Posts Tagged “Michigan blueberry shipments”
Naturipe Farms anticipates shipping a good crop of Michigan blueberries, with peak loadings from mid-July through mid-August, but lasting into mid September.
The company, which has an office in Grand Junction, likes growing blueberries in Michigan because of Lake Michigan’s temperature moderating effect and the sandy loam soils. These factors create a great environment to grow blueberries near the shores of Lake Michigan.
Naturipe grows both conventional and organic blueberries in Michigan.
The company supplements its organic supply with blueberries from the Pacific Northwest, as they will be coming into peak season around the same time. Naturipe’s organic volumes are stronger from the Pacific Northwest and Peru during July and August.
Mid-Atlantic watermelon shipments are expected to take a hit this summer resulting in reduced volume and possible shipping gaps….Meanwhile, Michigan blueberry shipments look promising this season and one operation is looking to significantly increase volume.
The mid-Atlantic watermelon shipping region includes Delaware, Maryland and the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
Some watermelon fields were hit with saw 16 inches of rain during a 50-day period, reports Evans Farms LLC of Bridgeville, DEL. While there has been an increase in watermelon acreage, that may not mean much due to the excessive rains. This resulted in delayed plantings and probably has reduced watermelon acreage by 20 percent. Yields Might be off by double-digit percentage as well. Some say conditions are the worst they have in the past quarter of a century.
There are an estimated 20 to 25 watermelon growers in region. The harvest is just getting underway, which is about a week later than normal.
Shipments should continue into the last half of September.
2017 Watermelon Shipments
In 2017, total seedless watermelon shipments from Maryland, Delaware and Virginia totaled 18.42 million cwt., with 24 percent shipped in July, 62 percent shipped in August, 14 percent shipped in September, and less than 1 percent in October.
Delaware accounted for 10.6 million cwt. in seedless shipments, with 26 percent shipped in July, 63 pecent shipped in August and 11 pecent in September.
Maryland accounted for 6.65 million cwt. in seedless watermelon shipments.
Virgina’s watermelon shipments in 2017 totaled 1.2 million cwt., with 63 percent shipped in August and 37 percent in September.
Michigan Blueberry Shipments
Wish Farms of Plant City, FL is expected to market about 30 percent more blueberries this season due to an expanded relationship with Michigan grower Leduc Blueberries. The Michigan season started earlier this month and blueberry shipments will continue through mid-September.
Volume is projected to hit 2 million pounds, and over the next five years could increase to 3 million pounds.
The Leduc family has been growing blueberries in Paw Paw, MI, since 1955. Roger and Jackie Leduc started with a 20-acre farm, and it has now grown to a 400-acre operation.
Now that we are well into summer, here’s a look at California strawberry shipments, blueberries from the Northwest and New Jersey, as well as from Michigan, plus more.
For the 2016 season, California will ship nearly 80 percent of the strawberry volume in the United States.
The 2016 California Strawberry Acreage Survey from the California Strawberry Commission notes 32,515 acres of strawberries were planted in California for the 2016 season. This breaks down to 27,783 acres planted in the fall of last year for production in the winter, spring and summer and then 4,732 acres planted this summer for production in the fall.
California strawberries are shipped year-round in California, with the ‘late-season strawberries’ second planting often referred to as the “summer plant.”
The majority of this acreage is shipped into the fall/early winter, and primarily originates from the Oxnard and Santa Maria areas.
Watsonville strawberries and Salinas vegetables – grossing about $4500 to Chicago.
Blueberry Shipments
Oregon blueberry shipments are now coming out of the Willamette Valley region with mid- to late-season varieties. Fresh shipments have ended a week or so early this year and now loadings are coming with “blues” out of storage. Shipments should continue through September.
Meanwhile, peak blueberry shipments are expected through August from British Columbia and New Jersey, with both areas continuing with lighter volume through September.
Michigan Produce Shipments
Michigan could set record blueberry shipments as loadings continue this season. However, growers are fighting a pest known as the Spotted Wing Drosophila, a nasty invasive fruit fly. It’s requiring close attention with insecticides, are abundant, requiring stringent controls, DeGrandchamp said.
Meanwhile Southwestern Michigan also is shipping peaches and plums (Berrien County), but in much lighter volume. The apricot season has ended.
Berian County apple shipments get underway in September, followed closely by loadings from Allegan County.
Michigan blueberry shipments – grossing about $3500 to Dallas; Michigan vegetable shipments grossing 25 to 30 percent less, depending upon destination.
Michigan fresh blueberry shipment will be done much earlier this year than normal, and total volumes will be well below previous estimates.
If that isn’t disappointing enough there’s now a shipping gap this week which will last through August 10th. The lull in loadings is occurring with the transition from bluecrop to elliot varieties.
About 46 million pounds of fresh-market Michigan fruit should be shipped this season. This compares to about 47 million pounds shipped in both 2014 and 2013.
Fewer shipments this year dates back to bitter winter weather. Bushes less than one year of age and bushes older than five or six years were hit particularly hard, which will have a lingering effect on production. The next two or three seasons expect Michigan blueberry shipments to be down.
So the overall effects of the cold winter and subsequent June drop on the 2014-15 crop will be heavy when final damages are tabulated, and the effects will continue to be felt next season and beyond.
Late-season elliots, which are starting this week, survived the winter much better than earlier varieties. Shipments will be heavier in the later part of the season than in the early, which is completely backwards.
Michigan Vegetable Shipments
Michigan vegetable shipments are increasing or entering their peak season on items ranging from celery to cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant and squash, among others.
Michigan produce – grossing about $2800 to Dallas.
Michigan blueberry shipments will be down this season, but it’s a matter of how much. In New Jersey, blueberry shipments should be similar to a year ago.
Two bitterly cold winters back-to-back hit blueberry bushes in Michigan, causing “winter kill” that will reduce shipments for the 2015 season.
The severity of damage varies widely, though, with some growers saying the crop will be “slightly smaller” and others saying some varieties in some areas will be down 50 percent. Still, decent volume is being predicted for Michigan blueberries starting the second week of July with strong shipments through the end of August and possibly into September.
Michigan apples and vegetables – grossing about $900 to Chicago.
New Jersey Blueberry Shipments
New Jersey blueberry shipments got underway about a week ago and are now moving into good volumes. In 2014, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics service showed New Jersey growers produced more than 57.8 million pounds of blueberries on approximately 8,800 acres. New Jersey currently ranks fifth in national production. Early indications show that New Jersey is on track to match, if not exceed, 2014 totals.
Here’s a national round up of items ranging from sweet corn shipments and peach shipments in several states, plus a summary of Michigan blueberry loading opportunities.
Sweet Corn Shipments
Sweet corn shipments out of Delaware got underway last week, New York sweet corn gets underway at the end of July.
Initial Michigan sweet corn loadings should get underway by the end of this week.
Georgia sweet corn loadings should finish for the season this week.
Look for Colorado to get going around July 25th.
Because of California’s water crisis, volume is down by as much as 20 percent out of the San Joaquin Valley.
Peach Shipments
There were no South Carolina peach shipments the first six weeks of what is normally the shipping season due to a late-spring freeze. However, loadings in high volume will occur during July and August.
South Carolina, despite being a small state (it ranks 41 in size among the 50 states), ranks high in produce shipments. It is the nation’s second-largest shipper of peaches, behind California and ahead of The Peach State, Georgia. The state places in the top 10 for leafy greens, cantaloupe, peanuts, watermelons, tomatoes, mixed vegetables and sweet potatoes Its Southeast location allows overnight shipments to reach most of the U.S. population.
South Carolina peaches and vegetables – grossing bout $4000 to Boston
Michigan Blueberry Shipments
Michigan blueberry shipments are finally underway following a slow start due to weather factors.
Because of the extra cold winter, spring estimates for total shipments have been more erractic than in most years. Blueberry shippers are predicting anywhere from 60 to 90 million pounds this season, which will be off from the 120 million pounds a year ago. About 70 percent of Michigan’s “blues” are shipped out of state – and all over the U.S. Loadings should continue into September.
Michigan blueberries and vegetables – grossing about $2000 to Atlanta.
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.