Fuelish

Looks like the summer of our fuelish discontent is coming.  Gas prices locally have topped $4.00/gallon and show no signs of slowing down.  For the growers, this is a huge unanticipated cost.  In modern agriculture, when you walk out the door in the morning, the fuel gauge starts moving, and it never stops.  You get into your pickup and drive to the barn.  You start the tractor to spread fertilizer or pesticides made with oil, you step into your airconditioned office cooled by oil generated electricity.  Your employees all arrive by car and complain about fuel prices. Your irrigation system runs on oil. Your trucks deliver markets with oil guzzling gas or diesel engines.  Etc., rinse and repeat.   Virtually every move the modern farmer makes is lubricated with fossil fuels, and this summer is going to be a make or break year for many growers if the low price trend for most veg crops continues.  If gas and diesel prices top $5.00, some older farmers may decide to close their doors if prices of their crops do not improve.  On the brighter side, many small boutique, local growers will make money this year, since their proximity to affluent local markets willing to pay high prices for organic local food.  The high price of oil will also likely spur innovation which will hopefully make farms more efficient.  On balance, higher prices will probably do exactly what is necessary to wean Americans off the fossil fuel, global warming merry go round.  The long term gain will be great, but the short term pain will shake up the produce industry.

More winter

Of course, as March approaches, all the winter we missed earlier is coming for a visit.  Snow on the roads this morning and a winter storm watch for Thursday.  Rain on Friday, so maybe it won't be too bad, but a few degrees one way or the other and all bets are off.  Did I mention I hate winter.  Of course, most growers in North America hate this winter, as the relentless good weather in most growing areas has set the stage for atrocious pricing.  Even the mild weather in consuming areas has not helped movement.  Theories abound, but over production and under consumption are the culprits, no matter the explanation.  It will take a change of growing areas and a change of seasons to bring things into balance.  In the meantime, there will be plenty of hurt to spread around.

Back into the trenches

Another weekend in the books, but the market for fresh veg seems to be starting the week just as it ended.  This downer market is dragging on in a seemingly endless fashion, much like the European debt crisis.  Like the Germans, who refuse to allow inflation to raise the price of their exports, which would make the Greeks and other economies more competitive, retailers in the US refuse to cut the markups they are making on vegtables to move the surplus for the growers.  It is like trying to pour 5 gallons of water into a 1 gallon bottle.  I bought a small head of cauliflower at my local supermarket last week for $2.99.  That is still too high, but at least I bought.  Yesterday, the store raised the price to $3.49!  The FOB was a dollar higher, or about $.05/head for 16s.  I'm sure the price will back off this week if that was a general reaction by the chains.  The "partnership" between growers and sellers of merchandise that trade groups in our industry love to rhapsodize about is a crock.  The bean counters won the struggle for supremacy in the 90s and the result will be an increasingly volatile market.  It will shoot for the stars when there is the hint of a shortage and crash and burn the minute there is an extra load of product available.  Welcome to the world of contracts and weather events. 

Last gasps

Despite the dire predictions of winter storms, we still have not seen a flake yet.  As usual with these storms, the more media time they get, the less actual snow we get.  So, one more repreive.  Unfortunately, the economy seems to be tracking the same way.  The drumbeat of good news trumpeted by most media outlets doesn't seem to be reflected in ordinary people's lives.  Foreclosures are still accelerating, gas prices are rising and layoffs are still happening.  Not to mention the veg markets are still at historic lows when inflation is taken into account.  $5.00 broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce are the FOB price du jour, but those prices are still not making their way into the supermarket.  I bought a head of 16 count cauliflower last night for $2.99.  That seems like a fair price, until you realize the grower probably netted about $.25 for the head, after gambling on seed, fertilizer, rent, packaging materials and labor.  The trucker got another $.25 for transporting the cauliflower across the country.   That means, the chain store operator, in this case Hannaford grossed about $2.50/head for unpacking and displaying the cauliflower.  Now I know the chain has distribution costs, labor, capital tied up in stores, etc., but it strikes me as a little like highway robbery to profit that much while the actual producer of the cauliflower is left to contemplate the inequities of the system.

Winter's return

Naturally the topic around the lunchroom yesterday was the beautifully mild weather.  I actually took a brisk walk after lunch and had to remove my coat because I was starting to sweat.  So today it is snowing.  About an inch on the ground, although it will change to rain later.  Now the weather gods are threatening 3-5 inches for tomorrow.  Well, it is February.  At least I can watch the seedlings popping in the basement grow room.  The tarragon is up and the celosia seed is germinating today.  Little reminders that spring is coming, despite an occasional rear guard action by old man winter.

Carving the Pork

The annual USDA farm bill is the nation's gift to a small group of farm state legislators and lobbyists and the giant agribusiness firms which overwhelmingly benefit from said legislation.  As the average American's waistline continues to expand under the present policy regime, it is fair to ask, what's in it for the rest of us?   More of the same, unfortunately for the health of the country's children.  We are systematically dooming the coming generation to a life of obesity, chronic illness and early death if we allow the unchecked greed of the ConAgra, Monsanto, DuPont axis of chemical, bioengineered, and gimmicky marketing of unhealtful foods.  Instead of following the dictates of the food industry, the legislators should be focusing on the health of the people and crafting a bill which encourages healthy eating and ends the strip mining of our most fertile soils in the quest for ever higher yields of monoculture crops like corn and soybeans.  There are millions of jobs for young farmers if there is the will to create them.  The mantra that the American farmer needs to get big or get out and that by impoverishing our soils we can feed the world (with unhealthful crap) needs to be replaced with sustainable farming practices which can help feed future generations.  There, I'll get off the soapbox now.

Federal Programs and food safety

The new federal budget cuts a $5 million program from the USDA which tests fruits and vegetables for diseases.  The rationale is the program should really be under the aegis of the FDA, but meanwhile there is no funding approved for it in the FDA budget.  Sounds like the program will quietly expire, unless or until someone dies from food poisoning which may or may not have been detected by inspectors.  Over the years I have been in the produce business, I have had several clashes with the federal bureaucracy involved in food testing and it has not always been friendly.  The mindset of the USDA is they are protecting the public and any inconvenience or loss experienced by shippers is acceptable collateral damage, so, their attitude is a polite version of "suck on this".  Naturally, part of me says good riddance to the program and let the bells of freedom ring.  The better angels say this is a worthwhile program which keeps growers and shippers honest in a cutthroat environment where the temptations to cut corners can lead to unsafe food.  On balance, I hope the program resurfaces in the FDA, but with shipper friendly changes which will lead to greater industry support and collaboration.  We are all on the same side when it comes to consumer safety.

Nothing but blue sky

That's a pretty radical forecast for the north country at this time of the year, but the weekend and President's Day are certainly making weathermen look good.  Sunny weather and temps in the upper 30s are certainly about a month early for us.  The soil in covered cold frames was in the 60s on Saturday which inspired me to plant some long day sweet onions to get a headstart.  Speaking of headstarts, I got the peppers and some long season herbs and flowers going indoors last night.  It feels good to be looking ahead to the summer.  Meanwhile, the produce markets remain flat or declining for most items.  The consensus that seems to be forming is the low pricing is the result of too much good weather in producing areas and too little income in consumer's pockets.  The low prices are finally starting to filter down to the chain stores, so that could start to boost consumption, but there is still a huge overhang to work through.  This could be a long spring of the produce business discontent.

Whither Spring

The birds are singing this morning, obviously inspired by the unseasonable temp. of 40 degreees.  If we were in the grip of a normal winter, the past few days would be a welcome respite from cold and snow.  As it is, this just whets our appetite for spring.  With sunny weather predicted for the weekend, I'll start cleaning up the cold frames and planting some onions and other hardy transplantable crops.  Maybe plant some spinach in the open garden.  Can the golf season be far behind?

A world without MickeyD

And Pepsi and Coke and ADM, etc., etc.  So goes the dream of Raj Patel, a food activist in an article in The Atlantic.  His argument is if we can ban cigarette sales in drug stores and fast food adverising, why not just ban the corporations which push this junk on the American people.  The relentless drumbeat of sweet, salt and fat are exploding American waistlines and leading to a generation of children who will not be as healthy or long-lived as their parents.  This will reverse centuries of improvements to public health and longevity.  Patel dares to place the blame on the multinationals and proposes to put them out of the business of undermining the health of the country's citizens.  Sounds like a worthwhile proposition, except, the legions of lawyers these corporations will deploy to maintain their ability to poison us must also be dealt with.  As he also points out, the track record of banning things Americans love is not a good one.  Prohibiton springs to mind.  Bootleg cola and chips anyone?

Same old not so frozen tundra

Flying into Plattsburgh yesterday looked like a spring morning in April, not a winter day in mid February.  The big lake is open, and there was no snow to be seen.  To be sure, the ground is still frozen, but that may change as the forecast for next week includes a fair amount of rain and some 50 degree temps.  If winter is expecting to make a comeback, it had better start soon.  Unfortunately, the transition to more springlike weather has not jump started a craving for fresh veg among the populace.  Sales seem down no matter who you speak to, and no one is very optimistic things will turn around in the near future.  But with warmer weather, hope springs up.  Besides, the first seed orders have arrived and it is time to start the new season's first crops.  Who could ask for anything more.

Florida we hardly knew ye

After 3 days of cool temps on Florida's west coast, we finally had a day in the 70's and a glimpse of what the beaches can offer.  The beach at Siesta Key is consistently voted #1 in America and it is pretty easy to see why.  The sand is the consistency of confectioner's sugar and the beach is at least 1000 feet deep and a half mile wide on the Gulf.  It was breezy and in the low 70s, but add a few degrees and I'll be back.  I think the rest of the week will be in that range, but unfortunately, our plane leaves this morning and the next time I feel a 70 degree temp outside will be in May (I hope) on the NCR.  So, it's back to reality and more grousing on the state of the veg business, which I  trust has not done much in my absence.

The greatest show on earth

Until yesterday I would have thought that phrase was an exaggeration, but after a day at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, I would say it is probably an understatement.  To mount a circus like the ones that criss crossed America from the late 1800s to the early 1950s would be a virtually impossible task.  The sheer logistical problems of moving 1500 people and as many animals, setting up a 600 x 200 tent and several others nearly as large  in a matter of hours, giving two performances of up to 2 and 1/2 hours, then packing everything and moving to the next town via a 100 car rail train and doing it all again; and again, up to 150 times during the season is mind boggling.  It makes the movement of a small army seem like a walk in the park.  They fed the entire troupe 3 times a day while it was moving also.  The array of fresh meat and produce that had to be bought, prepared and cooked was also fantastic.  Plus all the forage consumed by several hundred horses, elephants and wild animals; it added up to the equivalent of several tractor trailer loads of foodstuffs every day.  In other words, a traveling city.  Anyway, that was our day on Monday.  Today, on to the beach!

Arctic Tropics

It figures.  We had to use expiring discount airline tickets, so we choose the coldest 4 days in the last 2 months in Florida.  Landed on Saturday nite and it was 36 degrees in Lakeland on Sunday morning.  I have been assured that the day we leave things will be back to normal.  Aside  from the low temps, everything has been very nice so far.  People have been very nice and the comparison to Mexico is not as one sided as I would have thought.  We even ate at a Mexican place on Sunday with my brother and his wife and the service and food would not have been out of place in Cancun.  If the weather was warmer, I would be more into the gardening aspect of things down here, but as it is I'm feeling cheated by the weather gods.

Sociology 101

I'll be involved in a cultural contrast study this weekend.  Planning a last minute trip to Florida's west coast on a somewhat forced schedule due to expiring airline vouchers.  With the memory of last month's sybaritic stay in Mexico fresh in my memory it should be interesting to see the similarities and contrasts in the service sector of the US as compared to Mexico.  I have a feeling the comparison will not be favorable to us Murcans.  For sure, the food will not be on par, unless Mrs. M and myself are willing to pony up vast sums for breakfast and lunch. We are more likely to be facing a typical American menu; bring on Denny's and Mickey Ds!  But 75 degrees and sun sure beats 5 above with snow showers which is the weekend forecast for the NCR.

Beet love

Or Love Beets.  It's a new offering from an English company. Half a pound of peeled, cooked beets in a clamshell ready for?  While I am not your average American as far as vegetable consumption, even I am in some awe of this company's faith in the average consumer.  I like fresh beets and on any given day from June to November, I can harvest as many roots as Mrs. M and any others present at our table for dinner can eat.  It turns out to be surprisingly few if offered more than once a week.  Maybe the English know something about beets that we don't.  However, I would be astonished if this particular offering gets popular with the general public.

It was a Sunny Day

Sunrise and moonset at about the same time today.  The early part of February is always a hopeful time in my universe.  The seed orders are in, and the anticipation of starting the gardening year, the lengthening days, and the general sense of pre-spring euphoria on a day like today can set the blood racing.  Of course, with the temp at 10 above 0 you can come back to earth relatively quickly, but by now, the worst of the winter is behind us.  If only the wholesale veg market would be as optimistic as me!  The news from wholesalers and retailers alike is pretty glum so far this month.  With above normal temps through much of the country, there are no weather disasters to tweak the markets, so every area suffers.  The onion market in particular is in disarray.  You can buy 50 lbs. of jumbo yellow in Oregon-Washington for $3.25/bag.  They have plenty more in storage, and the new Mexican onions are starting to cross the border with South Texas and California deals poised to start soon.  It looks like Oniongeddon if you are marketing these crops.  Boccoli is another dog, with crowns leaving the farm at $4.00 in Southern Cal and Az.  Local areas in the Southeast which usually take a timeout in January and Feb. are still pumping out volume and more northern areas will start earlier than usual, so that crop will not be fun either.  These are just a couple of the problematic marketing dilemmas facing the industry as we stagger toward spring.

Signs of spring

To add to the previous post regarding climate, we were fortunate enough to look out the window on Sunday morning and see four robins and a cardinal.  Unusual in early April, but crazy in February.  I also spoke to a grower in New Jersey this morning who was putting in his first planting of spinach for the spring... in February! 

Climate craziness

We are seeing daily highs here that usually don't show until April.  It reached 50 degrees on the NCR (that's the North Country Riviera for those who don't follow this rant on a regular basis) yesterday and we start above freezing this morning.  When I moved to this area 10 years ago, it rarely rose above 32 from mid December until late March, with some weeks barely above 0.  The experts say the position of the polar jet stream is what is causing this winter that wasn't, but I think the whole picture shows a gradual warming trend that has picked up in recent years.  As a gardener, I start earlier each year and go later into the fall.  Perhaps it is all a brief climate glitch, as the deniers would have it.  But I think we are closer to the edge of the cliff than many think.  In a column in the NYT today, Joe Nocera, looking from a strictly economic perspective says the Keystone XL pipeline is an unmitigated boon which America is tossing away at its peril.  China will be happy to take the tar sands oil the environmental movement sees as another attempt to keep us on the fossil fuel train for another 50 years.  That maybe so, but if no one sounds the alarm and pushes an alternative vision, I think I will be planting coconut palms in the backyard before I am planted, and that does not bode well for my children's children.

Super Bowl of Veggies

No, I'm not talking about the epic battle for the second or third spot on American's dinner plates, although that is an ongoing struggle.  It's the lack of advertising for the healthiest foods you can eat.  If you tuned into the Super Bowl yesterday, and even the normally sports agnostic Mrs. M did for at least a few minutes, you and she saw not a single commercial touting vegetables.  At $4.5 million for 30 seconds, plus millions more to produce a riveting  commercial, I guess even the biggest vegetable focused corporations couldn't make the cut.  Polar bears hawking Coke and dogs chasing cars.  Beer and junk food as the be all and end all of sustenence for the American middle class.  Ugh.  The veg industry needs a strategy to promote itself, and so far the big organizations supposedly leading the industry are failing badly.  "Five a day" is not cutting it.

He ain't heavy, he's my trucker

A proposed new federal rule would allow heavy trucks with an extra axle (six instead of the standard five) to exceed the present rule which limits trucks to a gross vehicle weight of 80,000 lbs.  The new limit would be 97,000 lbs, and according to the story I read, trucks as heavy as 126,000 lbs. would be allowed on some roads.  On the surface, it seems like a no brainer.  Canada has allowed those trucks for years, except during spring thaws which make the roads succeptable to damage by excessively loaded trucks.  However, a closer look at the trucking fleet and the drivers of said trucks is cautionary to say the least.  Because of fiscal constraints, maintenance of most trucks in the US is spotty at best.  Witness the peeled remnants of heavy truck tires littering the interstates.  The drivers are generally low paid and overworked and loathe to abide the stringent log book rules which cut even further into their pay.  Many already exceed weight limits on loads that pay by the pound hauled.  So you have a perfect storm of scary possibilities.  Tired, overworked drivers, trucks in various stages of disrepair, and the incentive to load as much as possible on each vehicle.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to predict the carnage that will ensue.

Final Stands

By now, the large rodent in Punxatawney, Pa. has probably predicted that spring is just around the corner.  Even a groundhog can see winter has been a fraud in most of the US this year.  I had to laugh at the weather channel the other day when they were reduced to calling a temp of six below zero in Moscow a cold snap.  I'll bet there were Russians in flip flops with those temps in January.  But of course we must not disturb the narrative that there is no global warming.  I harvested some kale for dinner last night.  I forget which cartoon character said it, but "Nuff said"  is all you can reply to the idea of open garden vegetables in February in Peru, N.Y. as far as climate change is concerned.  Of  course there will be ups and downs as the scenario plays out, but anyone who continues to deny the reality of climate change is rapidly becoming irrelevant to the conversation.

Flatlining prices

If the FOB vegetable markets were a patient in a hospital emergency room, the defibrillator would be in constant use, because the patient would be flatlining about now.  As one wholesaler said yesterday, you can buy almost anything for $5.00, if you care to put up the money.  Wait a few minutes and you can probably have the item on consignment.  The last two weeks of January are typically among the toughest in the produce business, but this year has been especially hard.  Accounts receivable are a constant source of worry as weaker firms debate the merits of closing before they are forcibly shut down by economics.  The decision to extend credit is fraught with more risk than usual, as the ratings in last year's editions of the Produce Reporter Blue Book are lagging the events of the past few months.  Sometimes the new rating and bankruptcy declaration are simaltaneous.  Spring is coming, but the cast of players is changing at a breakneck pace.  Let's hope the patient responds before we have to pull the plug.