Curse you, light brown apple moth

In a battle of invasive pests versus eradication efforts, the pest sometimes wins with an assist from the public. That's the sobering report from California, where some communities have stopped aerial spraying of the light brown apple moth because of citizen complaints. Here are some headlines:

Moth spraying suspended

Albany stands up to spray, tree removal

Hundreds of health complaints followed apple moth spraying


The USDA has recognized the gravity of the situation. From the USDA comes this press release:

CONNER ANNOUNCES NEARLY $75 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR LIGHT BROWN APPLE MOTH ERADICATION

From the USDA story:

The light brown apple moth was first confirmed in Alameda County, Calif. on March 22, 2007 and soon after was identified in 11 other counties. Since the initial detection, USDA has been working cooperatively with the California Department of Food and Agriculture to conduct surveillance, trapping and treatment. In August 2007, USDA provided more than $15 million in emergency funding for eradication efforts. This latest funding will be used to continue and expand those activities in 2008.

USDA also will initiate a 50-state national detection survey to verify that light brown apple moth is not present anywhere else in the continental United States. Nursery stock, which is a major pathway for the spread of this pest, will be a target of the survey. Other priority areas for the survey include orchards and urbanized areas with ornamental plantings that are attractive to the light brown apple moth.

The light brown apple moth is native to Australia and also is found in New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom. This pest is of particular concern because it threatens crops as well as plants and trees, such as California's prized cypress and redwoods and many other varieties commonly found in urban and suburban landscaping, public parks and the natural environment.

TK: It is one thing to object to aerial spraying ; what will the public with a bias against big ag do if they are asked to stand aside while state and federal officials uproot their suburban landscaping? California agriculture and industry officials face a massive public relations challenge as eradication efforts will continue in the months and weeks ahead. That battle it is undoubtedly better than the alternative of waving the white flag to the Australian invader.

What's going on

If any members of the Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group want to participate in a trial run on the Google Talk feature (online chat embedded in the blog), shoot me an email and I will invite you. I anticipate this might be a new forum to conduct an interview with a member of The Packer's team and other industry leaders. (I thought one interesting subject out of the gate may be Pamela R of The Packer, as she is taking on media spokesperson duties for sister site Produce Guru). This may take time to figure out.

My email is tkarst@thepacker.com if you want me to send you an invite to check out the Google Talk feature. You do need to have a Google account to participate.

In other news, the nomination hearing of Agriculture Secretary designate Edward Schafer, former governor of North Dakota, was held today by the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Sen. Tom Harkin, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said this in his opening remarks (provided by his office).

“Among your key responsibilities is faithfully carrying out the laws that Congress writes and the President signs. Currently, we face a big challenge in completing a new farm bill for you to implement. The Senate and the House of Representatives have each passed versions of a new farm bill. Both bills have significant improvements and reforms to benefit agriculture, rural communities and our nation as a whole. In our Senate bill we continue and improve a solid farm income protection system, and we make critical new investments to conserve our resources, promote rural energy initiatives, alleviate hunger and malnutrition, and boost the economy and quality of life in rural communities.

“Unfortunately, we do not yet have the support of the President for funding the critical, forward-looking investments crafted by the Agriculture Committees and approved by the House and the Senate. We have a good deal of hard work and negotiation with the White House ahead of us on the new farm bill. Yet I am hopeful that we can approach this challenge reasonably and cooperate to reach agreements. Governor Schafer, we look forward to working with you, and we are counting on your help in working out differences in order to enact a sound new farm for our nation.

TK: Harkin and other senators are sure to test the resolve of Schafer out the gate, as the tension of the Administration's veto threat of the farm bill is balanced by Schafer's natural instincts to be agreeable. Schafer is expected to be confirmed easily. Still, look for Chuck Conner to continue to be the point person and tough talker for the Administration on the farm bill.

The unstoppable spread of obesity

You most likely have seen the obesity map at some industry event. What the powerpoint presentation shows is the persistent spread of obesity in the U.S. In 1985, the CDC shows eight states were reported to have between 10% and 14% of their population categorized as obese. The balance of the states reported no statistics or showed obesity levels below 10%. By 2006, 20 states showed 25% of their population as obese.

The taste of heirlooms

Guest blogger Lance Jungmeyer chiming in ...

In its own survey of seed sales and buyer preference, TomatoFest Garden Seeds has developed a top-10 list of heirloom tomatoes.

Here's the list:

1. Paul Robeson (purple/black)
2. Cherokee Purple (purple/black)
3. Brandywine (pink)
4. Amana Orange (orange)
5. Marvel Stripe (red/yellow striped)
6. Julia Child (pink)
7. Black Zebra (green/purple striped)
8. Black Cherry (purple/black)
9. Kellogg's Breakfast (orange)
10. Aussie (red)

Three of the top-10 are from the so-called "black" tomato group. In actuality, according to a news release from TomatoFest Garden Seeds, these tomatoes have their origin in the southern Ukraine.

From the release:

"Black tomatoes cover a range of dark colors, including deep purple, dusky deep brown, smoky mahogany with dark green shoulders, and bluish-brown. The depth of colors seems to be encouraged by a higher acid and mineral content in the soil," said Gary Ibsen, founder of Carmel Tomato Fest and owner of TomatoFest Garden Seeds.

"Black" tomatoes are native to Southern Ukraine during the early 19th century. They originally existed in only a small region of the Crimean Peninsula. Soon they were showing up as new varieties in many shapes and sizes and began to appear throughout the territories of the former Soviet Union. Then they began turning up in the former Yugoslavia, Germany and the United States.

The Paul Robeson "black" heirloom tomato, ranking high on the "Top 10" list, won "Best Tasting Tomato" for several years at the Carmel TomatoFest in California. Its deep, rich colors stand it apart from other traditional tomatoes, boasting a dusky, dark-red skin with dark-green shoulders and red flesh in its center. This beefsteak tomato is filled with luscious, earthy, exotic flavors, and has a good acid-to-sweet balance.

As these unique tomato varieties make it onto restaurant menus, expect more commercial growers to adopt them. Be warned, however, that the yields on heirlooms are notoriously low and if you're looking for a perfect shape with no blemishes, heirlooms are not for you.

About f/v consumption and weight loss

Here is a powerpoint from CDC that may be useful as a resource for questions about f/v consumption as a weight loss strategy.

81 days till Vidalia onion harvest but only 8 hours left in Fresh Talk poll

Right now it is a deadlock in the Fresh Talk poll between high fuel prices and the slowing economy as the number one worry for U.S. produce marketers. In a handicap of the final hours of polling, I would have to say the "slowing economy" might win the day. There is more and more coverage about how real the prosperity the U.S. has enjoyed. How much was built on the plastic of credit cards and home equity loans? And what will it mean to the rest of the world as we dig out? Staples like like fresh produce may not be as hurt as LCD TVs, but a measure of the pain may depend on how "soft" the landing is when our economy bottoms out.

Been there, done that, bought the traceability system

Big props to EProduce software for pouncing on the Produce Traceability Initiative and positioning itself as a solution to what is an important industry priority. I don't know much about the software other than what I read in the press release, but I can say the public relations department is answering the bell. From a news release on Newswire:

eProduce Ahead of the Traceability Initiative's Proposed and Agreed upon GS1 Standardization

NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Deming, NM, United States, 01/24/2008 - eProduce v4.0, developed using ISO, GS1 traceability standards, enables immediate compliance with the fresh produce Traceability Initiative steering committee proposed and agreed upon recommendations in Atlanta, GA January 9, 2008.
The Next Version Software (TNV), announced today its software eProduce v4.0, fresh produce production management and product trace-back software was developed using the GS1 traceability standards, as proposed and agreed upon by the steering committee of the Produce Traceability Initiative meeting held January 9 in Atlanta, Ga.eProduce developed in 2003 in response to meeting the complex compliance requirements of the US Bioterrorism Act 2002, and FDA GAP guidelines, could only be accomplished using the traceability standards developed by the international standards organization GS1, formerly known as EAN International and UCC (Uniform Code Council). eProduce provides a common platform enabling growers, packing facilities, distributors, wholesalers and retailers of fresh produce to perform consumer unit (item), trade unit (carton/bag) and logistic unit (pallet) level tracking using a dynamically generated GTIN (Global Trade Item Number), SGTIN or SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code). eProduce does not use a proprietary numbering system that requires users to use a third party server to store and/or retrieve traceability data.eProduce records grower crop production data, lot number, including maintaining records of pesticides applied, irrigation sources, and harvest records that detail the employees who harvested the fresh produce. Growers and packing facilities of distributors do not need to install any software, all they need is an internet connection to access the trade partner’s eProduce application, providing a common platform for all members within the supply chain, including the consumer. eProduce supports the GS1 traceability standards requirements of recording packaging supplies consumed in the packing process and third party carrier logistics including transportation company data.eProduce users simply create electronic records, instead of manual records of the fresh produce, within the four walls and outside of the four walls, those records are stored in a database for on-demand display, enabling users of eProduce to perform product trace-back within seconds. “Last year we performed a mock re-call for one of our customers using eProduce, literally within minutes we emailed a report on over 1500 pallets of product that were shipped to locations throughout the United States”, stated James Johnson, VP Carzalia Valley Produce, Inc. eProduce is compatible with and receives input from any Code 128 compliant hardware device (reader or scanner) capable of reading RSS barcodes on a PLU or RFID encoding on a trade or logistics unit. Using pre-printed serialized RSS barcodes on the labels of clam shells, cellophane wraps, cartons or flats allow eProduce to collect product information with virtually no impact on the harvest/packing personnel.“Implementing a GS1 traceability standard solution is not only about compliance, but also enhances your ability to manage exposure to risk”, stated Anderson Grogen Sr., CEO Next Version Software at the Summer 2007 NOA Convention held in Fresno, CA. “Your inability to quickly identify a product involved in a recall and with previously little known attorneys waiting to file lawsuits, the fresh produce industry could easily find itself involved in another category wide recall. We need only look at the wrongful implication of green onions by Taco Bell and the millions of dollars lost by the supplier of the green onions in sales, product destroyed and damage done to the growers who supplied green onions to the supplier, to see this is also a “risk management” issue.”The Next Version Software (TNV) established in 1993, possess extensive experience in internet based software application development, data modeling and database administration. TNV has designed, developed and implemented compliance solutions for law enforcement agencies, social service agencies, natural resource development companies and the healthcare industry, utilizing standards developed by ISO organizations.To learn more about eProduce or to schedule a online demonstration please visit our website “eproduce.biz” or call.Next Version Software is committed to providing training, consulting and low cost software solutions to members of the fresh produce industry, desiring to implement a GS1 standardize traceability software solution.