Old and New

The old crop of carrots in Canada seem to be rapidly reaching their "Best If Used By" date as the old year winds down.  The challenging weather conditions the crop was grown and harvested under seem to be the culprits.  Hot dry weather during the heart of the growing season along with inadequate irrigation stressed the plants.  The harvest season was also unusually warm which led to more stress in the storages.  The combination is now affecting appearance and shelf life on supermarket shelves.  The chain stores have patience with  their local suppliers, but too many poor arrivals will spur calls for new carrots, especially when abundant supplies of Georgia carrots become available in January.  Meanwhile, packers will have to grade to an ever tighter standard or risk losing business to those who will.