Market News
Florida's cattle ranchers want their meat certified as "Fresh From Florida." The designation, part of a state marketing campaign, is used for tomatoes, alligator meat and oranges. The state's ranchers raise nearly 1 million head of calves and cattle and the industry has an economic impact of about $2 billion, reported Tampa Bay Business Journal. Full Story
Corn prices traded near a three-year low on expectations that a government report will show bigger supplies of the grain than previously estimated in the U.S. The national crop may be at 14.0 billion bushels, 1.3% more than forecast in September, reported Bloomberg.com. Full Story
Climate change poses a sharp risk to the world's food supply in coming decades, potentially undermining crop production and driving up prices at a time when the demand for food is expected to soar. Scientists concluded that rising temperatures will have some beneficial effects on crops in some places, but that globally they will make it harder for crops to thrive, according to an unreleased UN report, reported The New York Times on the web. Full Story (NYT Subscription Required)
Porterville, CA-based Homegrown Organics will add pummelos to its organic citrus program this year, reported The Produce News. Full Story
Over the past decade, Peru turned acres of desert into farms producing asparagus, mangoes, avocados and other specialties for export. Many of Peru's crops are shipped to the U.S. through South Florida ports that its largest agribusiness, Camposol, opened its U.S. sales headquarters in Pompano Beach, reported Sun Sentinel. Full Story
Cargill began operations at its corn wet mill ethanol plant in Fort Dodge, IA. The corn wet mill ethanol plant will provide the base load corn grind for production on the campus, reported AreaDevelopment.com. Full Story
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services notified growers of new citrus black spot found just miles from previously confirmed infected trees. The detection will result in an expansion of the existing quarantine by one square mile, reported The Grower. Full Story
As of Nov. 4, U.S. average diesel fuel prices were $3.857 per gallon, down 0.013 cents per gallon from a week ago, and down $0.153 from one year ago. Full Story
The ballot measure requiring labeling of genetically modified foods sold in Washington was defeated Nov. 5. Supporters argued that consumers should have the right to know if their food contains genetically engineered ingredients, while opponents argued that labeling would raise costs and unfairly stigmatize these products, reported The Oregonian. Full Story
A growing number of food and drink companies are quietly removing "natural" labels from packages amid lawsuits challenging the "naturalness" of everything from potato chips to ice cream to granola bars, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story (WSJ Subscription Required)
Bay Growers Inc. installed upgrades to its facilities for the fall apple crop, including vision sorting technology that's added 40% to packing capacity, reported The Packer. Full Story
Cauliflower prices have been high and most western vegetables have had a very good fall season, with growers and shippers looking forward to winter as they anticipate strong pricing will remain for a while, reported The Produce News. Full Story
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc may purchase about a fifth more coffee during the new fiscal year, up from 180 million pounds last year. Green Mountain Coffee stated that the spread of the fungus roya in Central America has yet to dent the company's buying habits, reported Reuters. Full Story
Potato shipments started early for Washington's producers. This is due to early season movement in July and August when potato supplies were very short across the country, stated an official, reported The Produce News. Full Story
Californian fishermen are predicting a good dungeness crab season based on previous years, despite a slow start. Last season's commercial catch was the highest on record since 1915, when it was 1.1 million pounds, reported San Jose Mercury News. Full Story
Agroexport LLC debuted Slice 'n Serve hass avocados under the Villita label, reported The Packer. Full Story
Chiquita Brands International lost $18 million in its third quarter due to startup costs at a new Midwest salad plant, bad weather in growing areas for leafy greens and wars in the Middle East. However, the company's sales rose 1% due to its turnaround strategy of focusing on its banana and salad business while reducing selling, general and administrative expenses 13% and eliminating business lines such as avocados, reported The Charlotte Observer. Full Story
DuPont Pioneer aligned with Deere & Co. in a race against rival Monsanto to provide farmers with enhanced "precision agriculture" analyses aimed at maximizing crop production, reported Reuters. Full Story
Loffredo Fresh Produce Inc. will start construction on a new fresh-cut facility in Norwalk, IA by the end of November, reported The Packer. Full Story
Farm Fresh Produce expanded its fresh produce exports to include California pomegranates and Florida grapefruit, but sweet potatoes remain its core business, reported The Produce News. Full Story