Truck rate report

Here is the summary information from the April 29 truck rate report from USDA. Note I also have a chart on the side of the blog charting some of the major shipping districts....
From USDA

A shortage of trucks was reported for the following commodities and regions: citrus, mixed vegetables and tomatoes from Central and South Florida, melons from Florida, greens from South Georgia, sweet potatoes from Eastern North Carolina, and onions from Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. A slight shortage of trucks was reported for the following commodities and regions: potatoes from Upper Valley, Twin Falls-Burley District Idaho. A barely adequate supply of trucks was reported for the following commodities and regions: onions from Vidalia District Georgia and sweet potatoes from Mississippi. A surplus of trucks was reported for the following commodities and regions: potatoes from San Luis Valley Colorado and Minnesota-North Dakota (Red River Valley).

FIRST REPORT was issued for peppers, corn, and green beans from Imperial and Coachella Valley California, melons from Florida, and mixed vegetables from Central San Joaquin Valley California. All other districts reported an adequate supply of trucks.

Agricultural Prices Received and Paid

I went to a funeral of one of my uncles today in Topeka and saw my stepdad, a retired corn farmer in Nebraska (still with a rooting commercial interest in the corn crop, of course). After the service at my aunt's home I was ribbing him that $6 per bushel corn must be nice. He reminded me that when it takes $400 to fill a tractor with diesel fuel for one day, prices had better be good. That sentiment is reflected in today's Agricultural Prices report from the USDA, which showed priced received high but prices paid by farmers even pegging higher on the historical index.

April Farm Prices Received Index Declines 2 Points From March

The preliminary All Farm Products Index of Prices Received by Farmers in April, at 144 percent, based on 1990-92=100, decreased 2 points (1.4 percent) from March. The Crop Index is unchanged but the Livestock Index decreased 4 points (3.1 percent). Producers received lower commodity prices for eggs, strawberries, cattle, and wheat. Higher prices were received for corn, lettuce, onions, and soybeans. In addition to prices, the overall index is also affected by the seasonal change based on a 3-year average mix of commodities producers sell. Increased monthly marketings of cattle, strawberries, milk, and oranges offset decreased marketings of soybeans, corn, wheat, and cotton. The preliminary All Farm Products Index is up 11 points (8.3 percent) from April 2007. The Food Commodities Index, at 140, decreased 5 points (3.4 percent) from last month but increased 5 points (3.7 percent) from April 2007.

Prices Paid Index Up 3 Points

The April Index of Prices Paid for Commodities and Services, Interest, Taxes, and Farm Wage Rates (PPITW) is 181 percent of the 1990-92 average. The index is up 3 points (1.7 percent) from March and 21 points (13 percent) above April 2007. Higher prices in April for field crop seeds, diesel fuel, feed grains, and hay & forages more than offset lower prices for feeder pigs,
feeder cattle, feed supplements, and complete feeds.

Most cancer survivors fall short of 5 a day

If dread disease can't change the way we live and eat, then the campaign to promote fruit and vegetable consumption does indeed face steep challenges. Consider that a diagnosis of cancer isn't enough motivation for most people - four out of five, this research says - to consume recommended daily levels of fruits and vegetables. From Medpage comes this summary:

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- Many cancer survivors don't follow healthy lifestyles, according to epidemiologists here.
They are more likely to be non-smokers (82.6% to 91.6%) than adults in the general population (79.5%) but not more prone to exercise to recommended levels or to consume healthy diets, defined as having at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
In a study of more than 9,000 patients with a history of prostate, breast, colorectal, bladder, uterine cancer, or melanoma, 80.9% to 85.2% were not following the dietary recommendation of eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, Chris Blanchard, Ph.D., of Dalhousie University here, and colleagues reported in the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
And only 29.6% to 47.3% were getting the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-to-strenuous exercise or 60 minutes of strenuous physical activity a week, they said.
Only about one in 20 patients (3.6% to 5.8%) was following all three recommendations (smoking, diet, and exercise), and 7.3% to 12.5% were not following any.This is concerning, the researchers said, because health-related quality of life increased significantly (P<0.001)>
The fact that most cancer survivors are not making the lifestyle changes necessary to improve their long-term outcomes illustrates the need to find ways to promote adherence to recommendations like those from the American Cancer Society, the researchers said.
Also, past studies have shown that physical activity is linked to health-related quality of life in cancer survivors, but more information is needed on the relationship between quality of life, smoking, and the consumption of recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, they said.Patients with a history of breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer who ate the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables and who did not smoke had significantly higher health-related quality-of-life scores than those who did not meet those criteria (P<0.05).>Melanoma survivors had higher health-related quality-of-life scores if they followed the fruits and vegetables recommendation (P<0.05),>