Immigration on the docket

Talking with New York grower and United Fresh co-chair Maureen Torrey today, she noted she is traveling to Washington D.C. next week for a Wednesday press conference marking the introduction of AgJobs legislation by Sens. Larry Craig of Idaho and Dianne Feinstein of California. Here is the link to The Packer coverage this week, which reveals a varying degrees of optimism about Congressional action.

Having Torrey in an industry leadership position is particularly valuable at this time. She knows first hand the problems with the current dysfunctional labor market. Her farm is just five miles away from a federal immigration detention center. Her farm endured a labor shortage that started about 10% short in July and worsened to 40% short by September.

Any sensible politician has to believe her when she says, "If we don't have labor, we will be out of business."

Sensible politicians have been the minority party for too long.

As a citizen, I like the new paygo rule that House Democrats have instituted, but it may make it harder to fund industry priorities. White House release here about the budget process; President Bush makes a good point that pro-growth policies of low taxes have shrunk the deficit faster than expected.

Crunch time

Crunchy con - a conservative organic consumer - is not an oxymoron. So states this piece that talks about the value of faith, family and getting back to nature. As it turns out, increasing numbers of conservatives dig organic produce and the country lifestyle. This quote sums it up: "The crunchy con lifestyle is not just about eating granola and escaping off to the countryside to raise organic animals out on a farm. At its heart, it's a profoundly pro-life way of living."

I say go for it. I may someday join them down on the farm, raising organic potatoes and free range chicken. I'm only half-kidding.

Also in the news, fast food chain Wendy's is not walking away from its salad fans. This release talks about a new Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad and a promotion with Curves to kick it off.

Feel free

The settings of this blog allow readers to comment, so try it out. I'd love to hear some of your thoughts on issues like the "buyers' letter" and some of the big picture issues like food safety and marketing. By the way, I have a Q and A in the can with K-State food safety professor Doug Powell who had some contrarian things to say about third party inspections and the idea of marketing food safety to consumers. He doesn't like the first and thinks the second may be the way to go.

Attack of the grape tomatoes

The year was 2001, and grape tomatoes were taking the country by storm. The Washington Post took notice, publishing this feature that explored some of the ups and downs of grape tomato expansion. Now, as then, the grape tomato is a consumer favorite. Shippers I talked with this week told me the item is no longer a specialty, however. It is a commodity that growers can easily lose money on, owing to high labor costs. Look for upcoming coverage in The Packer, and get this look at the sobering difference in prices between last year and this year for grape tomatoes.

A tale of two countries

I've been calling exporters and importers for the Chilean grape section coming up for The Packer, and the easy consensus is that the season is starting out quite well. For a government perspective on Chile's prospects, the USDA FAS just released their Chile deciduous report, which also confirms what we've been hearing. Meanwhile, Australia's devastating drought is expected to slice 20% off both production and exports of apples and pears, the FAS reports.

This spreadsheet of Chilean fresh fruit exports is provided by the Chilean Exporters Association and shows the strong showing of avocados, grapes and other items.