Food Safety for Dummies

Which should be the unofficial name for the FDA.   A customer had some spinach sampled the other day by that agency and was prompted to order a recall because the random test came back positive for e-coli.  The spinach had been on the store shelf for almost 2 weeks and was either at or beyond its best before date when sampled.  Short of irradiation or cooking the spinach, there is almost no way not to have a positive test for some microorganisms two weeks after washing.  Also, by the time the test was conducted and the results were known it was another two weeks later.  Of course by that time 99% of the spinach in that lot was either eaten or thrown out, but the customer was told to order the recall anyway.  It will probably depress sales of his brand for a couple of months.  I'm sure if the FDA conducted the same tests in the meat case of most supermarkets we would all be vegetarians in short order.  My customer went on a harangue about the injustice of it and i had to agree with most of what he said.  However, as a society, we all want to be confident the food we eat is safe.  The reforms Teddy Roosevelt put in place after the muckrakers of the early 20th century exposed the meatpacking industry were necessary, and more regulation is not necessarily a bad thing.  However, common sense is also a necessary part of the regulatory process. 

Food for the food

Was a phrase used by an acquaintance last night during a dinner party.  He was referring to a salad served midway through the meal as a palate cleanser.  Unfortunately, while he was being snarky, I don't think the sentiment was too far from his real feelings re the vegetable kingdom.  As we slide into 2012, one of the things our industry must address is the consumer perception that fresh vegtables are neither necessary or desirable additions to ordinary or even special dinners.  While their is a large constituency for fresh among baby boomers and those concerned about their health, an even larger number of younger generations and the elderly have either abandoned fresh, or never embraced it in the first place.  Some people will dump a couple of cans of sodium laced vegetables on the plate and feel they have served up a healthy meal.  Education can help with these perceptions, but cost and flavor are the real drivers of consumption in many cases.  In store demos of fresh vegetable cookery, much as the additive laced processed food manufacturers do at Costco and Sam's Club may be one way to boost consumption.  More visible information regarding the health benefits of fresh is another.  Who will foot the bills and who will design the programs?  Something needs to be done, or demand will level off and  will be reflected in the producer pricing.  We need to promote produce as food for us, not food for the food.

Southern Cooking

The NYT has an article in today's edition praising the revival of "traditional" southern cooking.  As usual in these kinds of reporting, they focus on the very high end chefs and the boutique farms that serve them.  A gentleman farmer who seemingly makes a good living raising 200 pigs which gourmet restaurants around the country slaver for; a rice and grain expert who is bringing back the original ingredients for "hoppin john", and various other players who rarely get their hands dirty.  No mention of "artisanal" produce.  I guess regular dirt farmers don't rate unless they are growing collards or kale from 17th century heirloom seed, if then.  Meanwhile, the local NPR station did a small feature on a couple of locals who started a CSA several years ago.  I've seen some of their stuff and I guess their customers are either hopeless romantics who are dead set on supporting local agriculture, or clueless about what good organic produce looks like.   But it's good to see a couple of guys making a living off a few acres of produce in the Champlain valley.  What I am driving at is the gradual reinvention of agriculture, circa 2011.  I hope it continues in the new year.

Not a creature was stirring...especially truck drivers

I hate the week between Christmas and New Years.  Buyers are on vacation and their subs don't want to talk to anyone unless they have to.  Suppliers are frantically trying to move the crop which inconveniently won't stop growing for the holiday.  Consumers are still eating leftovers from Christmas and planning New Year's parties which are mostly booze and salty snacks and finally, looming over all is the absence of trucks from the road.  There are a few hardy souls out there willing to deliver, but seemingly, the vast majority of truckers want to haul a load which arrives close to their house on Christmas Eve, and then hibernate until Jan. 2.  Add in the first serious snow storms in the Plains states and the mountains and even the few trucks on the road are being delayed.  As I have whined previously, holidays are the bane of the produce business.

Day after

Looks like a Merry Christmas was had by all at Casa Monzeglio.  The wrapping paper is cleaned up and we will begin the countdown to Christmas tree undecorate day.  Knowing Mrs. M. this event will be delayed until well into the New Year.  In the meantime,  I hope the market for vegetables will pick up as 2012 approaches. 

Twas the night before the night before...

And all through the industry, not a tractor was stirring.   It seems the Christmas on Sunday thing is not what a lot of people thought it would be.  Because the week before the holiday is not truncated, it seems there is not urgency to prepare.  I stopped at a local supermarket to buy some items for Christmas dinner after work yesterday and there was a pretty good crowd of shoppers, but still not a mob scene.  Retailers of holiday gifts are, I think, finding much the same outcome.  Today and tomorrow feature blowout sales already and the vibe is discount or bust.  Sounds like the FOBs for western produce.  Lettuce is already being consigned to wholesale markets and even items in relatively short supply such as cauliflower and broccoli are tumbling.  Trucks are still available out west, and for most of us in the produce business, the holiday is over.  All in all, a not so Merry Christmas to all and to all the hope of a better 2012.

Silver Bells and lead linings

The wreckage of the Christmas business is on full display in Hunt's Point market this morning.  Lettuce at $12, cauliflower at $14. and on and on.  The FOBs for all these items are at least that high, which means there are a lot of bill downs going on.  So the only white Christmas shippers are experiencing is a blizzard of paperwork as they see their potential profits evaporate.  Meanwhile, the consumer, on whom we all depend is nowhere to be seen.  There will be business before the holiday, but how much and when is the question.  Meanwhile on the NCR, I'll be harvesting the Christmas spinach and New Year's collards tonight.  The temps will be in the low 40s today, but it looks like a real White Christmas by tomorrow at noon.  We'll see.

Post Christmas/ Channukah

Looks like whatever rush there was for the holiday is over.  Starting next week we'll look forward to the new year, and with Congress dithering on the payroll tax deduction it looks like most people will have even less money in their pockets than they do now.  Although the 2% they are talking about is not a make or break deal for most people.  Especially for the people these pious hypocrites claim they are fighting for.  If anything it will just convince them to be lighter on their grocery shopping than they have been.  This of course translates into another slow month in the produce business.  I am firmly convinced we will not see a rebound in demand until more people get back on the employment rolls. 

Snow business...

Blizzards in the heartland, ice in the fields in Yuma, balmy breezes in Montreal.  Wait, what's wrong with this picture.  It seems this year we will be robbed of our traditional white Christmas.  I for one won't be crying if we are green on the 25th.  The spinach still looks nice under the reemay blankets and the collards and kale are hanging out with panache.  Still no push for fresh veggies on the wholesale markets.  It seems the consumer has factored in the mild temps and is putting off Christmas dinner shopping til the last moment.  At least that is what produce growers, buyers and sellers are hoping.  Otherwise, the markets will tank and the eggnog will curdle.  Unless there is a major weather event, the prospect of the New Year will be somewhat terrifying if the last couple of weeks are a preview of future prospects in the deal.

Seasonal Madness

Drank the Christmas Kool-Aid yesterday.  Strolling the streets of Lake Placid on a picture perfect December day, absorbing the Christmas vibe, and listening to Nine Lessons and assorted hymns and carols performed by the Northern Adirondack Vocal Ensemble.  My favorite Alto was involved of course, so the experience was even more pleasurable.  I have always been a sucker for the holiday season, dating back to my Catholic school days when the whole thing took on mystical significance.  But, today it's back to the produce business, which seems the antithesis of the above.  The only spirit I've noticed so far is a Scroogian refusal by the populace to eat their veggies.  The markets for many items are plunging and there is no quick turnaround in sight.  The economy is still weighing on many people's purchasing decisions.  Hopefully the New Year's resolution to eat healthy will boost sales as we head into January.

Ready

For Christmas, Channukah, Kwanza, Festivus, etc?  Not.  At this time of the season, virtually everyone in the supply chain asks if you are "ready" for whatever holiday you celebrate.  The usual answers range from "not quite" to "are you kidding".  Most of the women gleefully tell you they are finished (whatever that means) and most men, myself included,don't start thinking about it until about 5 days before whatever the date is.  Most people in the produce business hate the holidays because it means a lot of guessing about supply and demand, late trucks and tension which drains you of any holiday spirit.  The whole month of December is one long slog and New Year's day is the goal.  Not because of any holiday spirit, but because it signifies the end of a marathon of snafus.  So when the next person asks me if I'm ready for the holidays, I'll take a page from Scrooge's book and boil them in their Christmas pudding and bury them with a stake of holly driven through their heart.  Humbug!

Pricing and the holidays

As usual, the disconnect between the FOB price and the actual market at wholesalers is getting wider and wider as the weather conditions in the west make growers' expectations soar.  Cauliflower is $20./carton FOB, but the wholesalers in Hunt's Point are selling for $22.  Freight is about $4.00/carton.  Profit on a $24. item should be at least $4., so the selling price should be north of $28.00.  The same disparity is apparent with broccoli and lettuce.  The cause is again the grower's desire to maximize profit, but to keep the coolers empty as we approach the holidays.  So they get the max FOB from anyone willing to pay and they make deals or consign the rest hoping for even higher returns.  These hopes are rarely fulfilled, but that doen't stop them from repeating this dance every year.

White Christmas anyone?

The odds are usually pretty good for a blanket of white here on the NCR.  In the ten years I have lived here, I think we have had snow on the ground 9 times, even if it was only a dusting.  This year could be another anomaly.  Daytime temps should be in the 30s and nights in the teens next week, but that is more typical of New Jersey this time of year.  But that is OK with me.  A green Christmas (fresh spinach anyone?) works for me.

How Apropos

Just after posting regarding nutrition and voting, I saw an article in the WaPo which claimed the President carried 81% of counties which had a Whole Foods Warehouse, but only 35% of the counties with a Cracker Barrel Restaurant.  I rest my case.

Nutrition and Politics

As the clown car of Republican candidates descends to Iowa for the blessing of the few, dedicated  true beleivers who skew heavily towards the evangelical end of the religio-political spectrum, I wonder if nutrition has anything to do with political affiliation.  Surely, socio-economic status has hitherto been the most reliable indicator of allegiance to democrats and republicans.  The evangelicals have recently skewed this as they apparently put social and religious issues ahead of economics.  So you get the spectacle of a $30,000/year mechanic voting for the plutocracy because they promise to put a lock and key on his neighbor's daughter's uterus.  What is he eating?   I have a feeling better nutrition, i.e. less twinkies and more fresh veggies might help clear his thinking a little.  Anyway, I believe, without any particular evidence that the dumbing down of our political discourse is connected to the enormous amounts of empty calories consumed by too many of my countrymen.  It tends to preserve my sanity.

the weirdness continues

Weatherwise, it's such a lovely day, to quote the song, but that's only here.  Seven and a half inches of rain in South Florida, snow in Little Rock, and more on the way for other southern locations.  It's a festival of strange on the weather front.  The freeze in the Arizona desert will make your holiday dip tray a little more expensive as cauliflower and broccoli prices rise.  Meanwhile, east coast spinach growers are still shipping, much to the chagrin of Texas and Arizona growers.   What is remarkable about the above reports is the frequency with which they are reported.  Where any one of the weather events I described used to be a once a year or once a decade experience, now you can find all of them on one weekend.  What that bodes for the future of agriculture here and globally is ominous.

Family farming

A friend recently sent a you tube link to some farmers at the OWS in New York.  They looked to be fairly young, probably supplying the green markets in the city during the season from small farms just outside the megalopolis.  These are the kind of farming entrepeneurs who get nada from the government, except for programs aimed at low income taxpayers.  While Cargil, ADM, and the 10,000 acre corn and soybean growers rake in millions of our dollars to subsidize the factory farming system which is turning  Murcans into the most obese society in history.  Let's spend some of that funding on the 5 and 10 acre local farmers who put virtually all their income back into their community.  If these folks can make a decent middle class income, the local food movement would get a huge shot in the arm and more people would be exposed to good, seasonal fruits and veggies at affordable prices.  It would be a virtuous feedback cycle, encouraging more ambitious young people to get into the farming business.  That is critical, as the older generation of farmers is rapidly reaching retirement without replacements.

Tis the season

For patronizing far off farms as we try to deny the seasonal eating which virtually every generation before the baby boom lived with.   Instead of eating the storage vegetables available in each region of the colder parts of the country, we have an iceberg or romaine salad courtesy of Yuma, Arizona.  The lettuce was probably harvested at least a week before the consumer ever gets their hands on it, so the freshness angle is greatly overplayed.  If there was ever any nutrition in the lettuce it probably was lost during transit.  The broccoli, cauliflower, greens , etc. are definitely more nutritious, but even they suffer from extended transit times.  In many cases, flash frozen veg has more nutrients than its stressed out fresh counterparts.   I guess I have been spoiled after many years of gardening, but I have become more and more reluctant to buy the "fresh" vegetables offered during the winter.  I usually succumb, but with the lengthening season in my own gardens the transition to week old veg is looking even less palatable than usual. 

Weather fixation

I know I have a weather fixation, but since it so directly impacts everything I do, I beg your indulgence.  Freezes in S. California and Arizona.  Torrential rains in the midwest.  Mild temps in the Northeast.  What is a produce broker and small farmer to do.  Mostly enjoy, I guess.  The spinach deal continues in New Jersey as some fields are coming back for recut for the third time with some of the best quality of the season.  Meanwhile, frost and freeze in the Arizona desert where most of America's winter lettuce is produced have forced the price up and limited availability for Christmas and New Year's promotion.  I still have lettuce in my garden, although it would be some damage to pick through.  Anytime you can pick fresh salad greens in December in northern New York, it is strange, to say the least.  Carpe diem!

Holding your breath

It seems both the weather and the veg business is holding their collective breath as the Christmas and New Year's holidays approach.  It was 35 degrees when I walked the family pooch this morning at 6 a.m.. Last year at this time, that would have been the high temp for the week.  The weatherman says some snow showers tonight, but no real deep freeze on the horizon.  I harvested a couple pounds of beautiful spinach for supper last night.  It went very well with some sauteed onions and a can of black beans.  There is still plenty more of that in the garden.  Meanwhile, the produce business is moribund.  The squeeze on the middle class has seemingly lowered demand for most vegetables.  I think many people are saving their more limited monetary firepower for the holiday meals and entertainments.  So they skimp in the weeks leading up to Christmas and Channukah and the result is sluggish sales for the chains and food service wholesalers.  I guess we need snow and tax cuts to get the season moving.  Everyone hum a few bars of White Christmas....

S.A.D.

Stands for seasonal affect disorder.  That's a feeling of depression brought on by low light levels as the day length shortens to it's nadir on the winter solstice.  I think the produce business is suffering from the malady, since everyone you speak to seems to think the world is ending.  Certainly the produce world is feeling the effects of low levels of sales and enthusiasm. 

Really strange weather

The ski resorts must think there is a celestial prankster on the loose.  After 10 inches of snow before Thanksgiving, we have had 2 weeks of milder than normal weather for this time of year.  On Sunday I played golf, mulched the garlic beds and harvested broccoli and carrots.  Skiing was not in the cards, unless you had rollers on the bottom of your skis.  Looks like the warm will continue, albeit not gardening and golfing weather, at least til the weekend.  I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, but it's looking more like the plot of the movie of that name.  We may have to wait until Christmas eve for the traditional blanket of white.

To market to market

Once again, the farmer strikes.  I deliver commodity A to a receiver who tells me he can buy the exact same commodity one bag at a time from another receiver on the same market for the same price I am charging.  The same grower demands an FOB price which precludes my making a profit and at the same time consigns product.  The result is he loses and I lose.  But the farmer feels good somehow because he is dealing directly with the customer and cutting out the parasitic middleman.  I know this sounds self serving, but the broker acts as a buffer between the farmer and the wholesaler, using knowledge of the markets to maximize the return to the grower while providing a fair price to the market.  I have been struggling to make sense of the grower's folly for over 25 years and to this day it still makes no sense. 

Fired up, ready to what

Beautiful morning here on the NCR.  The temp is a mild (For December) 28 degrees.  It makes you feel empowered to work and satisfy the intense demand for the healthy products you are selling.  Then you make the first call and get the first rejection.  "I can buy the same item for $1.00 less at so and so".  The balloon deflates and reality sets in.  Time to get into the grind it out mentality that has served me over the years.  There is a customer out there for every carrot, head of lettuce or cauliflower, not to mention spinach.  The trick is to find the willing buyer at a price we can both live with.  That is the essential process in our capitalist society in its most naked form.  Supply and demand in the most elemenal form. 

Vegetal Abstinence

As long as I have been in produce sales (27 years and counting)  it never ceases to amaze how the demand for vegetables of any kind drops like a rock during the week after Thanksgiving.  If it was the once a year type veggies like rutabagas or parsnips I could understand.  After all, almost everyone feels constrained to make a dish of mashed rutabagas which is shunned by all but your crazy uncle, but what about broccoli, or spinach or any number of other normally in demand commodities?  Even rationalizing that people are eating leftovers doesn't make sense.  Anything green would have been thrown out by Saturday or Sunday anyway.  Perhaps the mostly vegetable hating American Id is throw into a rage from having to consume a 6 month ration of the hated green stuff.  There follows a two week meat and carbohydrate binge to purge the system.  Then it's on to the big Christmas dinner which  doesn't feature the surfeit of veggies associated with Thanksgiving.  The obligatory veggie trays with dip can be safely ignored, at least until New Year's Eve.  Anyway, the above theory probably makes as much sense as any other explanation for the dearth of sales this time of year.  It's my story and I'm sticking to it.

End of November

55 degrees at 7 a.m. this morning!  I can only hope this hangs on through the weekend.  The garden looks refreshed and ready to go.  If I had planted spinach two weeks ago it would probably have sprouted by now.  The local growers with high tunnels are probably venting them now and hoping the temps don't get too high.  Not a bad problem to have at the end of November.

Consumer culture

As the world approaches a population of 7 billion, and the conventional wisdom indicates farmers must ramp up their already environmentally destructive practices in order to feed the multitudes, a calm voice asks why we must destroy our planet in the name of life?  Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone and Americans spent billions of dollars in the hope of surprising, or gratifying others.  But at what cost.  In their memoir, "The Good Life", Helen and Scott Nearing detail how to live without the destructive baggage our society imposes on most of us.  They set out to do enough "bread labor" to provide for their food, clothing and shelter and figured that came to about 4 hours per day.  The rest of the time they spent studying, writing and doing what they cared about.  Of course they did this in the 1930s to the late 1980s, when their life was not much different than that of their more plugged in neighbors.  With the advent of the cyber society, I don't know if their estimates of what would be necessary to live with a connection to the greater society would still be relevant.  There are some modern day examples of "off the grid" living, but most require a huge initial investment in technology.  All this gets away from my beginning question of why we are on this path of destruction in the name of growth, both of population and production.  Why...

Late November swoon

So, the markets are for nothing, to quote an old hand in the veg deal.  The post Thanksgiving letdown is as predictable as rain on the Memorial day parade.  There are probably a few items in short supply which will bring high prices.  The rest will find the level which translates to movement which matches supply and demand.   And that level is a moving target which unfortunately is moving lower.  The moral of the story is too avoid large supplies near any holidays.  Merry Christmas anyone?

Strange Season

As I write this on Sunday evening, the temp is 55 and whatever snow was still left is rapidly disappearing.  Besides hoisting the Christmas lighting today, I harvested the remaining bed of beets and the brussels sprouts.  There is still a ton of good vegetables in the outdoor gardens, ranging from tokyo cross turnips to kohlrabi to spinach and daikon radishes.  Of course the kale and collards look good and with the rain predicted on Tuesday evening they should be in mid season form.  Who's afraid of December.

Post Thanksgiving musing on food production

Having partially recovered from the annual Thanksgiving Saturnalia, I noticed two disparate views on how to feed the planet going forward.  In  the Freakonomics blog, an economist (who I daresay has never pulled a weed or planted a seedling in his lifetime) says the only way to feed the planet's exploding population is to double down on the legacy of the green revolution.  In other words, more chemical fertilizers, more industrial agriculture and more concentration of the power in fewer and fewer hands.  He makes it sound inevitable, with the implication, sure to be appreciated by rapists everywhere that we should relax and enjoy it.  Certainly, we should not be trying to remake the system to encourage countries to grow as much of their own food as possible.  Let ConAgra, Monsanto, et. al. handle the production and distribution.
    The contervailing viewpoint, as expressed by Anna Lappe, says we should all grow in our local area what works there and not necessarily expect to eat sweet corn and mangoes with dinner every night all year long.  It means local growers like your's truly need to grow what does well in our areas for as long as possible for the benefit of the population in the immediate area.  Also, the industrial agriculture which consumes non renewable resources to grow corn and soybeans at the price of environmental armageddon must be reigned in and converted to a sustainable system which will reduce it's carbon footprint and prioritize crops which feed humans directly instead of through animals which waste a good bit of the input.  Of course this will not happen overnight, but it must happen, one cucumber and one potato at a time, or there will be a reckoning at some Thanksgiving in the not so distant future.

Winter wonderland...not

Walked the dog this morning and as we approached the end of the driveway, we encountered a 15 foot band of foot deep snow thrown by our friendly neighborhood plow drivers.  That settled the issue of  getting the snowblower out.  Even all wheel drive cars would be stuck in that mess.  I hate early season snow.  By tomorrow a good bit of it will be gone and by Sat. a.m. just a bad memory, but just now it is a big pain.  Anyway, 45 minutes later I was on the poorly plowed Rte. 87.  The rest of the country seems to be enjoying mild weather and here we are in mid winter form.  At least this should not impact sales.  Thanksgiving already took care of that.

The Party may be over

We have a winter weather advisory here on the NCR.  The temp this morning was 20 degrees, and now the weatherman says we may get up to 5 inches of the white stuff.  I'm sure there will be some damage on most of the remaining items available in the garden.  I covered as much as I could in the dark last night, but I'm sure I missed some stuff.  PLus it was already in the 20s when I started and any leaves I brushed were breaking like green glass.  The only bright spot was little or no wind.  Most acclimated plants like spinach, kale, etc. can survive temps in the low teens with little or no damage if they are dry and there is no wind.   If we get sleet and freezing rain before the snow, I'm sure there will be damage.  Still, it's fun to be still harvesting this late in the season.  Party on.

Obesity on the road

If you have ever stopped at a truckstop while on a long trip, I'm sure you have noticed the average run of truck drivers helping themselves to typical fare.  They look like poster children for the "super size" menu most of these places feature.  Now, it is worse than ever, with plenty of 350 lb. plus men and women hoisting themselves into their rigs.  The health problems facing these truckers and the insurance penalties being assessed on the trucking companies are finally forcing healthier habits.  Or at least attempts at fostering better eating and more excercise.  So says an upbeat article in today's NYT.  Unfortunately, human nature will probably sabotage most of the resolutions made by the drivers.  The reason they got obese in the first place will not go away.  Long distance driving is tiring work, albeit not physically challenging.  Even though you only burn a thousand calories while driving 5-700 miles per day, you still crave the large sit down dinner at the end of the day, not to mention the easily accessible snacks at fuel stops.  They can add up to 5000 calories  per day.  After driving nine or ten hours, it is hard to picture these knights of the road power walking around  a Flying J truck stop for an hour.  Especially when most of their peers are piling their plates with burritos, hotdogs and other fatty fare.  It will probably take a spectacular accident caused by an obese driver with a heart attack to really grab the attention of regulators and cause an industry wide revolution attitudes.

Turkey week

When I first started in this business, the week before Thanksgiving was tremendously busy.  The leftover orders still kept us busy on Monday and Tuesday.  Lately, the rush is over 10 days before the holiday and Mon.-Wed. is a dead issue, unless some commodity is in short supply.  Oh well, Christmas and New Year offer some hope in an otherwise bleak season.  Meanwhile, on the home front the weather remains exceptionally clement.  I planted another bed of garlic on Sunday and on Saturday finished harvesting the rest of the leeks in the "secret garden".  The rest of this week looks cool, but warming for the weekend.  The beat goes on for locally grown on the NCR.

TGIFF

That was one broker's comment on the past week.  Considering the proximity to Thanksgiving, it was a bear of a week for veggie sales.  The markets are shaky and the chains are holding back waiting for cheaper pricing.  Although with the prevalance of long term contracts, there is not nearly the excitement there was 20 years ago.  The contract provides security for the buyer and seller, but it tends to depress the open markets.  Less business for the terminal markets translates into a weaker tone, which makes the growers without contracts more desperate.  That means they will quote the chains cheaper prices for next season, and the death spiral picks up speed.  As a broker, I want a wild west scenario where everyone starts on an equal footing.  Then the extra acres will not be planted and the price will reflect the actual cost for doing business. 

Weather or not

I received my first 2012 gardening catalog on Nov. 15, so I guess the new season is underway.  Somebody forgot to tell the old season that it finished!  The long range forecast for the next couple of weeks looks like continued gardening weather.  Lows in the low 30s and some 50s predicted each week.  Most of the hardier greens like this weather, and even the late lettuce is hanging in.  I guess with climate change the gardening season will continue to stretch out.  Christmas spinach here we come.

Broccoli and the constitution

A law professor has made the argument that not only can Congress mandate all US citizens must purchase health insurance, but by extension, can force everyone to buy broccoli!  Sounds like the solution to all of the produce industry's woes.  We can legislate a healthy diet.  But wait, there is a catch.  The argument is Congress can mandate health insurance (and broccoli) because both fall under its authority vis a vis the commerce clause.  This allows Congress to impose regulations on anyone who has anything to do with interstate commerce.  Since we all participate in this activity, willingly or not, we are all subject  to the regulation from Congress.  The kicker, according to this expert is that while we can be forced to buy health insurance or vegetables, we cannot be forced to use the insurance, or eat the vegetables, as this would be an infringement on our liberty.  As he goes on to say, the constitution does not protect us from stupid laws, which the broccoli law would be, but it does provide the remedy of elections.  As much as I love broccoli (I harvested about 25 lbs. worth last night) I would not want to run for office using the platform of forced broccoli or vegetable purchases, especially here in the North Country.  That would be political suicide.

Tuesday's Child

Is full of grace.  Monday's is fair of face.  Tuesday is certainly mild here in the North Country.  We should top 60 today and everything in the garden that still has a pulse is responding.  Unfortunately, the winter crop of chickweed is off to a roaring start.  If I had a week off with weather like this, I would put all the gardens in shape for next year, but I doubt either condition will be met anytime soon.  So it will be the usual struggle next spring.  There doesn't seem to be any movement  for Thanksgiving in the wholesale markets.  Nothing compared to the excitement generated by the holiday as recently as the 1980s.  All the growers and shippers looked to Thanksgiving as the kickoff event of the winter season.  Potatoes, cauliflower, spinach, etc. all jumped with demand.  Now, the fourth Thursday in November is a big yawn on the calender.  Christmas is coming....

Monday's child

I  forget the aphorism associated with the above phrase, but it today feels like an orphan.  I'm out of the regular office today, and with cellphones, it takes a long time to get posted on all items and by the time you can figure all the delivered prices things change again.  On the home front, the weather was mild over the weekend, so I'm sure the garden is still growing. 

Veteran's Day

11/11/11.  There must be some awesome significance there, but aside from the perfect symetry, I can't see it.  The radio shows, and I'm sure TV will have the usual veteran's day stories.  One thing I do notice is the lack of consciousness of the plight of today's veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan fiascos.  As we have moved from the concept of a citizen, conscript army to a smaller, mercenary force, the nation has lost its connection with the military.  I know in my own experience, I don't know a single veteran of today's wars.  I'm sure I am not the only one.  In Vietnam, everyone knew someone who had handled an M16 and slogged through the jungle.  It put the war in the nation's collective experience.  It was another case of  America's 1% dragging us into a useless conflict which had nothing to do with our national security and everything to do with the expansion of the American Empire.  But at least the citizens were engaged.  Now there is a numb acceptance of the horrors, partly because such a small percentage of the population bears the brunt of the sacrifice.  Also, the policy elites use the phrase "our fallen heroes" as a shield to deflect criticism of the quagmire we find ourselves in.  No one can be against the men and now the women who put themselves in harm's way.  Unfortunately, they are not protecting us, but the profits of the tiny minority who benefit from the clusterfuck perpetrated by the Bushies and continued by the Obamabots.  That does not detract from their courage, but it tarnishes their legacy, just as it did the soldiers in Vietnam.

Junk vs. Real...food, that is

After seeing Michael Pollan on The Colbert Report the other night, I wanted to revisit the junk food/real food debate.  Of course, there should be no debate if we are talking nutritional merits.  Even most restaurant meals are larded with salt and fat as well as supersized portions.  The food portion of the restaurant experience is the cheapest by far.  I ate at the local UNO last night and for $12.99 got a huge portion of pasta with a forgettable tomato-curry sauce and a few forkfuls of veggies.  The actual cost of the ingredients was probably less than $1.50 for the serving, and I waddled away from the table.  So to buy the raw material to eat well is not that expensive.  The crux of the matter is the cooking.  Until the majority of people are willing and able to cook, we'll see more headlines touting large increases in visits to Micky Ds, despite the fact you can feed a family of 4 for 2-3 days for what an average meal at Ronald's place will cost.   I still remember the list of fast food delivery services our day care provider kept in close proximity to the telephone.  Although she was a stay at home mom who had time to cook, she quite often chose the junk food route.  While no one would wish for a real economic depression, it would seem as long as there remains discretionary income and in some cases even if there is none, people will continue to choose the excessive portion, junk food path to obesity.

The 10th of what?

The temp. stands at 55 as I write this and it is 8 a.m.  Unfortunately, that is probably the high for the next couple of days.  Still, the last few days have been like a return to spring.  I have been out of town, but I'm sure the garden is responding and the hardier crops like spinach, kale and collards have resumed growth.  Of course we will have a lockdown tonight and tomorrow, but the weekend looks good for mid November.

World Woes

Looks like Italy is the latest casualty in the Eurozone.   Their bond rates shot up over 7% which if the Common Market is going to be consistent will trigger the bailout and austerity demands that hit Ireland, Greece and Portugal.  This time, it will be different, since Italy has the power to bring down the whole structure, and with it, probably the whole world economy.  Germany and France will have to back off the punitive measures, now that their own oxes may be gored.   I remember as a little kid listening to my grandfather,, an avowed socialist say a United States of Europe was the only salvation for them.  Only he envisioned a political union, not the half hearted attempt that was actually made.  The monetary policy they adopted exacerbates the North/South divide and leads to punitive measures which in the case of Greece and probably Italy will lead to an outburst of nationalism and the end of the dream of continental unity.  My grandfather would laugh if he were to see the mess the Europeans have made of his dream.  What has this got to do with produce and farming?  Possibly nothing, but the global nature of the produce business will eventually suck us all into the maelstrom. 

Produce Show blogging

Off to the New York Produce Show, so blogging will be hit and miss for the next couple of days.  The show is the New York answer to the PMA and an opportunity for several organizations to turn a tidy profit before the end of the year.  However, the networking opportunities are hard to pass up, as there will be dozens of potential customers working the 300 or so sellers' booths.  It is a little like a medieval fair.  All we need are a few jugglers and wandering minstrels and perhaps peddlers hawking "rats on a stick".  Sounds like a Monty Python movie without the snarky humor.

Just another manic Monday

The spinach customers are crawling out of the woodwork already this a.m.  The combination of early season rain  and late cool weather on the east coast have created a shortage of an item that is normally abundant this time of year.  Second cuts and sometimes cutting winter over spinach when it gets too large to survive the weather keeps supplies from running short until Texas starts harvesting.  I'm going to have my parentage called into question by some this week.  I love this business.

Non Produce Busy

Nothing much to report on the produce or gardening front.  Temps dropped to the mid 20's on Sat. night, but not too much damage to what is left in the garden.  Everything hardy is acclimatized to the cold, so if it stays above 20 at night, the harvest will continue.  As I was preparing a new bed for asparagus next spring, I noticed the last planting of cilantro was still hanging in.  It is amazing how these plants survive.  The neighborhood deer has found my carrot patch and is devouring the foliage.  I hope he doesn't figure out how to paw the carrots out.    With EST kicking in, I'll have to use a flashlight to harvest the veggies for dinner from now on.  It is pretty dark out by 5:30.  Other than that, it was a busy weekend; concert, garage cleaning and maybe the last golf of the season.  As Mrs. M says, "We'll see about that".  And I guess we will.

Clarification after flaming

I noticed Marc Bittman (who, by the way, is the food blogger and former writer of the Minimalist column for the NYT) issued a "clarification" today after being flamed by his commenters as elitist and isolationist for suggesting we should eat more locally grown food.  There are several ways to answer this criticism, and he chose the least combative.  He noted he was not advocating total reliance on our own ability to produce everything we eat.  That would certainly leave us short of such staples as bananas and coffee.   As a Greek economist said the other day, even if global trade is important, why should Greeks be offered Belgian tomatoes in the middle of the summer?  Or in our case, why should we have Dutch or Canadian greenhouse tomatoes undercutting Jersey tomatoes every summer.  It makes no economic sense in either case.  Not only that, but in the long run it destroys the ability of nations to feed themselves in the event of catastropes in the developing world, where the majority of these vegetables are produced.  Of course, anytime you question the status quo, you will get your head in the crosshairs of everyone who thinks they benefit from the present system.  There are very few advocates for the small local vegetable grower outside of his immediate neighborhood.  Aside from pretty pictures at your local Hannaford or Wegman's stores touting the small grower, there is not much support.  Even these chains probably have a quota for locally grown, since they want to preserve their buying clout with large shippers and importers.  So, conditions for locavores are improving, but there is still a long way to go before the average person can source a majority of their diet from producers within a 100 miles of home.

Like a Friday

That must be how I felt this morning.  Overslept, so late posting.  Weather remains beautiful, business lousy.  We are now paying for the cold temps of 2 weeks ago as the clipped spinach deal in the east remains short.  Warming trend will get things going again next week, but in the meantime, there will be unhappy packers searching for supplies.  The buildup to Thanksgiving should begin next week as the chains stock up.  The sale items for the all important circular which is distributed the week before are lined up, but if any become short, the stampede will begin.  So far, it doesn't look like much of a problem for anything, but you won't know until next week. 

Change is hard

I noticed yesterday that Marc Bittman in the Times advocated the same regional food renaissance I mentioned a couple of days ago.  He started out with hyper local food, but eventually stretched the definition to include a few hundred mile radius.  He did specifically push for grown in the US food, but I was struck by the commenters on the blog.  They overwhelmingly condemned his stance as elitist, and by the way, don't interfere with my banana and pineapple supply.  Others decried the bland diet that would result if we can't have Peruvian asparagus in January.  I think with a little tweaking, one could consume a local diet with plenty of greenstuffs year round.  Recent advances or rediscoveries of  climate defying cold tunnels and minimally heated greenhouses reminiscent of Parisian market gardens of the 18th and 19th centuries could revolutionize the way Americans consume produce in the next few years.  However, the long distance growers and shippers will still be necessary since the population centers in the East have decimated the farmland close by.  The local deals can probably gear up to supply more than they do now, but there would have to be a huge transformation of land from residential and industrial to agriculture to really affect the supply of produce going to NY, Mass and other eastern states.  There are probably too many entrenched interests lined up to oppose this kind of policy.   However, there will be plenty of opportunities for micro growers in the near future.

Gorgeous Weather

As anyone who follows this blog can attest, I whine about the weather on a regular basis.  I can't help it.  It comes with the territory.  Too many years of hanging out with farmers and growing on a small scale myself.  But the past week and it looks like next week should be about perfect for this time of year.  The ground has dried out enough that most growers can finish harvesting and end-of-season field work.  My late planted crops are getting a chance to mature.  The beets look beautiful, and the second cuts of spinach look as nice as the first.  Even the last plantings of lettuce I made in Sept. on a wing and a prayer are maturing nicely.  I hope to get some compost on empty beds this weekend and tidy up a bit.  Now if only this weather will hang on for another couple of weeks...

Seasonal Divides

Another beautiful day in the north country,but very few people seem interested in exploiting the potential bounty available here.  We are still offering celery, but the trade has moved on.  Wholesalers and retailers would rather pay the cost of trucking celery from California than clear inventories from local growers.  As salesmen, we usually lament the "bean counters" who seem to be in charge of buying decisions for chain stores, but in this case, I think the buyers are being intransigent.  Their feeling is the time has come to switch and it is easier to do that than continue the local deal.  This attitude is almost impossible to overcome.  The excuses range from concerns about quality to the trouble it causes to run local and California product together to sheer stupidity.  As the climate continues to warm, there will be more opportunities for local produce to hang on into the early winter.  With a slight change in consumer behavior to accomodate a more seasonal diet, we could easily cut down the extravagant transportation of  summertime veggies such as squash and cucumbers and substitute more nutritious fare such as kale and winter squash.  This may be a utopian vision, but necessity may the trump card as we approach an uncertain future.

Vindication

Finally, an article in the Economist says what I have been saying for some time.  When the lesser depression hit with full force, people started buying less fresh vegetables and more processed substitutes.  That confirms the gut feeling many in our industry have had.  There is something satisfying about stocking the larder with seemingly indestructable canned veggies instead of watching the broccoli you purchased with no specific meal in mind turn to goldenrod in your crisper.  Not to mention the 3 bagged salads slowly fermenting in the same bin.  Even if you don't use the cans, it's an ant/grasshopper thing.  Of course, every couple of years we tend to clean the shelves and dispose of the oldest cans.  So much for thrift, but at 5 cans for a dollar on sale, it makes pyschological sense.

Trucking

If you are a grateful dead afficianado, the title of this post will have you humming all day.  According to some national owner-operator federation, there is or is not a shortage of long haul truckers to move the nation's freight.  Of course, anyone whose business depends on the whim of long haul drivers has know this for years.  Or at least, those of us in the veg business know there is a shortage of good truckers.  As far as I can see, it is a hellish job with little to recommend  it aside from the chance to see the underside of most American cities.  For the rest, it is bad food, long hours, low pay and abuse on all sides.  The story on NPR says the trucker can make $50 K/year before expenses.  I assume they mean drivers working for trucking companies.  In the bad old days, before cell phones and the internet, it was virtually impossible to track shipments if the driver did not feel like checking in.  Now, it is mostly impossible to avoid the calls of dispatch and customers.  No one cares if you had a flat, or the rush hour traffic killed three hours, or the early season snow storm kept you in a truck stop for 2 days.  I can't understand why thousands of people aren't  lined up trying to get these wonderful jobs.

No so snowy weekend

For those of us on the NCR, it was a lovely weekend.  Started out chilly on Friday evening, but warmed nicely on Saturday and Sunday was beautiful.  I got the fall garlic bed planted, harvested some beautiful lettuce for the co-op, and even played 9 holes on Sunday afternoon.  It was 36 degrees this morning as I left the house.  Meanwhile, the town of Peru, Mass. had to deal with 32 inches of snow.  As with real estate, weather is a matter of location, location, etc.

Correction

I guess you could call it a senior moment, but the title of the book I read as a teenager is "October the First is Too Late", by Fred Hoyle.  He was a mathemetician and astronomer.  The book was a complicated mish mash about time travel and double jeopardy, but thinking about it, I don't feel inspired to read it again.

October the 28th

Is too late.  Actually, the title of the Sci-Fi novel I read as a teenager was October the 29th is Too Late.  I don't remember the plot, which I will look up later, but I was referring to the first real frost of the season.  It was 32 degrees at Casa Monzeglio this morning and I'm pretty sure the basil and hopefully the galinsoga have given it up.  It's always bittersweet when the growing season is officially over, but a succession of 40 degree days have taken most of the starch out of growing plants.  The spinach, kale and collards are still growing, but beets, carrots and most other hardy veg are just marking time, waiting for the really hard freeze.  It will probably come quickly now as we are knocking on the door of November.  Meanwhile, in the wider markets, we are still stuck in a declining demand scenario.  Despite what the stock markets are doing, people still don't seem to be spending on vegetables.

MickyD and Walmart

As the pauperization of America proceeds apace, it would seem the ultimate winners (besides the 1%) are McDonalds and Walmart.  The middle class will wind up trading down to Walmart for their clothing and food, and to McDs for that all important night out.  A client who buys veg from me made the observation that McDonald stock is up.  However, Walmart is not.  One theory is while the lower echelons of the middle class have been Walmartized, the company is losing its core customers.  The vast underclass who live paycheck to paycheck are running out of money before the month is over.  Unemployment checks don't go as far, and if one spouse loses their job the money barely covers rent and food.  I guess the Dollar stores are the last resort for some of these people, and it does not bode well for the country if even mighty Walmart can't fight this tide.  One silver lining for the veg industry is when the poor can't afford the Friday night fast food fix, they can buy enough veg to feed their family for a few days with what they save on that QP with cheese.  We can only hope...

Ups and Downs

The weather here is not nearly as volatile as what they are experiencing in Colorado, but still resembles Wall St. lately.  The temps gyrate and the forecasters keep trying to make the permutations fit into their narrative of fall heading into winter.  We still have not had a frost, although tonight or tomorrow night should take care of that.  Even I am feeling this season should be over for the tender stuff.  The broader markets are so quiet it feels like the population must be on a fast food binge.  There is virtually no excitement.  WTF...

Sunny day

So far, the actual weather belies the forecast.  I think the weather service loves to feed people's primal fear of the change of seasons.  The last couple of days, the chance of light snow has dominated the weather discussion.  Of course, Denver went from 80 degrees to 8 inches of snow in 48 hours, so that plays into the foreboding forecasts.  Meanwhile, the constant incremental rainfall keeps me from planting the fall garlic crop.  If we don't get any rain through Sunday, I may be able to start, but at this point, I'll have to try, regardless.  Couldn't buy a raindrop all summer, now we can't shut the tap.  Still no killing frost.  The galinsoga was touched the other night, but the zinnias still look cheerful.  Unfortunately, I think Friday night may do it for all the tender crops.  Mid to upper 20s are forecast and by October 28, even I can see that handwriting on the wall.  The guys with corn and soybeans still in the fields are probably hoping for a hard freeze so they can get their equipment into the soggy fields. 

Where the money is

Drugs.   According to a story on NPR this morning, the drugs flowing into the US every year are worth at least $25 billion.  I don't know for sure, but I would bet that is more than all the vegetables grown in every state.  A one kilo brick of cocaine purchased in Columbia for $2,000 turns into a $100,000 payday when cut into gram size packets in America.   The Mexican drug cartels control most of the traffic, hence the third world violence in cities like Ciudad Juarez.  Its a short life for most of those involved in the traffic, but for the foot soldiers, it beats working for $5./day in the fields.  It is a brutal world that most drug users in America either ignore or take for granted.  Why don't we put the FDA in charge of all drugs in the country, legalize the trade and cut the deficit or finance social programs with the profits.  It would seem to be a better solution than the violence and misery we force our neighbors south of the border to endure.

It will soon be an unFriendly world

According to Mark Bittman, Friendlys restaurants will file or already have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.   He feels the filing is nothing extraordinary, and maybe addition by subtraction on the food scene.  He points out that many dining venues frequented by the American middle class have gone by the wayside recently.  These chain restaurants specializing in large portions of forgettable food at low prices were probably the entry level dining experience for my generation.  They replaced the Mom and Pop diners and small town eateries of the previous generation.  I can't say I will miss the Bennigans, Friendly's et. al.  Unless you are willing to pay for people to source fresh ingredients and spend the time to actually cook them in some reasonable time frame (within two to three hours) of your eating said food, you are basically paying for someone to defrost an entree that was mass produced using highly processed foodlike substances and then have someone else bring it too your table.  You can get the same or better in your supermarket's frozen food isle.  The only differences are you are overpaying in the chain restaurant and you don't have to do dishes afterward.  Real food cooked by people in a local restaurant using high quality ingredients can cost the equivalent of enough raw food to feed a family of four for a week.  Maybe that is why niche restaurants continue to do well.  They cater to a clientele who can afford the gastronomic experience.  Meanwhile, even the Olive Gardens of the mass market had better watch out.  Just as Macy's customers have downgraded to Walmart, the O G's customers will be lining up at Micky D's.  Next stop Tender Vittles....

Frosty start, marketing and weather

Both Mother Nature and the Produce markets are off to a frosty start this morning in most areas.  While we were technically above freezing at 6 a.m., I still had to use the windshield wipers to get the ice off.  In the office, sales are similarly glacial.  I think the 99% are feeling the pain and cutting back on expenses.  Fresh vegetables must be on the chopping block, since it doesn't seem to matter what you are selling, all items are moving slowly ,if at all. 

Weekend warrior

This getting older stuff is highly overrated.  After harvesting selected items for the coop on Saturday, then helping a friend move and finally on Sunday harvesting the rest of the potatoes, I feel like I was run over by a bus which then backed up to complete the job.  Today started overcast and feeling like late fall, and it never got much better.  The only good thing was the clouds kept the frost at bay.  I picked a roomful of zinnias and snapdragons for the divine Mrs. M, and there are plenty more flowers out there if the weather cooperates.  The spinach and beets are still growing and the late plantings of carrots in the cold frames will definitely size up before the ground freezes.  The only fly in the gardening ointment is the wet soil.  We can't get three days in a row without showers, and the garlic planting schedule is almost upon us.  I may have to plant in the front garden, since that soil remains fairly well drained.  The back gardens have much heavier Champlain Valley clay loams which can't drain this continuous moisture. 

recallitis

Now Taylor Farms is recalling salads made with the industry's favorite punching bag, spinach.  Of course every TV or newspaper account of this latest food safety failing showed stock pictures of spinach fields.  How anyone born in the 90s or 00s can think spinach is anything but a potential death sentence is beyond me.  Meanwhile, I have a three week supply of same in the garden (if we eat it every day).  The mild night temps and rainfall is making it grow even though sunshine is in short supply.  Even the North Country coop doesn't want any of the stuff since their regular suppliers are in the same position as me.  Looks like not frost through the first of November.  Something tells me we will pay for this run of crazy weather.

More food safety follies

The FDA now says the melons that caused the listeria outbreak which killed several and sickened thousands were contaminated on the farm in Colorado!  The story in the NYT says the melons were packed in a shed with a concrete floor and a roof, but no walls.  A recent inspection noted puddles on the floor which workers could walk through and transfer contamination.  I don't know whether to laugh or cry.  I have been to dozens of sheds over the years and they were very similar to the description I read in this article.  I guess most people who eat fresh produce should keep their fingers crossed.  I want to agree with the premise of the story; that even a third party audit  may not be enough to guarantee food safety.  But then I think about what I have read about FDA inspected meat packing plants and I want to throw up.  I think I will take my chances with the food safety provided by the produce industry as opposed to a half hearted government effort which will provide the illusion  of safety without the reality.  As much as I hate to agree with the less is better crowd, if we are not willing to spend the money it will take to do a good job of food safety, we are better off letting the threat of legal action in case of illness caused by contamination spur the industry to police itself.  The real cost of strict government enforcement of food safety would add significantly to the price of vegetables and put many small growers out of business.  No more farmer's markets and small backyard growers.

Ducky weather

Looks like another couple of wet days coming up.  Still no frost in the forecast through next Monday, so there is still time to harvest any tender crops.  Most growers up here have either finished or given up due to lack of labor, but if they had planted late lettuce, they could still be harvesting.  I still have beautiful green leaf and bibb lettuce in the garden.  Even beets and turnips planted in late August look like they will make a crop before the freeze.  The last planting of broccoli now has 10 inch heads which will probably start showing rot with this latest rain.  I hope to harvest a few for the co-op on Saturday.  We will have spinach at least to the middle of November if the weather remains seasonable.  Longer if it stays like this.  When I moved to the NCR (North Country Riviera) from Long Island 10 years ago, no one would believe me if I said there would be no frost this late in the season.  I wonder what is going on here...NOT.

Subsidies

Most farmers who grow produce are prickly about the subject of government subsidy.  They like to believe they are Marlboro Men; strong, independent T.N.S. kind of guys who sneer at those softies who take government handouts.  At least until a weather catastrophe knocks the cig out of their mouth.  Meanwhile, the growers of the so called commodity crops; corn, wheat, soybean and cotton have their snouts deep in the government trough and are unapologetic.  These are mostly the largest farms, running to tens of thousands of acres, and the people running them look more like accountants than cowboys.  The new farm bill shuffles the subsdies around, but the pigs will still be at the trough, even though commodity prices are at levels not seen since the "fencepost to fencepost" days of the mid 70s.  I guess it is a rhetorical question to wonder why the 500 acre veg grower can't get access to the kind of government largess his 10,000 acre soybean growing competitor is getting.  Besides, we all know what happened to the Marlboro Man.

Back in the saddle

In some ways it is good to be back at the office with 2 phones on the desk and everything at my fingertips.  Then I look at a 4 day backlog of e-mails and I wish I was somewhere sunny and warm with an 8 a.m. tee time.  I'm sure it is the same with most jobs, but in the produce business, things move at a faster pace.  A load of spinach can look fairly good today and absolutely horrible tomorrow.  The price of a bag of carrots is $10. today and $6. tomorrow.  You understand the whiplash, but you don't get used to it.  After 27 years in the business, it never fails to surprise me.

New week

Well, it's another week in the produce biz.  Thinking back on the PMA convention, I wonder if it will be looked at as a dinosaur in the years ahead.  Almost all the exhibitors rely on long distance shipping to get their products to market.  If the price of fuel keeps rising and the local food movement gains steam, it will be a double whammy to many.  I would imagine the Mexicans will suffer the most, since their produce travels the furthest.  Still, Americans are not easily parted from their automobiles.  If there is a way to move goods over the roads more cheaply, someone will probably find it, and the west coast shippers will continue to send summer veg to the east all winter.  It just feels wasteful.

Sunday on the road

Did the usual convention thing on Saturday.  Meetings, too many breakfasts, too much coffee, then on to the convention floor to see old friends and enemies and perhaps meet new ones.  I probably walked more miles yesterday than all the previous month.  Of course, if I wasn't there no one would miss me, but the feeling that they would always drives me to these conventions.  I suppose that is why a majority go there, a fitting commentary on the human condition.  By mid afternoon most will be looking for a big flat screen carrying the game of their favorite football team, or heading to the airport to catch a late flight so they can be back at work tomorrow.  Monday morning will be a funeral with almost everyone gone but the exhibitors.  Having spent the money, most will hope it was worthwhile.  Certainly the weather is beautiful, in contrast to the drizzle and falling temps at home.

Saturday in Atlanta

This is the first Saturday since June that I haven't had a farmers' market to harvest for.  It feels a little weird to be sitting in a hotel room instead of getting soaking wet and cold in the garden.  I think I could get used to this.  Especially after all the rain yesterday.  It would be a muddy mess out there.  Now, to hoof it over to the convention center and begin the flesh pressing, back slapping orgy that is the Produce Marketing  Association.  I always feel like a minnow in a shark tank at these things, but I'm sure there are plenty of others who feel the same.  Every one here is looking for a little love.  You just have to make sure it is the right kind.  The weather looks beautiful from the window, although the sunrise seems later here than at home.

On the road

I am amazed to sit here and blog at an airport gate and then transmit these scribbles with the touch of a key.  Of course there are a few hiccups, as my first post was erased at the whim of the internet god.  If this one vanishes, I will give up for now.  One of the nice things about living on the Lake Champlain Rivierais if you travel away in any direction, the scenery is awesome.   Driving to Albany to catch a flight to Atlanta, I was enchanted by the fall colors.  An occasional shower only enhanced the feeling of connection with Nature.  All the more amazing is the ability to share this with the world in a matter of minutes.  I don't know what the Produce Marketing Association convention holds in store, but the past couple of hours has been a good start.  More tomorrow.

Fall is for Thunderstorms!

The next thing will be tornadoes.  Heavy rain with lightning and thunder this morning.  The forecast is for more of the same throughout the weekend.  It was 60 this morning.  That is likely the high for the foreseeable future.  Still no frost in the forecast.  I had to laugh this morning as I listened to NPR.  One of the stories featured a redneck who owns a laundry service on the shore in Alabama.  He was bemoaning the new law which targets illegal immigrants (read scary brown people).   He says he is not advocating repeal of the law, but it should be revised.  It's amazing how people's political views change when their economic ox is being gored.  As I have said before, if they were offering a living wage, maybe some Americans would be interested in folding laundry.

Dreary Fall Weather

What happened to bright October days and crisp fall evenings?   The forecast for the next week calls for overcast weather with off and on showers.  The good news is the low temps will be above 40, so no need to cover the few tender crops still out there.  Also, the hardier veg will keep growing.  Beets, kohlrabi, kale carrots, broccoli and sprouts are still in abundant supply.  If the tomatoes had not been blighted we would still be picking.  There are still plenty of peppers and potatos also.  The downside of such a late season is that at some point, the weather will turn quickly and I'll wake up to a 15 degree morning and most everything will give up the ghost.  Oh, did I mention there is also plenty of spinach and lettuce. 

PMA and business

Or the lack of it.  The excuse of the week is the PMA convention in Atlanta which everyone says depresses business.  The argument is the decision makers for the buyers and sellers are all drinking and playing golf or whatever they do at these conventions and the second string players on both sides are afraid to do anything which might blow up in their faces.  Meanwhile, prices for most items can't seem to find the basement.  About the only veg bringing any price is green onions, and that's because there are problems in every region where they are grown.  All the local deals are suffering from the California hangover.  The west coast planted their normal amount of most crops, but demand has consistently trailed the supply.  I think some of the growers must consider downsizing next year, or we may replay this entire season in 2012.

Passing of the not so old guard

I heard from a friend that Dave Schwartz passed away yesterday.  Dave was only 54 and had struggled with a brain cancer for the past couple of years.  Not a good way to go.  I first met Dave, when as a neophyte in the business of produce sales, I called on him to sell spinach.  Dave was the buyer at J.C. Brock in Buffalo.  The company was rapidly becoming a large player in the packaged spinach business and Dave was a large part of the how and why.  He was an outsize personality and always knew what he wanted.  Buffalo was a gritty, rustbelt town in the 70s and 80s, and Brock was one of the bright spots in a sorry landscape.  Eventually, the company grew too fast and went down, but Dave continued his association with the spinach industry and worked hard for what he felt were the best interests of the business.  I did not always see eye to eye with Dave, as he approached the challenges from the viewpoint of the repackers and I advocated (and still do) for the growers who make the entire enterprise possible.  That is neither here nor there at present.  Dave always treated everyone in the business with respect.  He was a hard nosed advocate, but a warm human being who cared for those he dealt with in business.  I'm sure he was even more caring and generous to his friends and family.  He will be missed. 

Signs of the times

$1.99/bag for 5 lbs of carrots!   To me it sounds like a misprint, but a large chain store is on sale with carrots at that price.  Worse yet, their competitors are undercutting that price.  For less than the price of a double cheeseburger, you can buy 5 lbs of healthy food.  What is going on here.  Chain stores seem hell bent on offering healthy alternatives to junk food at rock bottom prices.  I wish I could say carrots will outsell potato chips in Quebec this week, but I doubt it.  A huge success would be to sell 10,000 bags of carrots in a weeklong sale.  I don't doubt the chain sells more jumbo bags of chips in one afternoon.  Meanwhile, the cost to fill that bag of carrots is up, as is transportation.  I guess when enough farmers throw in the towel, the price will more realistically reflect the cost of production.  I guess that is the essential duality of the produce world.  Everyone who works in this business wants our customers to eat a healthy diet, but we also want to make a reasonable profit while supplying the components of that diet.

countdown

If the vegetable season in the North Country was an NFL game, we would be at the 2 minute warning in the 4th  quarter.  Unfortunately, we are down by 3 scores and even a miracle will not get the team to a tie.  We have lost too many fields and too many markets during the course of the season.  Starting with the wet spring, carrying over to a dry summer and topped off by the one-two punch of Irene and Lee, the team never got its act together.  Now, a few beautiful days make you think you can make up for lost time, but it is not to be.  To use another sports' analogy, we live by the Brooklyn Dodgers' battle cry; "Wait til next year".  We always do, for better or for worse.

Do we share the same planet

The conservative and Republican reactions are at the same time predictable and maddening.  The same folks who published the tea party playbook which called for disruption of town hall meetings a harassment of public officials now tell us that peaceful demonstrations with snarky slogans and thoughtful criticism of our galtian overlords are the end of civilization as we know it.  The media mouthpieces of the 1% are in majority agreement to either ignore the protests or denigrate the protestors.   As someone who lived through the 60s and early 70s I find it amazing that my generation is ready to repeat the crap we went through at the hands of the "greatest generation"  aka Archie Bunker and friends.   At least most of us could get jobs when we  got out of school.  The kids now coming of age can look forward to a lower standard of living than us, unless something is done fairly quickly.  But, many of those with the money and power are living down to the worst  epithets aimed at the "Me" generation.  They simply don't care about anyone but them and their immediate families.  I find it amazing the people occupying  Wall St. have the faith in the system to participate in this protest.  I hope more continue to join.

Work and worth

The NYT had one of their Opinionator series focused on the case of a Colorado farmer complaining he couldn't find American workers willing to harvest his onions and corn for slightly more than minimum wage.  Of course most of the people offering the opinions don't take on the underlying assumption that farm labor must be cheap.  If farm workers worked a 40 hour week and made enough to be above the poverty line, they would have to be paid about $12.00 per hour on a year round basis.  Meanwhile, due to the constraints forced on the grower by the former abundance of cheap immigrant labor and the seasonal nature of his business, he can only offer $10.00/hr. for a few weeks.  So a 40 year old who has worked behind a desk for the last 20 years and was laid off is going to jump on a short term back breaking job with no benefits that precludes him from collecting unemployment.  Right.  I can tell you that after putting in a full day outside working a 5,000 calorie/day job, the last thing on my mind is trying to polish my resume so I can get back behind a desk and make enough money to feed my family.  I just want to get some sleep so I can get through another day.  Some days, the cluelessness of our supposed leaders makes me want to scream.

Another just like the other

For those with a day off today, you might think someone was offering a preview of the outdoor enthusiast's idea of the afterlife.  Mid 70's with a light breeze and sunshine.  Even I think a hike might be a good idea, and my usual opinion of that particular excercise is  to paraphrase Mark Twain, a good 18 holes spoiled.  Meanwhile, those of us condemned to work on what is a federal holiday in both Canada and the US, are finding willing customers to be in short supply.  Markets for most items remain sluggish nonwithstanding the fine fall weather and the fact it is still early in the month.  That removes two of the most common excuses for poor results in the produce business.  Unfortunately, there is a superabundance of manufactured reasons to explain why sales are down.  Of course the report that average household income in the US is down compared with 2 years ago may have something to do with slow sales of produce.

Glorious weekend

Having lived on the North Country riviera for the last ten years, I can't remember a nicer weekend.  Sat and Sun were to die for with temps in the upper 70s and lows in the 50s.  The farmer's market final weekend was a resounding success with almost everything sold by closing time.  As I said before, it's a bittersweet day.   But there is still plenty to do in the garden.  There are still a couple of hundred pounds of potatoes to harvest,  the garlic bed needs to be prepared and I want to clean up the tomato bed before the snow flies.  I hope this weather hangs around for a couple of weeks.  Oh, and there is still golf to play...

Another repreive

A slight white frost and temp around 38 this morning.  The long range forecast is looking good through next Friday.  We should dry out and warm up.  I need to be able to work up a bed for garlic planting.  Conditions in the north country can go from late summer to mid winter virtually overnight, so you have to take advantage of any good weather to do fall planting and soil prep.  I hope this Indian summer weather extends for a couple of weeks, but I certainly won't count on it.  Likewise, the larger growers across the region need time for the land to dry out so late season harvest of corn, soybeans, carrots, potatoes, etc can proceed and finish before a hard freeze or early snow renders the fields unworkable.  It is scary to think that a whole season of hard work can be held hostage because of wet fields.

Prolonging the agony

We missed the frost last night.  There was a film of ice coming down on my car at 6:30 this morning, but the temp was 38, so all the cover up I did last night was probably unnecessary.  The weather forecast is already saying we will avoid frost on the Riviera tonight, but that only makes me more nervous.  We'll keep the  covers on and hope the forecast is right for a change.  The weekend weather should make us forget about fall, at least for a little while.

Passings

The news that Steve Jobs died yesterday has sucked all of the air out of the political room at this point, even overshadowing the announcement that (surprise) Sarah Palin will not run for President.  What a contrast.  The greatest technoligical innovator of the 21st century leaves us and we are stuck with someone who is stealing from our future with every breath she takes.  I am ambivalent sometimes about Jobs and Apple.  The company has gotten rich by amping up America's consumerist culture in which your status is measured by the number of techno toys you own.  The idea of thousands waiting for hours for the newest i-phone to go on sale is itself a commentary on where we are in 2011.  Sarah Palin is the extension of this frenzy.  To paraphrase Seinfeld, she is a candidate about nothing.  A pretty face and a vacuous vision of the future.  The ultimate consumer.  The difference between Steve Jobs vision and Sarah Palin's is Jobs wanted to make Americans a smarter, more savvy people.  Palin wants them to remain the rubes her carny act has been living on for the past 3 years.

Occupy Wall Street

This has absolutely nothing to do with produce (I think), but everything to do with the future of the country we live in and love.  It is starting to feel like the sleeping giant aka, the 99% is starting to wake up.  Knowledgeable people have been saying for years that Wall Street and the banking industry have basically taken over the US and have been directing our affairs in ways that are harmful to most of us.  The endless wars, the American Empire, and the squandering of our resources in the attempt to dominate the world have started to impact the way of life our generation took for granted, even during the 60s and the Vietnam war.  As the jobs moved offshore, the manufacturing base was stripped down and the wellspring of good middle class employment shriveled up.  The pain started in the Rust Belt, but now the south and the west are feeling it now.  Even the industrialization of agriculture gutted towns in the midwest.  Where once 10 farms thrived and created dozens of other jobs in support industries, now one megafarm owned by a corporation exists.  It buys little from surrounding communities and remits profits to a far away headquarters.   I hope the little fire started by the wall st. protestors becomes a cleansing blaze which will restore a more human economy which benefits more than just 1 % of the population.

American farm labor

Methinks we are still a long way from a Grapes of Wrath scenario where Americans will line up to take stoop labor farm jobs even for $10.50/hr.  That's the going rate for foreign guest workers under the government's H2A program.  In order to qualify for the program, farmers must prove they have tried, but failed to find Americans willing to do the work.  As a NYT article today stated, one grower in Colorado found out within 6 hours that a majority of the Americans he hired walked off the job, saying it was too difficult.  He was able to scramble and get a crew of Mexicans to finish the season, but his view is that Americans have become soft and lazy.  I do that kind of work as a hobby and I can tell you there are times I question my choice of leisure activity.  I certainly would not recommend it as a career at the wages our society deems as its worth.  I do think if a living wage was paid for this kind of work there would be more people applying than there are jobs available.  However, that would require Americans to pay more for food.  Which would leave less money to spend on useless junk from China.  Which would help reduce our trade deficit.  What's wrong with this solution to the problem?  Probably that it won't happen in our lifetimes.

Vegsickles

Looks like tonight and tomorrow night will be the swan song for any tender, unprotected plants.  We should be near freezing tonight, but tomorrow the weather service is predicting mid 20s, so even on the North Country Riviera at Casa Monzeglio we will be in perilous territory.  That means a Chinese fire drill tonight as I pick all the winter squash and try to cover as much of the lettuce and flowers as possible.  I have a brand new roll of reemay cloth, so we will see how much I can cover before midnight.  My only consolation is the imminent demise of the galinsoga population.  I've sweated and slaved for nearly 6 months on this little patch of ground, and as much as I will be glad of a few months off, I will probably be itching to get my hands dirty by the middle of March.

Junk food and schools

An article in the NYT today spends a thousand words telling us what we already know, namely that potato chips will outsell peeled carrots by about 5 to 1.  Forget the yogurt and apples in the same machine as the  kids say they can get all they want at home.  (In a middle class neighborhood on Long Island, anyway).  The point is our culture spends far more advertising money on junk food than on healthy alternatives.  Plus the science says the salt and grease in the junk trips the brain's pleasure centers.  Gnawing on a carrot doesn't seem to produce the same effect.  Meanwhile, the advertising budget for Doritos and Pepsi is probably greater than the entire revenue of most produce companies.   Denmark recently started to tax fatty foods in a effort, similar to the cigarette tax, to defray the cost to society that these foods incur.  We will need a sea change in the way Americans think before such a program comes to pass here.  In the meantime, as the CSNY anthem says, "Teach your children well".

The Big One

Well, maybe not, but according to which report you want to believe, we will either have a little frost on Thursday morning, or the "Big One" which will signal the next phase of the gardening and farming season.   There are still some items in the garden I would like to see survive, such as Zinnias, summer squash and peppers.  On the other hand, the galinsoga is becoming a major problem...  If it is going to frost, it might as well take the weeds out.  There is still plenty of other hardy produce for the next month, but we need some dry weather, or the garlic will be planted in November.  That is not something I want to experience.   On the farms around here, there is still a fair amount of leaf lettuce to harvest, so I hope the temps don't get into the mid 20s.  Even with all the bad weather we have had in the East, the growers in Cal. have not been able to take advantage due to the sluggish economy.  Prices for most items remain at break even or a loss, but most shippers would prefer to keep their customers than to disk the fields.  The fear is their neighbor will supply the market below cost and then keep all the customers when the prices rebound.  This mindset is probably responsible for more losses than any other reason.  As always, farmers are their own worst enemies.

Foggy, Rainy, Monday

Mix any of the above three with your favorite expletive and you have an idea of the way the day is starting.  We are staggering to the finish line of the growing season up here, and the weather is trying to deal a knockout punch.  Another 1 1/2 of rain between Sat. and this morning, customers trying to hedge their produce bets by buying from California and general lack of demand have made it difficult to move even the shrunken inventories of veg to market.  Rejections for minor problems add to the fun. 

Lost Weekend

Made the farmer's market just before the sky opened up on Saturday, but the rainy weather probably kept the traffic down.  It's a shame most people don't realize the best produce of the season, and certainly the most variety comes at the end.  Tomatoes, corn and zucchini are done, but everything else is still coming on.  Winter squash, collards, kale, carrots, beets, spinach are all at their peak now.  Of course if we keep getting a couple of inches of rain every other day it will not last, but carpe diem.  No frost in the forecast through the middle of the month, so there is still basil in the garden.  Time to make pesto.  Anyway, that was the high point of the weekend.  Mrs. Monzeglio and I saw the Taming of the Shrew last night.  One of Shakespeare's more misogynistic efforts if it is taken at face value.  A lazy, rainy Sunday, and it's back to Produce World on Monday.

Pessimism vs. reality

Some loyal followers of this scribble have complained it is unduly pessimistic.  I prefer the term realistic.  Of course, as far as the weather and farming are concerned, all farmers, and even us dilletantes are going to whine about the slings and arrows of outrageous weather.  Things can never be too perfect in the world of weather, because we all know they will get worse.  Unfortunately, my other handicap is being a lifelong Democrat.  I was born the last year of Harry Truman's term, cast          my first vote for George McGovern, married the year Jimmy Carter was elected and turned 50 just after the Bushies stole the election in 2000.  There is enough depression in that last sentence to kill any number of happy hours.  I will try to temper my lifelong pessimism about the perfectability of human nature, but the evidence I see on a daily basis leads me to believe this will be a fruitless endeavor.   Kind of like expecting Republicans to care about 98% of this country's inhabitants.

Rainy redux

There was another 1 1/4 inches of rain in the gauge this morning, and the culvert which shunts the flow from one side of our road to the other was carrying a pretty heavy flow.  I guess it will be another mudfest tonight and tomorrow as I try to harvest for the market.  I did notice the spinach planted during the last week of August will be ready to harvest tomorrow.  It would look good on the cover of a seed catalog.  It is a real rush when you realize that everything went right from the moment you planted the seed until harvest.  The seemingly endless thinning, weeding, not to mention the soil prep all seem worthwhile when the rows close and you gaze over a seamless green carpet.  I used to feel sad when I actually had to harvest, as it disrupted the perfection, but I'm so over that.  All the fall greens look beautiful at this point, and only a light frost is predicted for next week, so the fun continues.

More on the fast food dilemma

The typical moralizing liberal wants to believe that poor people will probably remain poor, but with a little education about the evils of fast food and the affordability of healthy alternatives, our ghetto brethren will soon be out there doing 5k fun runs and bragging about there newly sculpted bodies.  In reality, the working poor have very limited time available after work.  They can spend that time cooking and eating a healthy meal and then to bed, or they can scarf down a greasy, salty junk food meal which pushes the buttons in their brain's pleasure centers.  Those of us lucky enough to have the money and time to indulge in other entertainments don't need the junk food rush.  To someone with little time or money, junk food is the only entertainment available.  Plus it provides the rush we all crave from time to time.  Instead of scolding the poor for their poor eating choices, society should make it a priority to help them out of poverty so they will have more choices for entertainment and satisfaction than consuming large quantities of salt and grease.  Changing the agricultural subsidies which make junk food artificially cheap (That $25.00 Micky D meal for 4 would probably cost twice as much without cheap corn paid for by you and me) will help, but poverty and limited choices for entertainment and physcic comfort are probably the main drivers of obesity in this country.

Food Scares

13 people dead from cantaloupes so far and this story could play out for another couple of months.  The trouble with our food distribution system was pinpointed by one of the guys in the office this morning.  He said, what if Grimmway ( the world's largest baby carrot producer) had a similar problem.  You would be talking about thousands of deaths, simply because this one processor has the power to reach millions of people in a relatively short period of time.  Of course the difference is the melon farm was selling a raw product, but it still went through a wash process where it picked up the listeria bacteria.  This will inevitably lead to more regulations which will concentrate the food production and distribution  industry into fewer and fewer hands.  Soon, the tiny farmers' markets will come under more scrutiny, as consumers demand more protection from food borne contaminants.  Orwell's vision of the future is coming to a supermarket near you in the guise of consumer protection.

Fast Food

A blog that I follow recently put up a post about Americans' addiction to fast food.  Her argument, boiled down to its basic premise is we are too cavalier regarding the real reasons for our seemingly overwhelming preference for junk food.  The elite too easily dismiss this as a problem of income, meaning the lower classes simply eat junk food because it is filling and cheap.  As anyone who has recently brought a family of four or more to a McDonalds can tell you, it is way cheaper to buy a steak, a bag of potatoes and a bunch of broccoli and cook them than it is to spend $25. on a salt and grease high at Micky Ds.  She refers to the aforementioned chain as the "masturbation of food".  So, if it isn't money, what drives the public to deleterious eating habits?  Maybe it is the gigantic government subsidies to corn producers who produce the raw material for the junk food revolution.  Or perhaps the tax structure which facilitates the McDonalds, Burger Kings, etc.  If these meals were taxed the way cigarettes are in order to pay for the health care their consumption necessitates, they would be even less cheap.  I don't believe most people are lazy morons who hate to cook, but the simplistic explanations most people believe are just that.  There is way more to the problem than meets the eye, and much more study needs to be done before we can implement a plan to get the country eating healthier again.  When Cheerios is promoted as a "whole grain" in a weight loss plan, we are in more trouble than we know!

Rainbow's end

As the sky gently weeped on my windshield this morning, a gorgeous rainbow deleloped to the west.  I don't know how long it was present before I noticed it, but it was certainly a spirit booster.  It faded, but was replaced by it's twin facing the north.  I will take it as a good omen for the rest of the week.  Flying Spaghetti Monster knows we need all the good portents possible as we head into fall and winter.  The weather over the east coast spinach growing areas has been horrendous for weeks now and the possibility of a good crop seems pretty remote.  We have had good weather here for a couple of weeks, but the damage was already done to our fall crops, so everyone here is in damage control mode.  I doubt the average shopper confronted with the bounty available at their local chain store realizes the heroic efforts farmers and shippers are making to keep the shelves full.  For that matter, the typical produce buyer is equally ignorant of the frantic scramble to patch weather damaged shipping windows.  I guess that is the particular genius of the distribution system we take for granted.  At least until the highway infrastructure crumbles as we cut taxes and ignore the need for repair. 

early exit

Despite all the bluster I have managed over global warming, it looks like a fairly early end to the lettuce deal here in the North Country.  Of course, we can say climate change instead of global warming, but 8 inches of rain in a 10 day period would have effectively ended the season no matter the temperatures.  The latest forecast puts off any freeze for at least a couple of weeks, so if the rest of the weather had been better we might still be harvesting romaine and iceberg for Columbus Day.  I guess the climatologists are correct in saying the trend may be to warmer weather, but other factors will introduce different uncertainties to the growing season.  I guess we won't be planting palm trees in Montreal in the near future.

Another in a series

Of beautiful days, that is.  Except for the slightly later appearance of the sun each morning and the slight chill in the air, it could be a day in late July or early August.  We should have bright sunshine and a high in the upper 70s.  It's too bad we had so much rain during the past several weeks, as it is now showing up as damage to lettuce and leaf crops.  Instead of finishing the season on an optimistic note, many growers are either contacting their crop insurance providers or simply discing fields which are too damaged to harvest.  The cascade of red ink will continue for many as they plan next year's acreage and varieties.  I keep trying to start these posts optimistically, but the reality of the situation in the farming areas gets in the way, and I wind up with doom and gloom scenarios.  If we only had another month of good weather, we might be able to turn this thing around.  But we know the first freeze is right around the corner, so let's just enjoy one day of sunshine and hope the miserable forecast for the rest of the week is not accurate.  Carpe diem.

Late season warm up

Felt like summer again this weekend, albeit a short day summer.  Temps in the upper 70s with nights in the 50s.  Hopefully this will bring along the last plantings of spinach and lettuce.  Naturally, a freeze is predicted for this coming Sunday morning, but we'll see.  The farmers market was not nearly as busy as I had hoped for this week, so I expect a lot of the lettuce I brought in was composted yesterday.  It seems that once the middle of Sept. has passed, the crowds are not as big at the market.  It's a shame, since the best quality of the season is now for many items.  The market for my larger scale farmer brethren has not been kind either.  Even though there are shortages of many items, the public does not seem to care.  Lettuce and celery are both in the toilet.  Items that are in demand, such as spinach are in short supply, so what's a broker to do.  Make a million calls to find short items or 10 million to sell the glutted products.  It's a tough call, but usually you concentrate on the markets you know. 

Fall is for Mosquitoes

Thanks to the abundant rainfall from Irene, the mosquito crop is bountiful.   I practically bathed in OFF, and the little buggers just held their noses (or whatever passes for noses) and dug right in.  By dusk on Friday my face felt like it was twice its normal size.  Ditto this morning as I finished harvesting for the farmers' market.  The cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and spinach are awesome, especially considering the weather.  I bunched some beautiful arugula also.  Potatoes, basil, dill, cilantro, bibb lettuce, green leaf, red leaf, iceberg, romaine, kohlrabi, green squash, kale, collards, beets, carrots and winter squash rounded out the offerings today.  There will be more of the same for the next couple of weeks.

First Day of Autumn

Around here, the first day of fall could also be the first snowfall of the season, but today starts clear with temps in the upper 50's.  Looks  like we will avoid rain this weekend which will allow farmers to get in needed fieldwork.  The recent bad weather has taken its toll on most veg crops and lettuce however, so there will be loss of yield and lots of grading to make a saleable package.  The markets for most crops remain depressed considering the lack of supply.  In my gardens, which remain pretty wet, there is some decay in the carrots and spotting in cauliflower.  The spinach is up and down, depending on how well the soil drained.  In lighter soil, it is growing like gangbusters.  In heavy ground, not so much.   The  kale and collards are doing really well.  Now if we had some customers for them...but I guess most North Country residents are not into eating their greens.

A modest job plan

How about this.  Let every Republican and any Blue Dogs who agree with them go on unemployment for a month.  Let's add a twist to the program by requiring them to work on a farm if their local unemployment office can't get them a Mcjob.  After two weeks, let them go back to Congress and force them to read the President's jobs plan line by line and then vote on it.  I can already smell the scent of unanimity in the air!  Personally, I would love to see Mitch McConnell at the end of a potato line, bucking 50 lb. bags for a couple of days.  Or how about Boner on a lettuce harvester.  He would probably be a couple of shades darker than most of his new co-workers.  Just a late summer fantasy....