therefore, if nothing more than out of necessity potatoes and onions begin looking more attractive if you want or need to haul produce.
Oregon Onions
In the Snake River area of Oregon there is good demand heading into winter for trucks. An early start of the shipping season combined with fewer onions means less product is left for shipping than normal. Truck loads could be down 15-20% for Treasure Valley growers, due to the fourth-hottest summer on record and other weather-related issues. Fewer onions mean shippers are having less difficulty finding enough trucks to move product.
Idaho-Oregon Onions
Around the border area of Western Idaho and Malheur County, OR, nearly 700 truckloads of storage onions are being shipped weekly.
Washington-Oregon Onions and Potatoes
Similar volume with onion shipments are available from the border area of the Columbia Basin in Washington and the Umatilla Basin of Oregon. In Northwest Washington, just north of Seattle is light volume with red and white potatoes from the Skagit Valley.
Idaho Potatoes
The nation’s largest volume potato shipper has another huge crop this year. The state is averaging around 1500 truck load equivalents per week, although a significant amount of these potatoes are loaded in rail cars.
Colorado Potatoes and Onions
Storage onions are being shipped from Colorado’s Western Slope, near Olathe, and will continue well into January. Excellent quality is reported. Loads have been moving out of the area at a brisk pace in part because of Colorado’s freight advantage over western shippers….In south-central Colorado is the San Luis Valley, which is shipping around 750 truck loads of spuds per week.
Colorado potatoes – grossing about $1800 to Dallas.
Idaho potatoes – about $5500 to New York City.
Columbia Basin/Umatilla Basin (Washington and Oregon) potatoes and onions – about $4200 to Chicago.