Jim Nolan services

We just received word on memorial services for Jim Nolan, a longtime industry member who was first exposed to produce when he worked at The Packer.

Please join us in celebrating the life of Jim Nolan - friend, husband and father to Beau
Swift Memorial Methodist Church
March 29, 2008 - 10:30 am
10 Williston Rd., Sagamore Beach, MA
Hosted by Theresa Nolan
Donations may be sent to :Namasket Orphan Animal Haven P.O Box 233 Raynham Center., MA.02768 or the American Heart Association
Please RSVP jgaglio@earthlink.net and/or theresanolan@worldnet.att.net

Jim and Theresa made a lot of friends in produce throughout the years. Our hearts go out to all those who knew and worked with Jim.

Still pushing

I just listened to Agriculture Secretary's Ed Schafer's teleconference this morning and the main message was that the House and Senate should resolve their differences over funding and work with the White House from one negotiating position. Schafer said there continue to be fights in the House and Senate about jurisdiction, funding and control. "Frankly we can't go anywhere unless they come up with a solid effort and say, this is what we stand for," he said. It is clear the Administration doesn't want an extension of the 2002 farm bill. "Most operators fare better with the new farm bill than the current farm bill," he said, mentioning specialty crop growers, nutrition funding and energy provisions. "There are too many things we need to just set it aside."

Avocado news

Dale McNiel, lawyer for Mexico's avocado exporting group APEAM, relays this news:

With some prodding by APEAM and Calavo, the Director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture (ADOA) has told them that the ADOA has accepted the APHIS risk assessment for armored scales and will discontinue inspecting imported Hass avocados for such surface pests.

In a letter to me dated March 11, 2008, Butler stated: "Department staff has had this issue under advisement since APHIS issued the risk assessment [on armored scales]. We concur with the risk assessment, and have discontinued these inspections for the surface pests in question." This should mean that the ADOA will no longer reject or require fumigation of commercial shipments of produce entering Arizona due to the detection of armored scales.

Produce promotions - March 19 to March 25

There's something to be happy about. Spring produce promotions should bring a smile to all, even if the world crumbles around us. Here is a roundup of suburban Kansas City produce ads this week;

Price Chopper
Red ripe strawberries: $1.88/1 pound clamshell
Fresh green asparagus $1.88/lb
Whole fresh pineapple: $3.99/each
Blueberries or blackberries: 2 for $5/4.4 or 5.5 oz
Sweet potatoes: 79 cents/lb
Earthbound Farm Organic spring mix or baby spinach: $4.99
Green Giant baby cut carrots: 2 for $5
Celery : 89 cents each


Aldi
Tomatoes: $1.69/4-pack 20 oz.
Baby carrots: 69 cents/1 lb bag
Multi-colored peppers $1.99 per 3 pack, 20 oz.

HyVee
Fresh asparagus; $1.58/lb
Sunrise Growers: $1.99
Disney navel oranges: 68 cents/lb
Black seedless grapes: $1.69/lb
Dole celery: 77 cents/stalk
Del Monte Gold pineapple: $2.77/each
New red potatoes: 77 cents/pound
Grimmway Farms baby carrots: $1.88/2 lb package
Dole salad kits: 2 for $4 10 to 12.5 oz.


Hen House
Driscoll's finest blueberries, blackberries, strawberries: 2 for $4
Fresh sweet pineapple: $3.99/each
Fresh asparagus: $1.99/lb
Fuji apples: $1.29/lb
Jumbo artichokes: 2 for $5
Louisiana sweet potatoes: 79 cents/lb
Sweet Texas 1015 onions: 69 cents/lb
Green Giant Whole Mushrooms: $1.69/8 oz.
Earth Exotics Baby Vegetables: $3.49/8 oz.
Earthbound Farm Certified organic baby spinach or spring mix: $4.69/each

A new technology from Chile

From our good friend Manuel J. Alcaino of Decofruit came this fascinating letter to my inbox this morning:

I want to bring to your attention a new technology called Savia Grapes, developed by a bright young Chilean biochemist, with whom Decofrut has recently partner.

Savia Grapes is a system made up of a capsule that is inserted in the stem of a recently cut grapes bunch.

The capsule contends gel with micronutrients that resembles natural sap and nourishes the bunch as it has never been removed from the vine.

The results extending shelf live of table grapes are spectacular; they look fresher, alive and appealing after prolonged storage.

Main effect is over the green color of the stem, but there are positive side effects as well, such as:

Less shatter, less sunken cup stems and apparently less decay.

I predict that in the mid term, most of the table grape industry world wide will be using Savia Grapes, in a shift that is set to become one of the biggest evolutions in the fruit industry.

And the main reason for this is that grapes can be stored longer and shrinkage at retail level will be drastically reduced.

At the end of this current Chilean season, an equivalent to 30 loads of grapes will be the first “samples” shipped from Chile to markets world wide.

We will make a presentation early April with the first consignment arriving to the US and I would like to invite you to cover the event.

Should you want to receive more information please feel free to request it, or visit www.saviagrapes.cl

Best regards

Manuel J. Alcaino

TK: If it does what it claims, this product may be well valued by both the trade and consumers. We look forward to hearing more about this development, and the evaluation of the first test shipments arriving to the U.S.

Rep. Adam Putnam on IFAS

Don't do it - don't give up on Florida agriculture.
News item: From the March 13 Tampa Tribune:

U.F. President J. Bernard Machen has proposed budget cuts totaling $25 million. That cut is expected to eliminate 200 to 300 IFAS faculty members, consolidate educational programs and close or severely cut county extension offices.

From the office of Rep. Adam Putnam:

Talk to anyone involved in Florida agriculture these days and you will hear about the recent controversy over the future of the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS). I think this debate offers a unique opportunity to review the role of research and technology transfer in our state and what one of the oldest industries in Florida can contribute in the 21st century. As one of my professors used to say, “This offers a teaching moment.” This is really about the future of innovation in Florida and how UF can continue to play a unique and increasingly important leadership role for the entire state.

To fully appreciate what’s at stake, some context is in order. UF/IFAS traces its roots back to the Morrill Act of 1862 which first established the Land Grant universities. The bold idea embodied in this legislation was that access to higher education – which had been the exclusive province of the elites – was essential to the success of American democracy. Toward that end, the legislation directed money from the sale of public lands to endow at least one public university in each state to “teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and mechanic arts,” without excluding scientific, classical and military studies.

When he signed the Morrill Act into law, President Lincoln said, “The land grant university system is being built on behalf of the people who have invested in these public institutions their hopes, their support and their confidence.”

The Land Grant system has been likened to a three legged stool: teaching, research and extension. It educates students, creates opportunities for high level research, and then extends that research back to the community at large.

Agriculture is an obvious focus of much of this effort. The profound impact of Land Grant university research is undeniable. In America today approximately 1.5 percent of the population is able to feed the other 98.5 percent. That’s an incredible accomplishment – especially when placed in comparison to other nations around the world. What other industry can claim such efficiency?

It is research and the transfer of research-based knowledge that drives not only our stunning improvements in agricultural productivity but also improvements on a wide array of practical matters. The knowledge transfer through the university extension system is the ticket to greater consumer education about green energy, nutrition, homeownership, food safety, water conservation and even growth management.

In Florida, although we are a rapidly growing state, it would be a mistake to think that agriculture is of declining significance. Just a few weeks ago UF/IFAS released a new study that shows that even as the economy generally shows signs of weakening, the sectors of Florida’s economy related to natural resources and agriculture continue to thrive. In fact, these sectors of Florida’s economy represent a $100 billion value-added impact on Florida’s economy.

The UF researchers also noted that these industries manage two-thirds of Florida’s land area, “land that is critical to water supplies, water quality, pollution abatement, erosion control, shoreline protection, carbon sequestration and climate stabilization, wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation.”

In short, the research UF/IFAS engages in and shares directly impacts all Floridians. And that is true to the vision of Lincoln, even if he couldn’t begin to imagine the specific kinds of research done today.

The Land Grant vision is directly responsible for transferring technology from the microscope to the field, from the beaker to the gas pump and from the lab bench to the dinner table.

Beyond agricultural research is the extending of that knowledge to the community at large. UF/IFAS has extension offices in each of Florida’s 67 counties, including 13 research and education centers. That’s access to and presence in the broader state community that any university system would covet. It is mind boggling to think that university leadership would consider scaling this back disproportionately.

The challenge for those who are involved in this profound technology transfer – both the providers and the recipients – is to speak up and remind the population at large and our legislative and educational leaders of both the legacy and opportunity embodied in the Land Grant mission. It is essential both to UF and the state that there is broad recognition that the Land Grant mission is the pathway to renown as a research institution, not an impediment.