Posts Tagged “San Luis Valley potato shipments”
New season Colorado potato shipments are underway, but still light in volume, while increasing.
About 250 truck loads were shipping last week.
While we don’t a forecast yet for the 2015-16 shipping season it appears there won’t be any drastic changes in total truck shipments from this past year.
The San Luis Valley planted 52,900 acres of potatoes for the 2014-15 shipping season. With the end of July the region had shipped nearly 14 million cwt of fresh market spuds.
There were 2,561 truck loads shipped during July, compared to 2,291 in July 2014 and 1,839 in 2013. Shipments to date for the 2014-15 seaspm were 30,325 truck loads, compared to 29,344 in 2014 and 31,988 in 2013.
Organic potato acreage continues to increase, and now exceeds 4,000 acres.
Shipments of yellow potatoes also is increasing. It now accounts for 8 to 10 percent of the volume each year nationally. Russet Norkotahs continue to lead the pack in overall potato acreage in the San Luis Valley. Red potato shipments are a much smaller percentage.
Fingerlings and specialty potato shipments also are increasing from the San Luis Valley.
San Luis Valley potato shipments – grossing about $3300 to Cleveland.
Woerner Purchases Cañon Potato
Cañon Potato Co. has been acquired by Woerner Holdings Inc. and Woerner subsidiary H.C. Schmieding Produce Co. will market and distribute potatoes from Cañon’s Center, Colo., facility.
In the deal, Woerner takes on the packing and storage facility of Cañon Potato, which announced its closure in 2013. That’s when the co-owner and a sales veteran left to join a competing Colorado shipper.
Springdale, Ark.-based potato shipper H.C. Schmieding Produce was sold to West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Woerner in April.
While old crop potatoes are still being shipped, particularly from Western and Mid-western states, it already is looking like there will plenty of loading opportunities for the 2015-16 potato crop.
The USDA is reporting the following estimates from major potato shipping states. Idaho, which easily leads the pack in acreage, volume and shipments, has 4,000 more acres planted this season, which many considered to be too many acres a year ago.
Other states look like this: Colorado down 1,000 acres; Maine up 500 acres; Oregon no change; Washington up 5,000 acres and Wisconsin up 2,000 acres. The entire U.S. potato plantings for the upcoming season has increased by 18,400 acres, or two percent over last year’s big crop.
A major jump in plantings is with Minnesota that includes a whopping 7,000 acre increase (plus 16.3%) compared to 2014, and a 1,000 acres increase in North Dakota (1.3%).
Currently, Idaho potato shipments are amounting to about 1500 truck load equivalents per week. Colorado potato shipments from the San Luis Valley are average around 500 truck loads each week.
San Luis Valley potato shipments – grossing about 1750 to Dallas.
Idaho potatoes – grossing about $4600 to New York City.
Washington/Oregon Potato Shipments
It’s too early to tell for sure, but excessive heat and drought could reduce shipments out of Washington state and Oregon this coming season. While some diggings will begin any day now, most active doesn’t occur until after Labor Day. We’ll know a lot more in a month or so.
As we get back in the groove following the long Memorial weekend, here are some of the better produce loading opportunities at various shipping points across America.
Western Produce Shipping Areas
Washington state easily provides the most loading opportunities in the Northwest with apples averaging over 3200 truck loads per week. The Yakima and Wenatchee Valleys also have pears in much smaller volume.
Washington apples – grossing about $5000 to Dallas.
Idaho potato shipments continue as we approach the last few months of the 2014-15 shipping season. About 1300 truck load equivalents are being handled weekly, although rails account for a larger percentage than with most produce items. However, trucks still rule!
Idaho potatoes – grossing about $4700 to New York City.
In California, strawberry shipments remain in heavy volume, with about equal movement coming out of the Watsonville area and the Santa Maria District. Nearly 1200 truck loads per week are being shipped from these two areas…Also, big volume with mixed vegetables continue from the Salinas Valley.
Salinas/Watsonville vegetables and strawberries – grossing about $6300 to Orlando.
At Nogales, AZ, about 2500 truck loads of watermelons are crossing the border from Mexico each week. Mexican grape shipments also are increasing.
Nogales produce – grossing about $2600 to Dallas.
Central Produce Shipping Areas
San Luis Valley potato shipments from Southern Colorado continue on a steady pace averaging about 600 truck loads per week…..Central Wisconsin potato loadings are much lighter heading towards the end of its season.
Colorado potatoes – grossing about $2200 to Chicago.
In South Texas, about 1000 truck loads of Mexican avocados are crossing the border each week at McAllen. There also are a number of tropical fruits and limes crossing in moderate volumes. Texas sweet onion shipments are just about finished for the season.
South Texas produce – grossing about $2600 to Atlanta.
Eastern Produce Shipments
While Florida is headed towards a seasonal end to its spring produce shipping season, more of the focus moves to Georgia. As Florida blueberry shipments rapidly decline, “blues” are gaining in volume from Southern Georgia. The state also has moderate volume with vegetables ranging from cabbage to beans and Vidalia onions.
North Carolina sweet potatoes continue to be shipped in moderate volume, mostly from eastern areas of the state.
Colorado potato shipments continue to remain good and steady out of the San Luis Valley.
Total shipments to date for the current season are 19,980 truck loads, up from 19,124 in 2014. That number remains down from previous years: 2011 had shipments hitting 23,511 year to date in March; 2012 logged 22,754; and 2013 came in at 21,069.
Yellow potato shipments have accounted for just under 16 percent of the 2014-15 crop. In 2014 yellows were slightly over 12 percent, and in the three previous years they were in single-digit percentages.
Red potato shipments slipped a little in 2014-15, down to 5.8 percent from 6.9 percent in 2013-14.
San Luis Valley potato shipments are currently averaging about 750 truck loads per week.
As for the upcoming 2015-16 shipping season, growers just started planting in late April, which is normal, and will continue into May.
With an ongoing drought a major factor in the San Luis Valley’s potato industry, planting this coming season could be down between 8 and 10 percent from last year’s 55,000 acres.
It could be between 50,000 and 52,000 acres, but for now it is uncertain. Acreage in 2014 was bumped up from the previous year’s 49,700 acres.
San Luis Valley potatoes – grossing about $2400 to Chicago; $2200 to Houston.
Here are produce shipping updates for Colorado potatoes, as well as for vegetables from the California and Arizona desert areas.
Colorado potato shipments are steady and averaging about 800 truck loads per week. Potato acreage in the San Luis Valley is up 8 percent in 2014 to 53,700 over 2013’s 49,700 acres.
San Luis Valley potato shipment totals through December 2014 are very similar to the previous year, with 10,579 loads having gone out with the end of the year 2014 compared to 10,529 in 2013. Truck shipments of fresh were at 2,654, up from 2,614 the previous year.
Colorado potato shipments – grossing about $2200 to Chicago.
Desert Vegetable Shipments
A couple of weeks of above-normal temperatures since the middle of January have helped bring on vegetables supplies – and shipments – in the western desert areas of California and Arizona. In fact this week plenty of sunshine and highs mostly in the lower 70s are predicted.
In early- to mid-January, there were very light supplies of Iceberg lettuce as well as most other vegetables. But high temperatures in the 70s in Yuma, AZ, and California’s Imperial Valley brought on fields more quickly and increased shipments.
However, it is still the middle of winter with almost three months of weather yet to play out. Although the harvest is ahead-of-schedule there is the potential for supply and shipping gaps if the weather cools off and growing time takes longer.
Desert vegetables – grossing about $7000 to New York City.
There should be significantly more produce loading opportunities from the Rocky Mountain State, primarily due to a great snowpack and a lot of favorable growing conditions.
Depending on location, snow packs in the Rocky Mountains have been anywhere from 130 to 150 percent of normal, filling up reservoirs, and easing concerns over drought conditions.
Colorado Peach Shipments
Peach shipments from Colorado’s western slope have been underway since the last week of July. Loadings should continue until after Labor Day, and a few limited loadings could be available into the third week of September. Last year, peach volume was off 25 percent because of weather factors. This season loadings are expected to only be down 10 to 15 percent from what is considered a full crop. There also are some loadings available with apple and pears, although its is much smaller than with peaches.
Rocky Ford Melon Shipments
Cantaloupe shipments, as well as honeydew are now coming out of Colorado’s Rocky Ford area. Loadings should be available for another month.
Colorado Vegetable Shipments
San Luis Valley potato shipments could be up as much as eight percent this season. A combination of 54,200 acres of potatoes planted, combined with plentiful water supplies have helped. While limited potato shipments started from Northeastern Colorado a week ago, most volume comes out of the San Luis Valley. SLV harvesting generally gets underway after Labor Day and wraps up in October, with shipments continuing into following the summer.
The Northeastern part of the state also is shipping items ranging from onions to sweet corn and squash.
When talking potato shipments, one has to start with Idaho, since it is the “Washington apples” of the spud industry in America. Here’s a round up of several of the larger potato shipping areas across the USA.
Idaho’s 315,000 acres yielded more than 12.5 billion pounds of potatoes, about average for the past five years. The state is averaging about 2,000 truck load equivalents per week. A higher percentage of tubers goes by rail than with most fresh produce commodities.
Idaho potato shipments – grossing about $6000 to Boston.
In Colorado, the San Luis Valley has ended up with one of its best crop we’ve had in many years in terms of appearance, size and overall quality. The valley is averaging abouot 750 truck loads of potatoes a week.
San Luis Valley potato shipments – grossing about $1300 to Oklahoma City.
The third heaviest movement of potatoes is coming out of Central Wisconsin, which is averaging about 500 truck loads weekly. There’s also the Columbin Basin in Washington state and the adjancent Umatilla Basin in Oregon, which has similar volume to Wisconsin right now.
Wisconsin potato shipments – about $3000 to Atlanta.
Loading opportunities experience a pretty big drop in the following areas, compared to what was just covered.
Potatoes are being shipped out the Hereford district of far Western Texas. In Nebraska, two distant towns – O’Neill and Imperial, have light volume. Michigan also has light volume with spuds.
Finally, in the far upper northeast, Aroostrock County, Maine is loading about 150 truck loads of potatoes a week.