Market News
Michigan fruit growers have weathered the storm following serious crop losses in 2012 and are expressing optimism about a return to normal production in 2013. "This year's tree fruit crop will be abundant," stated Terry McLean, who is based at the Michigan State University Extension Service. There should be plenty of apples, pears, peaches, sweet and tart cherries, and plums to go around, unlike last year, despite several freezing events that were recorded this April and May," reported The Produce News. Full Story
Blueberry production continues to be a growth industry in the Pacific Northwest. According to the Washington Blueberry Commission, eastern Washington has approximately 4,300 acres planted to blueberries, and the 2013 season is anticipated to be a good one. The region's growers are enthusiastic about the year's production prospects, reported The Produce News. Full Story
Growers and packing sheds are getting themselves ready as the Pacific Northwest cherry harvest commences in many parts of the region. A sizeable harvest is anticipated to be picked over the next two months. As of last week, the industry had shipped just shy of 2 million boxes, two thirds of which have been 10.5 row or larger. Yellow fleshed Rainier and Early Robin have constituted 9% of volume to date, reported FreshPlaza. Full Story
A new carrot processing plant in Pasco, WA could see 60 new jobs by the end of the year and hundreds in the future. Grimmway Farms spent nearly a million dollars on 50 acres of land, and the plant will go on the site. The project will be cut into three phases, with the first being completed by October. The company is in the process of contacting local growers to bring their crops to the plant, reported KEPRTV.com. Full Story
A swine virus deadly to young pigs spiked to 199 sites in 13 states - nearly double the number of farms and other locations from earlier this month. Iowa, the largest U.S. hog producer, has the most sites testing positive for Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus: 102 sites, as of June 10, reported Reuters. Full Story
According to NASS, commercial red meat production for the U.S. totaled 4.15 billion lbs. in May, down 1% from the 4.18 billion-lbs. produced in May 2012. Beef production, at 2.23 billion-lbs, was slightly below the previous year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.86 million head, down slightly from May 2012. The average live weight was up nine lbs. from the previous year, at 1,289-lbs. USDA Report
Soybeans fell on speculation that the USDA will raise its forecast for plantings in the largest grower and exporter, boosting the outlook for a record harvest. U.S. farmers will probably plant 77.811 million acres (31.49 million hectares) this year, more than the 77.126 million acres forecast by the USDA in March, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story
Washington's Snohomish County is experiencing its best strawberry season in years, according to farmers and farming experts who claim the warm spring helped produce tasty berries in June. Cold, rainy springs in 2011 and 2012 meant the berries were late and not as big, though a bumper crop this month is apeparing in farmers markets, you-pick fields, grocery stores and farm stands throughout the region, reported The Herald. Full Story
Grape production in Peru is estimated to reach 305,000 metric tons (MT) in 2013, of which 150,000 MT is exported. Peru's grape production have sky rocketed in the past decade, from practically nonexistent in 2000 to an estimated 170,000 MT in 2013. Grapes have become one of Peru's main agricultural exports, totaling $365 million in 2012. USDA Report
Farmers in California's Central Valley are idling fields for the second consecutive year after being advised they would receive as little as 20% of their contracted supplies of water from the mountains of Northern California. The region has experienced two years of dry weather and regulatory water cuts, and executives at Harris Farms opted to leave 3,037 of their 14,000 local acres uncultivated this year, compared with 2,600 in 2012, and plan to triple that to 9,236 acres next year. The chairman of the company's beef division warned the economic fallout will likely worsen next year as farmers make planting decisions for 2014 based on water cuts scheduled to extend at least until early next year, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)
American sugar growers could take a "big hit" from the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement on trade, according to Andreas Hauskrecht, an international economics professor at Indiana University. The American sugar growing industry is heavily subsidized by the government and protected by tariffs, according to Dr. Hauskrecht, and countries such as Australia are seeking to have those tariffs lifted. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is an expansion of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership, conceived in 2003 by Singapore, New Zealand and Chile to liberalize trade in the Asia-Pacific region, and talks are set to resume next month in Malaysia, reported CNBC. Full Story
Farmers are looking to afordable robots that will harvest their crop. New machines use computers and vision sensors to replicate the human ability to handle delicate crops, reported NPR. Full Story	
Prices for Chinese garlic have reached record highs in recent years due to light crops, but this year's crop is expected to be up in volume by about 35% with a corresponding drop in price, reported The Produce News. Full Story
Michigan could be looking at 28 to 30 million bushels of apples this year, claims the president of All Fresh GPS, a company that markets, sells, distributes and merchandises fresh apples. That's more than a ten-fold increase over last year, when the state produced only 2.5 million bushels after a late April frost killed most of the budding apples, reported MLive.com. Full Story
Three sugar companies received 55% of the $1.1 billion in federal loans made to processors of the sweetener this fiscal year, according to USDA documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The recipients, Amalgamated Sugar, Michigan Sugar and Western Sugar Cooperative, are grower-owned cooperatives that process sugar beets and produce about 20% of the country's sugar. Disclosure of the loan recipients comes as domestic sugar prices are trading around four-year lows, prompting the USDA to voice concerns that some processors—who turn sugar cane or sugar beets into the sweetener—may not be able to repay what they owe. Some $644 million in loans remained outstanding as of July 26. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)
Amaize sweet corn variety is enjoying increased demand as it begins its third year of shipments. Known for its distinctive crunch and long shelf life, marketers of the specialty sweet corn say the variety is gaining consumer acceptance and experiencing significant retail growth, reported The Packer. Full Story