Vegetables - Fresh market acreage down this spring

Fresh market acreage is down 4% and processing acreage is up 4%. From the USDA's April 3 Vegetable report:


The prospective area for harvest of 11 selected fresh market vegetables during the spring quarter is forecast at 194,200 acres, down 4 percent from last year. Acreage declines for snap beans, broccoli, cabbage, carrots,cauliflower, sweet corn, cucumbers, and head lettuce, more than offset acreage increases for bell peppers and tomatoes. Celery area remains unchanged. Melon acreage for spring harvest is forecast at 65,300 acres,down 3 percent from last year. Cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon acreages are down 4 percent, 3 percent, and 1 percent, respectively, from 2008. Asparagus area for spring harvest is forecast at 31,000 acres, down 4 percent from last year. Strawberry area for harvest is forecast at 48,900 acres, up 6 percent from a year ago.

Processors expect to contract 1.20 million acres of the 5 major processed vegetable crops in the U.S. for 2009, up 4 percent from last year.Contracted acreage increases are forecast for sweet corn, cucumbers for pickles, and tomatoes, while snap beans and green peas show declines.Freezing firms expect to contract 382,700 acres, down 4 percent from last year. Acreage for snap beans and green peas are down 18 percent and7 percent, respectively. Sweet corn acreage is up 4 percent from last year.Canneries contracted for 820,900 acres, up 8 percent from 2008. Acreage increased for all 5 major processed vegetable crops. Acreage for snap beans,sweet corn, cucumbers for pickles, green peas, and tomatoes is up 1 percent,6 percent, 14 percent, 9 percent, and 10 percent, respectively, from last year.

Total planted onion area for all seasons in 2009 is forecast at155,720 acres, down 3 percent from last year. Spring onions are expected to be harvested from 27,400 acres in 2009, down 4 percent from 2008. Georgia and Texas combined production is forecast at 6.35 million cwt, 4 percent above last year. Summer non-storage onion planted area, at 16,200 acres, is down 19 percent from a year ago. Total summer onion area, at 126,220 acres,is down 3 percent from the previous year.

GMA outlines food safety priorities

From the inbox this afternoon, the GMA outlines their food safety agenda:


WASHINGTON, D.C. – Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) President and CEO Pam Bailey today outlined the association’s food safety reform agenda at a gathering of industry experts in Miami, Florida.
“Because product safety is the foundation of consumer trust, our industry devotes enormous resources to ensure that our products are safe, and continually strives to improve the safety of our products,” said Ms. Bailey. “In addition to stepping up our own efforts, we are advocating legislative and regulatory reforms that will modernize our nation’s food safety net, prevent problems before they arise and bolster consumer confidence in the safety and security of the food supply.”
GMA has developed a comprehensive food safety reform proposal that places new regulatory mandates on food companies and that provides the FDA with the resources it needs to protect American consumers, including:

· A requirement that all food manufacturers have a food safety plan in place.
· A requirement that all food manufacturers have a foreign supplier safety plan.
· An increase in FDA food-related spending.
· The establishment of new federal agricultural standards for fresh fruits and vegetables.
· The adoption of a risk-based approach for FDA inspections.
· The establishment of mandatory recall authority for FDA in certain circumstances.
“Our industry has a tremendous track record of success when it comes to product safety, but we can do even better. We have a rare opportunity to enact meaningful reforms, and we urge Congress and the Obama Administration to enact those reforms right away,” Bailey concluded.
Ms. Bailey spoke to several hundred attendees during the opening session of the joint Grocery Manufacturers Association-Food Marketing Institute supply chain conferences, currently underway in Miami, Florida.

Vegetable gardens: we've seen this before

Americans love affair with the vegetable garden is thriving with spring, but will it wilt in the heat of July? Our readers have a split opinion. Here is the Fresh Talk poll that concluded April 6.

Will the widely reported increase in backyard vegetable gardening this year have any effect on commercial fruit and vegetable shippers?
Yes, more than usual 4 (33%)
No, no more than normal 7 (58%)
Unsure 1 (8%)

Here are some thoughts about the question from various members of Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group Google Discussion board. Also check out the linkedin group of the same name.

Tom. Don't think it will make a dent in conventional product and a negligible dip in organics.
The last time the trend went this way the number of gardens did not rise over the single digits. And the trend was temporary.
Karl (Google board)


Last time I tried my own vegetable gardening, I eventually found out that high quality, affordable produce could be found down the street (i.e. the store). Perhaps, the rising interest in vegetable gardening could eventually drive "more experienced customers" to purchase vegetables at the store.
Luis (Google board)


Yes. The effect should be positive for the commercial shippers. First it will create an appreciation for what it takes to get good looking fresh produce to their tables at the amazing low prices that we find on the grocery store shelves. For the long term, if some of these new gardening families have kids who develop a fascination and passion for fruit and vegetable gardening and choose a related subject as a major in college then it will help the whole industry.
Mark (Google board)

Push for farmworker rights

Packer Managing Editor Fred Wilkinson here.

A New York Times editorial calls for expanding ag labor rights in New York state and goes on to make the case that the time is right for expanding them at the federal level:

"In New York, advocates are pressing for passage of the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act, which would give these workers the rights that others have long taken for granted, as well as seek badly needed improvements in safety and sanitary conditions in the fields. Domestic workers, meanwhile, are seeking a “Bill of Rights” in Albany covering things like overtime pay, cost-of-living raises and health benefits. A separate effort begun last week seeks to end these stubbornly lingering injustices for workers in all states by fixing federal law. It was announced on Cesar Chavez’s birthday by old lions of his movement, including Jerry Cohen, who as general counsel of the United Farm Workers helped win passage of a landmark 1975 California law that secured unprecedented rights for the state’s farm workers. The campaign has been joined by a growing number of labor groups and immigrant advocates, like Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, which represents migrant workers in the Midwest and North Carolina."

Although such calls for expanded rights will get more attention than they would have under some previous administrations, it's likely they will take a backseat to larger financial market concerns for the time being at least.

Still, produce companies and their representative organizations need to keep their eyes on this labor agenda and be ready to give input and, when and if appropriate, their opposition.

Produce promotions - April 8 to April 14

Here are some tasty food ads from Kansas City supermarkets the week of Easter, from April 8 to April 14.

LaBorde to FDA: GAPs education efforts fragmented

From the federal docket on GAPs this morning, a thoughtful letter from Luke LaBorde to the FDA, expounding on the need for follow through and education of growers after updated standards are issued. From the docket:



Luke F. LaBorde Ph.D.
Associate Professor
442 Food Science Building
Department of Food Science
College of Agricultural Sciences
The Pennsylvania State University University
Park, PA 16802-2504
(814) 863-2298 Fax: (814) 863-6132
email lfl5@psu.edu


April 3, 2009
To whom it may concern:

As an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in the Penn State Department of Food Science, I have been actively involved with food safety issues at all levels of the food system; production, processing, retail and food service, and consumer. Because Pennsylvania is the primary producer of mushrooms in the U.S. (approximately 65% of all domestic common white mushrooms are grown in the state), I have collaborated with the American Mushroom Institute to develop food safety standards for mushroom growers. These standards, known as MGAPs, are based on, and are consistent with, the general GAP recommendations contained within the "Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables". The MGAP program provides the basis for a recently approved mushroom farm food safety audit administered by the USDA AMS Fresh Produce Audit Verification Program. Recently I have extended my work in farm food safety to include growers of other crops in Pennsylvania. With support from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture through the USDA Specialty Crops Block Grant Program, I have developed curriculum materials and presented training sessions including a 1-day video conference workshop broadcasted to 20 county locations across Pennsylvania. The targeted audience was 380 produce growers and packers pre-identified as suppliers of national and regional grocery stores located in Pennsylvania. Among the workshop hand-outs was a Farm Food Safety Plan template designed to assist growers with the difficult process of documenting their farm food safety practices. My experiences in planning and delivering this program tells me that farm food safety requirements handed down by wholesale produce buyers will increase greatly in the next year and that educators must be prepared to assist growers as they develop farm food safety plans and prepare for third party audits. Below are a few thoughts on the Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables and plans to update and revise it.
Although I have been actively involved with developing commodity specific GAP standards for the mushroom industry, I do not believe that this approach is always the best one. We felt it was necessary to interpret the Guide in the context of the unique methods used to grow mushrooms so that produce buyers and third party
auditors would understand cultivation procedures, potential hazards associated with them, and what the industry is doing to minimize risks. For instance, the safe use of animal-manures as an ingredient in mushroom growth substrate was justified by Penn State research that demonstrated that the standard industry active composting process was adequate to eliminate human pathogens. However, for most commodities, the general guidelines in the current FDA “Guide” are largely adequate to address farm food risks. If a particular commodity group or individual grower believes that a GAP standard in the “Guide” isn’t applicable to their crop, it should be their responsibility to conduct a science-based risk assessment and propose effective risk management strategies. In much the same way that a variance for specialized processing methods may be granted to the FDA Food Code, a commodity group or grower could generate data that would qualify them for a variance to the general GAP standard. This risk-based approach would help to bring industry, academia, and government together to identify, prioritize, fund, and conduct produce safety research. Another key component in assuring safe produce is education and training. When the “Guide” was first published in 1998, a USDA conference entitled “Toward Implementing the Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits & Vegetables” has held. The purpose of the conference was to identify the education needs of growers relative to the four major sections of the “Guide” namely water, manure, sanitation, transportation and handling. Although much has changed and several groups have developed training materials and held GAP workshops, there has not been a similar conference in the 10 years that have elapsed. Several academic institutions have created training materials and conducted training sessions. But these efforts are fragmented and initial well-funded efforts seem to decline as their grant support expires. Farm food safety as a national issue has increased dramatically in the last several years. Clearly it is time to create a mechanism for discussion among extension educators and the industry to identify “best practices” in educational methods and to foster continued national discussion and sharing of ideas.

Teach them while you can

All of our kids are out of house now, so when I read a headline like this - Five ways to get your children to eat fruits and vegetables Health News Digest - it makes me nostalgic for those days when we could chide our kids to eat more baby carrots or salad." Why?" they would ask. Because I work for a produce publication, that's why! Now they are on their own. Maybe I should have tried some of these tactics, from the article:

1. FUN - the key to getting your children to eat more vegetables is to make the process fun. Even at the grocery store in the produce section, create alight atmosphere as you select fruits and vegetables to put in your cart. Creating games on the way to your desired result adds some levity to the serious subject of fruits, vegetables and daily requirements.

2. INFORM - our children love to know what part of their bodies benefit from eating specific healthy foods. When we offer our two year her flax oil on a teaspoon, she always points to her forehead and says, "This is good for my brain!"

3. TASTY - your have to ensure the vegetables provided taste great on a sensitive child's palate. By providing yummy dips of melted cheese or hummus, etc you are more likely to get little Johnny to keep coming back for more.

4. EARN - give your child some type of age appropriate reward for eating all their vegetables. Children enjoy the challenge set by parents and equally the thrill of receiving an award for completing tasks.

5. VARIETY - it is the spice of life! There are loads of varieties of potatoes, apples, tomatoes, etc. By presenting new kinds of any particular vegetable or fruit, you give the little ones a chance to develop their own likes and dislikes. This approach also forces you outside your comfort zone by making you try new vegetables or fruits each week.



More headlines today.....

Government needs to look at all programs Newssun Letter to Editor

The "E verify" program, if used fully, could ferret out most all of the illegal workers, which I suspect could be close to 20 million jobs that are lost to our citizens. This could re-employ millions of American laid off workers. Many American industries refuse to hire American workers claiming "over educated for the job." Many engineers in American industries were laid off in the early 1980s by the aircraft, auto, etc., industries. They were replaced with foreign engineers from India, China and nations of low



Brasher: Local food makes sense, as long as logistics do Des Moines Register

"Relocalizing the food supply, shrinking the distance that food travels, isn't in and of itself going to achieve these goals of sustainability that we're after," said James McWilliams, an agriculture historian at Texas State University.He pointed to studies such as one done in Europe that found that fuel consumption for catching cod could be reduced significantly by switching to nets that produced less drag on the boats. It's also more efficient in some cases to eat imported meat from grass-fed livestock than domestic grain-based products.Does it make sense, McWilliams said, for water-short cities such as Phoenix and Las Vegas to import water to create their own food?


Climate change bill is introduced Chemical News

HOUSE ENERGY & COMMERCE Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and energy subcommittee Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released their much-awaited draft climate-change bill last week. The 648-page draft will be the basis for hammering out conflicting congressional perspectives on greenhouse gas reductions in the months ahead. The draft bill provides incentives for a wide range of energy-related technologies—renewable energy, carbon capture and sequestration, clean fuels and vehicles, electricity transmission, energy efficiency, and green jobs. At the draft's heart, however, are reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.The bill would cut CO₂ emissions to 3% below 2005 levels by 2012, 20% by 2020, and 83% by 2050. It would cover electric utilities, chemical and oil companies, and other industrial sources that are responsible for 85% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. It dodges the thorny issue of whether some pollution allowances should be initially given away free to high-CO₂-emitting industries, saying the issue will be addressed in upcoming House discussions..The draft blocks EPA from regulating CO₂ under the Clean Air Act, which the agency is now considering.

U.S, Europe vow to cooperate in climate change China View


There's a method to saving money on groceries The Sacramento Bee

Supermarkets carry about 40,000 different items. But a typical family spends nearly all of its annual grocery budget on a tiny fraction of those – less than 200 items. Many experts recommend keeping a notebook or spreadsheet of different stores' prices on the items you buy most – even if it's only your top 10 or 20. That will help you figure out what store is the best value for you – and also help you figure out whether a "sale" item is really a good deal.


FBI links long haul truckers, serial killings LAT

The FBI suspects that serial killers working as long-haul truckers are responsible for the slayings of hundreds of prostitutes, hitchhikers and stranded motorists whose bodies have been dumped near highways over the last three decades.Federal authorities first made the connection about five years ago while helping police link a trucker to a string of unsolved killings along Interstate 40 in Oklahoma and several other states. After that, the FBI launched the Highway Serial Killings Initiative to track suspicious slayings and suspect truckers. A computer database maintained by the FBI has grown to include information on more than 500 female crime victims, most of whom were killed and their bodies discarded at truck stops, motels and other locations along popular trucking routes crisscrossing the U.S.The database also has information on scores of truckers who've been charged with killings or rapes committed near highways or who are suspects in such crimes, officials said. Authorities said they do not have statistics on whether driving trucks ranks high on the list of occupations of known serial killers.

McDonald's and the bully factor

Ronald McDonald and company do a lot of good things for the world. This Ronald was in a Lenexa, KS, restaurant when I wandered in over the lunch hour. He told me had just given a talk on "bullying" to a elementary school nearby. We assume the message was, in a nutshell, don't bully. It's not cool.

Well, McDonald's finds itself of being bullied by a couple of shareholders and, in turn, it appears to be bullying suppliers to cut pesticide use. From Reuters on March 31:

McDonald's Corp, the largest purchaser of potatoes in the United States, has agreed to take preliminary steps to reduce pesticide use in its domestic potato supply, shareholder groups said on Tuesday.
Following the agreement, the Bard College Endowment, Newground Social Investment and the AFL-CIO Reserve Fund withdrew a shareholder proposal that, if approved, would have required the company to publish a report on options for cutting pesticide use in its supply chain.
The investors said McDonald's has agreed to survey its U.S. potato suppliers, compile a list of best practices in pesticide use reduction and recommend those best practices to global suppliers. It also will share its findings with investors and include the findings in its annual corporate social responsibility report.
McDonald's, the world's largest fast-food chain, said the process would support ongoing efforts to make its supply chain sustainable.
"Our U.S. potato suppliers are already working with their growers to advance sustainable pesticide practices, such as reductions and alternative methods," McDonald's said in a statement.

Of course suppliers such as ConAgra say they look forward to working with McDonald's on this initiative. But Dennis Avery, a reliably conservative commentator, says this about McDonald's iniative in a column called "Creating great American potato famine" at Enter Stage Right:

The anti-technology zealots pushing this organic move had better hope the company drags its feet—or we risk having the first McDonald's in history with no French fries. Less than a decade ago, the Danish government's high-level Bichel technical committee concluded that an organic-only mandate would cut Danish potato production by 80 percent.

Avery goes on to make points about the challenges that potato growers face, particularly with late blight and the Colorado potato beetle. He notes that organic growers must use highly toxic copper sulfate to control blight and asks " why substitute toxic pesticides for less dangerous ones"?

He notes that resistance to biotech advances has shelved market introduction of a biotech blight resistant potato variety. He concludes:


Is there hope for the future? Can a world that will need twice as much food and feed in the next few decades afford to pander to the relatively few voices that demand low yield farming? Will the activists finally embrace biotech? Or, will all avenues of high productivity and high sustainability be denied those who must feed the world?
In the meantime, enjoy your fries while you can still get them


TK: Avery makes some good points, even if he is a little over the top. Let McDonald's publish its annual report about reducing pesticide use, and also measure the economic impact in costs to growers, suppliers and consumers if those "best practices" are implemented. Let Ronald and Company consider the full weight of "sustainability" decisions as it goes forward. and not merely hand over lunch money to the schoolyard bully with a shrug of the shoulders and a silly grin.