Mac nut association's future in doubt
The Hawaii Macadamia Nut Association, which for years has represented growers and processors of mac nuts, is running low on cash and scaling back operations.
The board met Thursday to discuss the critical shortage of funding and decided to operate on a volunteer basis.
"Funding will be minimal, from those who still believe there is value in the organization," said MacFarms CEO David Rietow, the chairman of the association board. "The big loss is in the area of research and in the promotion of the Hawaiian nut as the world's finest."
Macadamia growers and manufacturers of mac nuts products do not always have the same economic interests. Growers benefit from higher prices. Processors don't. Growers want to aggressively market the Big Island mac nut brand. Processors don't, because most of them import a lot of the mac nuts they use from other places. (Rietow said, however, that foreign kernel is mixed only in products shipped to the Mainland.)
"The [association] has been struggling to find its identity for a long time," said one board member on condition his name not be used. "The funding of the organization was 99 percent from the generous donations of four or five of the larger processors and the rest from a token donation of $25 per year from the growers."
Association membership peaked years ago around 200 members. Four times as many farmers grow mac nuts. However, fewer than two dozen growers have 20 acres or more and it is these that have generally supported the association.
The board member and other sources said foreign competition sent prices lower while expenses kept climbing and growers became apathetic about supporting the association, and more recently one of the major processors decided to drop its support as well. The result has been insufficient cash to continue operating as usual.
"Hawaii macadamia growers need to take ownership of this organization or start a new one and fund it through assessments on their crops, to fund a full-time director who can assist in acquiring grants, funding important research projects and marketing 100 percent Hawaiian macadamia nuts," said Richard Schnitzler, president of Hamakua Macadamia Nut Co. and a former association board member. "Processors and manufacturers should not be allowed in the organization."
Schnitzler said this does not mean that the relationship between the processors and the growers should be adversarial.
"On the contrary," he said, "it would be important for both to share information and work together, but processors should not be left to manage or mismanage the Hawaii macadamia nut growers' future."
Members of the association include, among many others, Mac Farms Hawaii, Hawaiian Host Inc., Island Princess, ML Macadamia Orchards and Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Co.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
Universal to sell nonleaf units Universal to sell nonleaf units
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Richmond-based Universal Corp. said yesterday that it plans to sell its remaining nontobacco agricultural-products businesses in six to 12 months.
Universal, the world's largest tobacco leaf merchant, said selling the units will allow it to focus more management and financial resources on its core tobacco business. The company buys tobacco from farmers in the United States and other countries, processes the leaf and sells it to cigarette makers.
Universal plans to sell Red River Foods Inc. a Richmond-based trading subsidiary that imports nuts and dried fruits; Nestmink Ltd., a London-based company that sells nuts, dates and apricots; and Madera Quality Nut Inc., a California nut-processing company.
The companies employ fewer than 150 people worldwide.
In the fiscal year that ended March 31, the businesses reported combined revenue of about $325 million and a combined operating loss of about $6 million, Universal said. The company's tobacco revenue was $1.8 billion, with operating profit of about $156 million.
The company said it will use proceeds from the sales to strengthen its balance sheet. The businesses will be reported as discontinued operations for the third quarter that ends Dec. 31.
In September, Universal sold the non- tobacco businesses of a Dutch subsidiary, Deli Universal Inc., to a new company owned by Deli managers and a Netherlands-based investment group. That business included lumber and building-products distribution, and rubber, tea and sunflower seed trading. -- John Reid Blackwell
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Richmond-based Universal Corp. said yesterday that it plans to sell its remaining nontobacco agricultural-products businesses in six to 12 months.
Universal, the world's largest tobacco leaf merchant, said selling the units will allow it to focus more management and financial resources on its core tobacco business. The company buys tobacco from farmers in the United States and other countries, processes the leaf and sells it to cigarette makers.
Universal plans to sell Red River Foods Inc. a Richmond-based trading subsidiary that imports nuts and dried fruits; Nestmink Ltd., a London-based company that sells nuts, dates and apricots; and Madera Quality Nut Inc., a California nut-processing company.
The companies employ fewer than 150 people worldwide.
In the fiscal year that ended March 31, the businesses reported combined revenue of about $325 million and a combined operating loss of about $6 million, Universal said. The company's tobacco revenue was $1.8 billion, with operating profit of about $156 million.
The company said it will use proceeds from the sales to strengthen its balance sheet. The businesses will be reported as discontinued operations for the third quarter that ends Dec. 31.
In September, Universal sold the non- tobacco businesses of a Dutch subsidiary, Deli Universal Inc., to a new company owned by Deli managers and a Netherlands-based investment group. That business included lumber and building-products distribution, and rubber, tea and sunflower seed trading. -- John Reid Blackwell
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Richmond-based Universal Corp. said yesterday that it plans to sell its remaining nontobacco agricultural-products businesses in six to 12 months.
Universal, the world's largest tobacco leaf merchant, said selling the units will allow it to focus more management and financial resources on its core tobacco business. The company buys tobacco from farmers in the United States and other countries, processes the leaf and sells it to cigarette makers.
Universal plans to sell Red River Foods Inc. a Richmond-based trading subsidiary that imports nuts and dried fruits; Nestmink Ltd., a London-based company that sells nuts, dates and apricots; and Madera Quality Nut Inc., a California nut-processing company.
The companies employ fewer than 150 people worldwide.
In the fiscal year that ended March 31, the businesses reported combined revenue of about $325 million and a combined operating loss of about $6 million, Universal said. The company's tobacco revenue was $1.8 billion, with operating profit of about $156 million.
The company said it will use proceeds from the sales to strengthen its balance sheet. The businesses will be reported as discontinued operations for the third quarter that ends Dec. 31.
In September, Universal sold the non- tobacco businesses of a Dutch subsidiary, Deli Universal Inc., to a new company owned by Deli managers and a Netherlands-based investment group. That business included lumber and building-products distribution, and rubber, tea and sunflower seed trading. -- John Reid Blackwell
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Richmond-based Universal Corp. said yesterday that it plans to sell its remaining nontobacco agricultural-products businesses in six to 12 months.
Universal, the world's largest tobacco leaf merchant, said selling the units will allow it to focus more management and financial resources on its core tobacco business. The company buys tobacco from farmers in the United States and other countries, processes the leaf and sells it to cigarette makers.
Universal plans to sell Red River Foods Inc. a Richmond-based trading subsidiary that imports nuts and dried fruits; Nestmink Ltd., a London-based company that sells nuts, dates and apricots; and Madera Quality Nut Inc., a California nut-processing company.
The companies employ fewer than 150 people worldwide.
In the fiscal year that ended March 31, the businesses reported combined revenue of about $325 million and a combined operating loss of about $6 million, Universal said. The company's tobacco revenue was $1.8 billion, with operating profit of about $156 million.
The company said it will use proceeds from the sales to strengthen its balance sheet. The businesses will be reported as discontinued operations for the third quarter that ends Dec. 31.
In September, Universal sold the non- tobacco businesses of a Dutch subsidiary, Deli Universal Inc., to a new company owned by Deli managers and a Netherlands-based investment group. That business included lumber and building-products distribution, and rubber, tea and sunflower seed trading. -- John Reid Blackwell
Sunday, December 17, 2006
December 15, 2006
WALNUT MARKET/CROP REPORT
CROP:
The Walnut Marketing Board announced the November shipments at 47,004 inshell equivalent tons, 5,054 tons less than last year. Inshell shipments were 16.7 million pounds, 0.4 million pounds less that last October. Shelled shipments were 33.2 million pounds, 2.3 million pounds less than last year. Total inshell equivalent year to date shipments were 166,551 tons; 21,964 tons less than last year.
Please be aware that last year’s shipment numbers have been adjusted to reflect the lower shellout rates (40.7%) than the original 44.5% forecasted shellout rate. As an example, last years November shipments originally indicated we shipped 47,916 tons (inshell equivalent) about the same as this November, however, because of the lower yields; the November 2005 shipments were later adjusted to 52,058 tons.
This year (2006/07) the Walnut Marketing Board is forecasting a 42.9 shellout rate, the average for the last five years. This is 2.2% more than last years final 40.7% yield, however, most of the industry is reporting lower yields from the 2006 crop than last year. If this becomes the case, the shellout rates will once again be adjusted downward.
The final crop tonnage will be out in late January and the majority of the growers/packers believe it will be under the 350,000 ton estimate. This makes the shellout rate situation even more critical as it will also have an impact on the final crop tonnage.
The overall quality of the crop was above average. The expected heavy sunburn damage never happened and the crop yielded above average “lighter“kernel’s and lower than average “darker” kernels. This has been reflected in the market as most packers have withdrawn on both Combo and Baker type material. In addition, it appears that medium and small piece material will also be in short supply.
MARKET:
The Inshell market remains firm with Jumbo trading on both sides of $1.06. I do not see much change in the forward market. The Shelled market is also firm with Chandler LHP trading around the $2.70 levels and medium and smaller pieces five to ten cents higher.
Most packers have withdrawn from the market on Combo and Baker material and the few that still have inventories are asking $2.50 for Combo Halves and Pieces and $2.30 for Baker type products.
I still believe the crop will come up short of the forecast and firmly believe the market will continue to strengthen as we go forward.
WALNUT MARKET/CROP REPORT
CROP:
The Walnut Marketing Board announced the November shipments at 47,004 inshell equivalent tons, 5,054 tons less than last year. Inshell shipments were 16.7 million pounds, 0.4 million pounds less that last October. Shelled shipments were 33.2 million pounds, 2.3 million pounds less than last year. Total inshell equivalent year to date shipments were 166,551 tons; 21,964 tons less than last year.
Please be aware that last year’s shipment numbers have been adjusted to reflect the lower shellout rates (40.7%) than the original 44.5% forecasted shellout rate. As an example, last years November shipments originally indicated we shipped 47,916 tons (inshell equivalent) about the same as this November, however, because of the lower yields; the November 2005 shipments were later adjusted to 52,058 tons.
This year (2006/07) the Walnut Marketing Board is forecasting a 42.9 shellout rate, the average for the last five years. This is 2.2% more than last years final 40.7% yield, however, most of the industry is reporting lower yields from the 2006 crop than last year. If this becomes the case, the shellout rates will once again be adjusted downward.
The final crop tonnage will be out in late January and the majority of the growers/packers believe it will be under the 350,000 ton estimate. This makes the shellout rate situation even more critical as it will also have an impact on the final crop tonnage.
The overall quality of the crop was above average. The expected heavy sunburn damage never happened and the crop yielded above average “lighter“kernel’s and lower than average “darker” kernels. This has been reflected in the market as most packers have withdrawn on both Combo and Baker type material. In addition, it appears that medium and small piece material will also be in short supply.
MARKET:
The Inshell market remains firm with Jumbo trading on both sides of $1.06. I do not see much change in the forward market. The Shelled market is also firm with Chandler LHP trading around the $2.70 levels and medium and smaller pieces five to ten cents higher.
Most packers have withdrawn from the market on Combo and Baker material and the few that still have inventories are asking $2.50 for Combo Halves and Pieces and $2.30 for Baker type products.
I still believe the crop will come up short of the forecast and firmly believe the market will continue to strengthen as we go forward.
Pecan production drops 33 percent in 2006
TULSA, Okla. The government is predicting a 33 percent drop in pecan production in Oklahoma this year, but some experts believe the crop could be even smaller.Oklahoma ranks fifth nationally in pecan production and recorded a record crop of 63 million pounds in 1999. Pecan growers harvested about 20 million pounds last year.
But the U-S Department of Agriculture says Oklahoma will produce 14 million pounds of pecans this year. The harvest could be as low as only 8 million to 10 million pounds.
Drought, bugs, animals and high fuel prices plagued producers, which means higher prices for shoppers.
The U-S-D-A says pecan production nationally will be 190 million pounds, down 5 percent from October's outlook and 32 percent below last year.
TULSA, Okla. The government is predicting a 33 percent drop in pecan production in Oklahoma this year, but some experts believe the crop could be even smaller.Oklahoma ranks fifth nationally in pecan production and recorded a record crop of 63 million pounds in 1999. Pecan growers harvested about 20 million pounds last year.
But the U-S Department of Agriculture says Oklahoma will produce 14 million pounds of pecans this year. The harvest could be as low as only 8 million to 10 million pounds.
Drought, bugs, animals and high fuel prices plagued producers, which means higher prices for shoppers.
The U-S-D-A says pecan production nationally will be 190 million pounds, down 5 percent from October's outlook and 32 percent below last year.
Monday, December 04, 2006
MACADAMIA FACTS
• The macadamia was discovered in Australia in 1858 and introduced to Hawaii in 1881.
• It is grown on a large scale only in Hawaii and Australia but also is produced in South Africa and Central America.
• There are approximately 40 described varieties, most of them in Australia.
• The trees grow in warm, subtropical conditions. Mature trees can withstand temperatures as low as 25-26 degrees Fahrenheit.
• They often are sold as salted nuts packed in glass jars. Their largest use is in confections.
• Hawaii produced 30,000 tons of macadamia nuts, with a farm value of $44.4 million, in 2005-06.
• In 2005-06, U.S. imports totaled 8.9 million tons; exports amounted to 784 tons.
• The edible kernel is enclosed in a thick, hard shell that is encased in a husk.
• The kernel is 72 percent to 78 percent oil.
SOURCES: University of Florida, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• The macadamia was discovered in Australia in 1858 and introduced to Hawaii in 1881.
• It is grown on a large scale only in Hawaii and Australia but also is produced in South Africa and Central America.
• There are approximately 40 described varieties, most of them in Australia.
• The trees grow in warm, subtropical conditions. Mature trees can withstand temperatures as low as 25-26 degrees Fahrenheit.
• They often are sold as salted nuts packed in glass jars. Their largest use is in confections.
• Hawaii produced 30,000 tons of macadamia nuts, with a farm value of $44.4 million, in 2005-06.
• In 2005-06, U.S. imports totaled 8.9 million tons; exports amounted to 784 tons.
• The edible kernel is enclosed in a thick, hard shell that is encased in a husk.
• The kernel is 72 percent to 78 percent oil.
SOURCES: University of Florida, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Pecan crop is smaller than expected, but quality is high
ELLIOTT MINOR
Associated Press
ALBANY, Ga. - This is the season when consumers go nuts for pecans, a popular ingredient in fruit cakes, pies and candies with sweet Southern names like divinity and pralines.
The nuts are grown across the southern tier from South Carolina to California, but thanks in part to a failed land-speculation scheme in the early 1900s, Georgia remains the largest producer, with the heaviest concentration of trees in three southwestern counties, Dougherty, Mitchell and Lee.
Southerners grow up with pecans. To increase their popularity elsewhere, the industry launched a campaign in the late 1990s that included health studies which found that pecans, like other tree nuts, were heart healthy, high in antioxidants and packed with nutrients. They contain lots of fat, but it's unsaturated fat - the kind that's considered "good fat."
"We hope folks in the rest of the country know about pecans," said Larry Willson, vice president of Sunnyland Farms in Albany, a mail-order company specializing in gift packs containing all types of nuts, including pecans.
"The quality this year is very good, which often happens in short years," said Willson, who is also the farm manager for Willson Farming Co., which grows 1,300 acres of pecans. "The trees don't have as many nuts on them to fill out."
Growers report record prices and excellent quality this year, but there's a hitch - they have substantially fewer nuts to sell. For this reason, they aren't expecting 2006 to go down as a banner year.
"It was probably one of the shortest, if not the shortest on record," said Joey Collins, who grows 1,100 acres of the nuts in the Thomasville area and operates a plant that removes rocks and twigs that are picked up when the nuts are harvested.
"The quality has been really good, but the quantity has been really bad," he said. "Even with the big prices, it won't offset the lack of quantity. There's still going to be some pretty big losses taken out there."
Pecans grow on alternate-bearing trees that produce big crops one year and smaller crops the next. They were expected to produce a smaller crop this year, but a drought last year stressed the trees, reducing the yield even more.
In early estimates, Georgia was expected to produce about 45 million pounds, but Lenny Wells, a pecan specialist with the University of Georgia Extension Service, believes it'll be more like 40 million, 19 million less than the state's five-year average.
Prices normally peak at the start of the harvest season in October as buyers rush to supply the demand for pecans to fill holiday gift packs, but by now they've fallen considerably, said Wells.
Schley, a common variety, has dropped from $2.30 per pound early in the season to about $1.55, and Desirable, another popular variety, has dropped from more-than $2 per pound to about $1.72, Wells said.
"The quality is excellent this year," he said. "We had some dry weather throughout most of the year. The disease pressure was extremely low. That and the dry weather causes the nut size to be a little smaller than normal, making them easier to fill."
Georgia is not the only state plagued by a smaller-than-anticipated crop.
"There are production problems everywhere," Wells said, noting that the Texas crop was hurt by an extended drought and the New Mexico crop got hammered by hail.
U.S. growers had a large crop totaling 259.6 million pounds last year, but they're expected to harvest only 201.4 million pounds this year, 21.5 percent less than the 10-year average of 256.6 million pounds.
Speculators planted millions of trees in the Albany area in the early 1900s, hoping to sell the land in small lots to newcomers. The scheme failed, others acquired the land and turned pecans into a major crop.
As a result, Georgia continued as the leading producer last year, followed by Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma.
ELLIOTT MINOR
Associated Press
ALBANY, Ga. - This is the season when consumers go nuts for pecans, a popular ingredient in fruit cakes, pies and candies with sweet Southern names like divinity and pralines.
The nuts are grown across the southern tier from South Carolina to California, but thanks in part to a failed land-speculation scheme in the early 1900s, Georgia remains the largest producer, with the heaviest concentration of trees in three southwestern counties, Dougherty, Mitchell and Lee.
Southerners grow up with pecans. To increase their popularity elsewhere, the industry launched a campaign in the late 1990s that included health studies which found that pecans, like other tree nuts, were heart healthy, high in antioxidants and packed with nutrients. They contain lots of fat, but it's unsaturated fat - the kind that's considered "good fat."
"We hope folks in the rest of the country know about pecans," said Larry Willson, vice president of Sunnyland Farms in Albany, a mail-order company specializing in gift packs containing all types of nuts, including pecans.
"The quality this year is very good, which often happens in short years," said Willson, who is also the farm manager for Willson Farming Co., which grows 1,300 acres of pecans. "The trees don't have as many nuts on them to fill out."
Growers report record prices and excellent quality this year, but there's a hitch - they have substantially fewer nuts to sell. For this reason, they aren't expecting 2006 to go down as a banner year.
"It was probably one of the shortest, if not the shortest on record," said Joey Collins, who grows 1,100 acres of the nuts in the Thomasville area and operates a plant that removes rocks and twigs that are picked up when the nuts are harvested.
"The quality has been really good, but the quantity has been really bad," he said. "Even with the big prices, it won't offset the lack of quantity. There's still going to be some pretty big losses taken out there."
Pecans grow on alternate-bearing trees that produce big crops one year and smaller crops the next. They were expected to produce a smaller crop this year, but a drought last year stressed the trees, reducing the yield even more.
In early estimates, Georgia was expected to produce about 45 million pounds, but Lenny Wells, a pecan specialist with the University of Georgia Extension Service, believes it'll be more like 40 million, 19 million less than the state's five-year average.
Prices normally peak at the start of the harvest season in October as buyers rush to supply the demand for pecans to fill holiday gift packs, but by now they've fallen considerably, said Wells.
Schley, a common variety, has dropped from $2.30 per pound early in the season to about $1.55, and Desirable, another popular variety, has dropped from more-than $2 per pound to about $1.72, Wells said.
"The quality is excellent this year," he said. "We had some dry weather throughout most of the year. The disease pressure was extremely low. That and the dry weather causes the nut size to be a little smaller than normal, making them easier to fill."
Georgia is not the only state plagued by a smaller-than-anticipated crop.
"There are production problems everywhere," Wells said, noting that the Texas crop was hurt by an extended drought and the New Mexico crop got hammered by hail.
U.S. growers had a large crop totaling 259.6 million pounds last year, but they're expected to harvest only 201.4 million pounds this year, 21.5 percent less than the 10-year average of 256.6 million pounds.
Speculators planted millions of trees in the Albany area in the early 1900s, hoping to sell the land in small lots to newcomers. The scheme failed, others acquired the land and turned pecans into a major crop.
As a result, Georgia continued as the leading producer last year, followed by Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Louisiana pecan growers getting pleasant surpriseNov 27, 2006 9:23 AM
This year’s plentiful Louisiana pecan crop is a pleasant surprise following last year’s hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It is unusual to have a good pecan crop following a hurricane, according to LSU AgCenter horticulturist John Pyzner.
Many pecan orchards had a lot of broken limbs, fallen trees and lost much of their foliage because of the hurricanes.
“It usually takes at least two years for pecan trees to recover,” Pyzner said, adding, “Little production is expected the year following a hurricane.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s October forecast projected Louisiana as producing 19 million pounds of pecans — 36 percent above Louisiana’s average production of 14 million pounds.
Miles Brashier, LSU AgCenter county agent in Pointe Coupee Parish, which is Louisiana’s top pecan producing parish, said, “Pointe Coupee has a good pecan crop and should produce 5 million to 5.5 million pounds.”
Ben Littlepage, a pecan grower from Colfax, La., remarked, “I probably have the best pecan crop that I have had in three years.”
Pyzner said the reason for the unexpected pecan crop is not well understood. Two possible reasons are that the hurricanes struck late in the pecan production cycle, and Louisiana had below average pecan crops the previous two years.
Louisiana growers should also benefit from the below average national crop, which is projected at 201.4 million pounds — 22 percent below the national 10-year average of 256.6 million pounds.
The light national crop should help Louisiana growers obtain good prices on their pecans. The two major pecan producing states of Georgia and Texas are both expecting to be at least 30 million pounds below last year’s crop. Some of their buyers are likely to look to Louisiana to obtain some of their pecan supply.
This year’s plentiful Louisiana pecan crop is a pleasant surprise following last year’s hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It is unusual to have a good pecan crop following a hurricane, according to LSU AgCenter horticulturist John Pyzner.
Many pecan orchards had a lot of broken limbs, fallen trees and lost much of their foliage because of the hurricanes.
“It usually takes at least two years for pecan trees to recover,” Pyzner said, adding, “Little production is expected the year following a hurricane.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s October forecast projected Louisiana as producing 19 million pounds of pecans — 36 percent above Louisiana’s average production of 14 million pounds.
Miles Brashier, LSU AgCenter county agent in Pointe Coupee Parish, which is Louisiana’s top pecan producing parish, said, “Pointe Coupee has a good pecan crop and should produce 5 million to 5.5 million pounds.”
Ben Littlepage, a pecan grower from Colfax, La., remarked, “I probably have the best pecan crop that I have had in three years.”
Pyzner said the reason for the unexpected pecan crop is not well understood. Two possible reasons are that the hurricanes struck late in the pecan production cycle, and Louisiana had below average pecan crops the previous two years.
Louisiana growers should also benefit from the below average national crop, which is projected at 201.4 million pounds — 22 percent below the national 10-year average of 256.6 million pounds.
The light national crop should help Louisiana growers obtain good prices on their pecans. The two major pecan producing states of Georgia and Texas are both expecting to be at least 30 million pounds below last year’s crop. Some of their buyers are likely to look to Louisiana to obtain some of their pecan supply.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
At its annual meeting in Modesto, the Blue Diamond Growers cooperative said sales of its branded almond products rose 36 percent in the most recent marketing year. Almond production is expected to increase sharply, but the co-op president said that represents an opportunity to introduce more consumers to almonds.
I wonder why they dont write about their non branded sales how much down it is!!!
I wonder why they dont write about their non branded sales how much down it is!!!
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
GUINEA-BISSAU: Cashew crops rot as prices plummet
DAKAR, 15 November (IRIN) - Piles of cashew nuts painstakingly picked by Guinea-Bissauan farmers to sell for cash are going unsold, and the poorest are being hardest hit as the bottom falls out of the market for the product, aid agencies warn.
Guinea-Bissau, a poor West African country where most people are farmers and some 85 percent of the population rely on growing cashew nuts for at least part of their income, has been roiled by decades of conflict and political instability since winning independence from Portugal in 1974.
Surveying by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in 2005 deemed over 30 percent of the country's 1.4 million people "very vulnerable" to food shortages.
Tons of cashew nuts from Guinea-Bissau are usually bought for cash from poor farmers every year by traders who ship the nuts to India for processing before reselling them on the world market for a healthy profit.
But as global consumption of cashews has declined, especially in the United States where food market analysts say health scares and nut allergies have cut demand, the market has slumped.
Guinea-Bissau's government has set a price that traders fume is artificially high at 350 CFA (US $.70) per kg of nuts.
Non-official prices in Guinea-Bissau and in the countryside see traders shelling out closer to 100 (US $.20) or even 50 CFA (US $.10) per kg, agricultural development officials told IRIN.
In real terms, that means whereas one kg of nuts used to buy a straight swap of one kg of rice, now it takes four kg of nuts to get the same rice. In Britain, a kg of organic cashew nuts sells for about US $30.
Jose Peter Ita-Gros, the WFP representative in Guinea-Bissau, warned there has been a "deterioration" in the nutritional situation in the country.
"We can confirm that there was a deterioration of the nutritional situation especially among children under five," he said.
The results of nutritional surveying by WFP and the UN children's agency (UNICEF) will be released in December, but WFP officials said they already know Guinea-Bissau exceeds the emergency thresholds for acute and chronic malnutrition.
Floods last year in Guinea-Bissau's rice-growing southern region ruined 85 percent of rice paddies. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has repeatedly warned that Guinea-Bissau is on the brink of an agricultural crisis.
At a roundtable meeting between Guinea-Bissau's government and its traditional donors, the European Union, Spain, Portugal, and Japan, in Geneva earlier this month, Guinea-Bissau requested US $460 million to move ahead with poverty reduction and security sector reforms.
Prime Minister Aristides Gomes said in an interview with a Portuguese newspaper published on Wednesday that donors had stumped up $266 million.
DAKAR, 15 November (IRIN) - Piles of cashew nuts painstakingly picked by Guinea-Bissauan farmers to sell for cash are going unsold, and the poorest are being hardest hit as the bottom falls out of the market for the product, aid agencies warn.
Guinea-Bissau, a poor West African country where most people are farmers and some 85 percent of the population rely on growing cashew nuts for at least part of their income, has been roiled by decades of conflict and political instability since winning independence from Portugal in 1974.
Surveying by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in 2005 deemed over 30 percent of the country's 1.4 million people "very vulnerable" to food shortages.
Tons of cashew nuts from Guinea-Bissau are usually bought for cash from poor farmers every year by traders who ship the nuts to India for processing before reselling them on the world market for a healthy profit.
But as global consumption of cashews has declined, especially in the United States where food market analysts say health scares and nut allergies have cut demand, the market has slumped.
Guinea-Bissau's government has set a price that traders fume is artificially high at 350 CFA (US $.70) per kg of nuts.
Non-official prices in Guinea-Bissau and in the countryside see traders shelling out closer to 100 (US $.20) or even 50 CFA (US $.10) per kg, agricultural development officials told IRIN.
In real terms, that means whereas one kg of nuts used to buy a straight swap of one kg of rice, now it takes four kg of nuts to get the same rice. In Britain, a kg of organic cashew nuts sells for about US $30.
Jose Peter Ita-Gros, the WFP representative in Guinea-Bissau, warned there has been a "deterioration" in the nutritional situation in the country.
"We can confirm that there was a deterioration of the nutritional situation especially among children under five," he said.
The results of nutritional surveying by WFP and the UN children's agency (UNICEF) will be released in December, but WFP officials said they already know Guinea-Bissau exceeds the emergency thresholds for acute and chronic malnutrition.
Floods last year in Guinea-Bissau's rice-growing southern region ruined 85 percent of rice paddies. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has repeatedly warned that Guinea-Bissau is on the brink of an agricultural crisis.
At a roundtable meeting between Guinea-Bissau's government and its traditional donors, the European Union, Spain, Portugal, and Japan, in Geneva earlier this month, Guinea-Bissau requested US $460 million to move ahead with poverty reduction and security sector reforms.
Prime Minister Aristides Gomes said in an interview with a Portuguese newspaper published on Wednesday that donors had stumped up $266 million.
This has been a year of record almond sales of nearly $700 million and record payments to almond growers, members of the Blue Diamond Growers farmers cooperative were told this week at their annual meeting in Modesto.
"Since 2001, returns have increased on a per pound basis above the prior year by 26 percent, 35 percent, 43 percent and 27 percent respectively,” says President and CEO Doug Youngdahl. "Your 2005 crop payments were the highest ever paid in our cooperative's history."
Mr. Youngdahl specifically attributed the last five years of record grower returns to leaner, more efficient operations and strong customer relationships.
"Our partnerships with growers, employees, customers and others combine good planning and execution with powerful relationships that enhance and strengthen an already strong balance sheet," he says.
Blue Diamond's branded almond product sales increased by 36 percent in 2005-06, after doubling over the last three years.
While almond bearing acreage is expected to increase by 25,000 acres to 605,000 acres in 2007 and an additional 50,000 acres per year to 2010, Mr. Youngdahl says the challenge will be to "effectively market the increased supply while not under-valuing California almonds." He calls the estimated increase to 1.5 billion pounds a "golden opportunity to introduce millions of new consumers worldwide to California almonds."
Due to larger future crops and a significant increase in bearing and non- bearing acres committed to Blue Diamond over the last year, the cooperative is building a new 70,000 square feet cold storage distribution center at its plant in Salida. A new processing line designed to produce almonds at high speed and volume will also automatically segregate out foreign material and optimize new capacity opportunities in Salida.
An "erratic 2005" marketing year that reached historically high prices above $4.00 per pound in September 2005, deflated prices to $2.00 per pound later in the year and then moved up by $1.00 per pound during the balance of the crop year, is now settling in to a less volatile marketplace for the 2006 crop, according to Mr. Youngdahl.
"Adequate 2006 crop supplies should keep market prices steady and shipments strong," he says, adding that fall shipments were at near record levels, strengthening market confidence.
"The industry needs a good 2007 bloom next February and a substantial crop to sustain the 25-year California almond consumption trend that has been increasing at an average rate of 5.4 percent compounded annually," he says.
"Since 2001, returns have increased on a per pound basis above the prior year by 26 percent, 35 percent, 43 percent and 27 percent respectively,” says President and CEO Doug Youngdahl. "Your 2005 crop payments were the highest ever paid in our cooperative's history."
Mr. Youngdahl specifically attributed the last five years of record grower returns to leaner, more efficient operations and strong customer relationships.
"Our partnerships with growers, employees, customers and others combine good planning and execution with powerful relationships that enhance and strengthen an already strong balance sheet," he says.
Blue Diamond's branded almond product sales increased by 36 percent in 2005-06, after doubling over the last three years.
While almond bearing acreage is expected to increase by 25,000 acres to 605,000 acres in 2007 and an additional 50,000 acres per year to 2010, Mr. Youngdahl says the challenge will be to "effectively market the increased supply while not under-valuing California almonds." He calls the estimated increase to 1.5 billion pounds a "golden opportunity to introduce millions of new consumers worldwide to California almonds."
Due to larger future crops and a significant increase in bearing and non- bearing acres committed to Blue Diamond over the last year, the cooperative is building a new 70,000 square feet cold storage distribution center at its plant in Salida. A new processing line designed to produce almonds at high speed and volume will also automatically segregate out foreign material and optimize new capacity opportunities in Salida.
An "erratic 2005" marketing year that reached historically high prices above $4.00 per pound in September 2005, deflated prices to $2.00 per pound later in the year and then moved up by $1.00 per pound during the balance of the crop year, is now settling in to a less volatile marketplace for the 2006 crop, according to Mr. Youngdahl.
"Adequate 2006 crop supplies should keep market prices steady and shipments strong," he says, adding that fall shipments were at near record levels, strengthening market confidence.
"The industry needs a good 2007 bloom next February and a substantial crop to sustain the 25-year California almond consumption trend that has been increasing at an average rate of 5.4 percent compounded annually," he says.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Peanut farmers improvise as crop decline continues
By LINDA MCNATT, The Virginian-Pilot
© November 11, 2006
Last updated: 9:17 PM
ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY - When the 2002 Farm Bill eliminated a decades-old peanut growing system, the price farmers got for Virginia's gourmet goobers plummeted to $355 a ton from $610 a ton.
There's been nothing gradual about the collapse. Peanuts went from being planted on 75,000 acres in the state before the Farm Bill to about 16,000 acres this year.
Most local farmers decided they just couldn't make money on Virginia peanuts, but there are still devotees who hope peanuts will make a return. They are also holding out hope for a runner-type peanut.
Because of development across the state, Virginia probably no longer has the land to ever again support 75,000 acres.
"But I still feel we can move back up," said Del Cotton, director of the Virginia Peanut Growers Association. "Farmers like to grow what they know. Peanuts are ingrained in their system."
In Isle of Wight County this year, the Byrum family planted 50 acres, a tradition that 73-year-old Roland Byrum has insisted on since his son Cecil sold most of their peanut harvesting equipment.
"Use to be, peanuts was my livelihood," the elder Byrum said. "My daddy grew them. My granddaddy grew them. Time was, we had over 200 acres on this farm."
This year, he pulled runner peanuts from the soil, smaller than their Virginia cousins and used in candy.
"The ones we're growing this year look like soybeans," he sai d. "Won't be anymore on this farm."
The runners take about three weeks longer to mature, so the nuts must stay in the ground longer. That made the harvest later than ever this year. An overabundance of rain in the p ast several weeks added to the problems. Some peanut fields were still so wet at the beginning of November that there was little hope they would ever be dug up.
Bubba Crocker and his brother Peter Frank have held on to the peanut tradition.
"We planted 175 acres this year, and it should have taken us about 10 days to harvest," he said. "It's taken us four weeks. We have grown as high as 525 acres, but we'll never see that again."
John Brock Jr. still grows peanuts in Surry County. He has a small shop in Bacon's Castle and a Virginia peanut distributorship. Brock hasn't grown runners, and he doesn't intend to do so.
"We're having to buy peanuts for the shop right now and will probably have to the rest of the year," he said. "I can remember when I planted 250 acres. We have 17 acres this year.
"Runners? Those things would grow on concrete. The Virginia peanut is still superior."
Dee Dee Darden, an Isle of Wight farmer who is actively promoting peanuts with the National Peanut Council, grew 170 acres this year. She and her husband, Tommy, grew about half Virginia-type and half runners. The runners did well.
"We're still growing peanuts because we can make more money on an acre of peanuts than we can make on anything else," she said.
"The way it looks right now, I may end up loving runners more than I ever thought I would."
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Peanut
Crop
Production
National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C.
Released November 9, 2006, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Peanuts: Area Harvested, Yield, and Production by State
and United States, 2005 and Forecasted November 1, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Area Harvested : Yield : Production
:-------------------------------------------------------------------------
State: : : : 2006 : :
: 2005 : 2006 : 2005 :-------------------: 2005 : 2006
: : : : Oct 1 : Nov 1 : :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: --- 1,000 Acres -- --------- Pounds -------- --- 1,000 Pounds ---
:
AL : 223.0 158.0 2,750 1,900 2,100 613,250 331,800
FL : 152.0 120.0 2,700 2,500 2,400 410,400 288,000
GA : 750.0 575.0 2,840 2,500 2,650 2,130,000 1,523,750
MS : 14.0 15.0 3,200 3,000 3,000 44,800 45,000
NM : 19.0 16.0 3,500 3,500 3,500 66,500 56,000
NC : 96.0 85.0 3,000 3,300 3,400 288,000 289,000
OK : 33.0 22.0 3,270 3,000 3,000 107,910 66,000
SC : 60.0 56.0 2,800 3,200 3,000 168,000 168,000
TX : 260.0 150.0 3,750 3,700 3,700 975,000 555,000
VA : 22.0 16.0 3,000 2,950 3,100 66,000 49,600
:
US : 1,629.0 1,213.0 2,989 2,693 2,780 4,869,860 3,372,150
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please call with any questions...
Thanks,
Crop
Production
National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C.
Released November 9, 2006, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Peanuts: Area Harvested, Yield, and Production by State
and United States, 2005 and Forecasted November 1, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Area Harvested : Yield : Production
:-------------------------------------------------------------------------
State: : : : 2006 : :
: 2005 : 2006 : 2005 :-------------------: 2005 : 2006
: : : : Oct 1 : Nov 1 : :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: --- 1,000 Acres -- --------- Pounds -------- --- 1,000 Pounds ---
:
AL : 223.0 158.0 2,750 1,900 2,100 613,250 331,800
FL : 152.0 120.0 2,700 2,500 2,400 410,400 288,000
GA : 750.0 575.0 2,840 2,500 2,650 2,130,000 1,523,750
MS : 14.0 15.0 3,200 3,000 3,000 44,800 45,000
NM : 19.0 16.0 3,500 3,500 3,500 66,500 56,000
NC : 96.0 85.0 3,000 3,300 3,400 288,000 289,000
OK : 33.0 22.0 3,270 3,000 3,000 107,910 66,000
SC : 60.0 56.0 2,800 3,200 3,000 168,000 168,000
TX : 260.0 150.0 3,750 3,700 3,700 975,000 555,000
VA : 22.0 16.0 3,000 2,950 3,100 66,000 49,600
:
US : 1,629.0 1,213.0 2,989 2,693 2,780 4,869,860 3,372,150
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please call with any questions...
Thanks,
Peanut
Crop
Production
National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C.
Released November 9, 2006, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Peanuts: Area Harvested, Yield, and Production by State
and United States, 2005 and Forecasted November 1, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Area Harvested : Yield : Production
:-------------------------------------------------------------------------
State: : : : 2006 : :
: 2005 : 2006 : 2005 :-------------------: 2005 : 2006
: : : : Oct 1 : Nov 1 : :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: --- 1,000 Acres -- --------- Pounds -------- --- 1,000 Pounds ---
:
AL : 223.0 158.0 2,750 1,900 2,100 613,250 331,800
FL : 152.0 120.0 2,700 2,500 2,400 410,400 288,000
GA : 750.0 575.0 2,840 2,500 2,650 2,130,000 1,523,750
MS : 14.0 15.0 3,200 3,000 3,000 44,800 45,000
NM : 19.0 16.0 3,500 3,500 3,500 66,500 56,000
NC : 96.0 85.0 3,000 3,300 3,400 288,000 289,000
OK : 33.0 22.0 3,270 3,000 3,000 107,910 66,000
SC : 60.0 56.0 2,800 3,200 3,000 168,000 168,000
TX : 260.0 150.0 3,750 3,700 3,700 975,000 555,000
VA : 22.0 16.0 3,000 2,950 3,100 66,000 49,600
:
US : 1,629.0 1,213.0 2,989 2,693 2,780 4,869,860 3,372,150
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please call with any questions...
Thanks,
Crop
Production
National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C.
Released November 9, 2006, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Peanuts: Area Harvested, Yield, and Production by State
and United States, 2005 and Forecasted November 1, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Area Harvested : Yield : Production
:-------------------------------------------------------------------------
State: : : : 2006 : :
: 2005 : 2006 : 2005 :-------------------: 2005 : 2006
: : : : Oct 1 : Nov 1 : :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: --- 1,000 Acres -- --------- Pounds -------- --- 1,000 Pounds ---
:
AL : 223.0 158.0 2,750 1,900 2,100 613,250 331,800
FL : 152.0 120.0 2,700 2,500 2,400 410,400 288,000
GA : 750.0 575.0 2,840 2,500 2,650 2,130,000 1,523,750
MS : 14.0 15.0 3,200 3,000 3,000 44,800 45,000
NM : 19.0 16.0 3,500 3,500 3,500 66,500 56,000
NC : 96.0 85.0 3,000 3,300 3,400 288,000 289,000
OK : 33.0 22.0 3,270 3,000 3,000 107,910 66,000
SC : 60.0 56.0 2,800 3,200 3,000 168,000 168,000
TX : 260.0 150.0 3,750 3,700 3,700 975,000 555,000
VA : 22.0 16.0 3,000 2,950 3,100 66,000 49,600
:
US : 1,629.0 1,213.0 2,989 2,693 2,780 4,869,860 3,372,150
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please call with any questions...
Thanks,
Peanut
Crop
Production
National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C.
Released November 9, 2006, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Peanuts: Area Harvested, Yield, and Production by State
and United States, 2005 and Forecasted November 1, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Area Harvested : Yield : Production
:-------------------------------------------------------------------------
State: : : : 2006 : :
: 2005 : 2006 : 2005 :-------------------: 2005 : 2006
: : : : Oct 1 : Nov 1 : :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: --- 1,000 Acres -- --------- Pounds -------- --- 1,000 Pounds ---
:
AL : 223.0 158.0 2,750 1,900 2,100 613,250 331,800
FL : 152.0 120.0 2,700 2,500 2,400 410,400 288,000
GA : 750.0 575.0 2,840 2,500 2,650 2,130,000 1,523,750
MS : 14.0 15.0 3,200 3,000 3,000 44,800 45,000
NM : 19.0 16.0 3,500 3,500 3,500 66,500 56,000
NC : 96.0 85.0 3,000 3,300 3,400 288,000 289,000
OK : 33.0 22.0 3,270 3,000 3,000 107,910 66,000
SC : 60.0 56.0 2,800 3,200 3,000 168,000 168,000
TX : 260.0 150.0 3,750 3,700 3,700 975,000 555,000
VA : 22.0 16.0 3,000 2,950 3,100 66,000 49,600
:
US : 1,629.0 1,213.0 2,989 2,693 2,780 4,869,860 3,372,150
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please call with any questions...
Thanks,
Crop
Production
National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C.
Released November 9, 2006, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Peanuts: Area Harvested, Yield, and Production by State
and United States, 2005 and Forecasted November 1, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Area Harvested : Yield : Production
:-------------------------------------------------------------------------
State: : : : 2006 : :
: 2005 : 2006 : 2005 :-------------------: 2005 : 2006
: : : : Oct 1 : Nov 1 : :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: --- 1,000 Acres -- --------- Pounds -------- --- 1,000 Pounds ---
:
AL : 223.0 158.0 2,750 1,900 2,100 613,250 331,800
FL : 152.0 120.0 2,700 2,500 2,400 410,400 288,000
GA : 750.0 575.0 2,840 2,500 2,650 2,130,000 1,523,750
MS : 14.0 15.0 3,200 3,000 3,000 44,800 45,000
NM : 19.0 16.0 3,500 3,500 3,500 66,500 56,000
NC : 96.0 85.0 3,000 3,300 3,400 288,000 289,000
OK : 33.0 22.0 3,270 3,000 3,000 107,910 66,000
SC : 60.0 56.0 2,800 3,200 3,000 168,000 168,000
TX : 260.0 150.0 3,750 3,700 3,700 975,000 555,000
VA : 22.0 16.0 3,000 2,950 3,100 66,000 49,600
:
US : 1,629.0 1,213.0 2,989 2,693 2,780 4,869,860 3,372,150
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please call with any questions...
Thanks,
Peanut
Crop
Production
National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C.
Released November 9, 2006, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Peanuts: Area Harvested, Yield, and Production by State
and United States, 2005 and Forecasted November 1, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Area Harvested : Yield : Production
:-------------------------------------------------------------------------
State: : : : 2006 : :
: 2005 : 2006 : 2005 :-------------------: 2005 : 2006
: : : : Oct 1 : Nov 1 : :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: --- 1,000 Acres -- --------- Pounds -------- --- 1,000 Pounds ---
:
AL : 223.0 158.0 2,750 1,900 2,100 613,250 331,800
FL : 152.0 120.0 2,700 2,500 2,400 410,400 288,000
GA : 750.0 575.0 2,840 2,500 2,650 2,130,000 1,523,750
MS : 14.0 15.0 3,200 3,000 3,000 44,800 45,000
NM : 19.0 16.0 3,500 3,500 3,500 66,500 56,000
NC : 96.0 85.0 3,000 3,300 3,400 288,000 289,000
OK : 33.0 22.0 3,270 3,000 3,000 107,910 66,000
SC : 60.0 56.0 2,800 3,200 3,000 168,000 168,000
TX : 260.0 150.0 3,750 3,700 3,700 975,000 555,000
VA : 22.0 16.0 3,000 2,950 3,100 66,000 49,600
:
US : 1,629.0 1,213.0 2,989 2,693 2,780 4,869,860 3,372,150
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please call with any questions...
Thanks,
Crop
Production
National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C.
Released November 9, 2006, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Peanuts: Area Harvested, Yield, and Production by State
and United States, 2005 and Forecasted November 1, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Area Harvested : Yield : Production
:-------------------------------------------------------------------------
State: : : : 2006 : :
: 2005 : 2006 : 2005 :-------------------: 2005 : 2006
: : : : Oct 1 : Nov 1 : :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: --- 1,000 Acres -- --------- Pounds -------- --- 1,000 Pounds ---
:
AL : 223.0 158.0 2,750 1,900 2,100 613,250 331,800
FL : 152.0 120.0 2,700 2,500 2,400 410,400 288,000
GA : 750.0 575.0 2,840 2,500 2,650 2,130,000 1,523,750
MS : 14.0 15.0 3,200 3,000 3,000 44,800 45,000
NM : 19.0 16.0 3,500 3,500 3,500 66,500 56,000
NC : 96.0 85.0 3,000 3,300 3,400 288,000 289,000
OK : 33.0 22.0 3,270 3,000 3,000 107,910 66,000
SC : 60.0 56.0 2,800 3,200 3,000 168,000 168,000
TX : 260.0 150.0 3,750 3,700 3,700 975,000 555,000
VA : 22.0 16.0 3,000 2,950 3,100 66,000 49,600
:
US : 1,629.0 1,213.0 2,989 2,693 2,780 4,869,860 3,372,150
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please call with any questions...
Thanks,
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
2:01 pm | N.C. pecan growers shelled by small crop
MELISSA WILLETT
The Fayetteville Observer
Pecans might be a little pricier this year. Farmers in the region say not only has it an off year, but it's been an off-off year.
In Sampson County, Carla Peterson decided not to post her bright pink open-for-business sign. Her farm, Twiddle Dee, didn't yield enough pecans this year to make it worth her time. And if the poor harvest wasn't enough, her garden has suffered almost as much.
"Last year, I was open practically every Saturday," Peterson said. "There was too much damage from Ernesto to the garden. Last year was a bumper crop. This year's not bearing any."
She does have a small trailer of last year's pecans still in the shell that she's willing to give away. After a freezer full, she's run out of storage space.
Like Peterson, Laurie Wood's freezer is capped with nuts. Wood is a marketing specialist with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
"North Carolina's season starts having pecans from late October, early November," Wood said. "But you can still get fresh ones through December."
Since she works for the state, she's in contact with growers regularly. She says she believes the overall harvest is down but is unsure how it will affect grocery store prices.
"Most of what you buy in the store are from last year," Wood said. "I actually think they'll be up because of storms last year in Georgia, Alabama and Florida causing damage."
North Carolina produces 3 million to 5 million pounds of pecans each year. A well-managed farm should yield between 1,200 and 1,500 pounds per acre when the orchard reaches 20 years old, according to the state agriculture department.
MELISSA WILLETT
The Fayetteville Observer
Pecans might be a little pricier this year. Farmers in the region say not only has it an off year, but it's been an off-off year.
In Sampson County, Carla Peterson decided not to post her bright pink open-for-business sign. Her farm, Twiddle Dee, didn't yield enough pecans this year to make it worth her time. And if the poor harvest wasn't enough, her garden has suffered almost as much.
"Last year, I was open practically every Saturday," Peterson said. "There was too much damage from Ernesto to the garden. Last year was a bumper crop. This year's not bearing any."
She does have a small trailer of last year's pecans still in the shell that she's willing to give away. After a freezer full, she's run out of storage space.
Like Peterson, Laurie Wood's freezer is capped with nuts. Wood is a marketing specialist with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
"North Carolina's season starts having pecans from late October, early November," Wood said. "But you can still get fresh ones through December."
Since she works for the state, she's in contact with growers regularly. She says she believes the overall harvest is down but is unsure how it will affect grocery store prices.
"Most of what you buy in the store are from last year," Wood said. "I actually think they'll be up because of storms last year in Georgia, Alabama and Florida causing damage."
North Carolina produces 3 million to 5 million pounds of pecans each year. A well-managed farm should yield between 1,200 and 1,500 pounds per acre when the orchard reaches 20 years old, according to the state agriculture department.
Friday, November 03, 2006
US: almond growers hope nuts help with weight loss
The almonds are off the trees and the harvest has been very good, growers say. But abundance is not the only good news about our region's most notable nut. Almonds, it turns out, can help control your weight. Two studies suggest almonds contribute to a feeling of fullness. Another word for that is "satiety" — and finding foods that create that effect has been called "the holy grail of nutrition" because something that make you feel full can help in the ever-widening worldwide fight against obesity.
The North American Association for the Study of Obesity reported at its annual meeting last month that eating "a handful or two" of almonds every day can calm your appetite. Why isn't precisely known, but another study — this one funded by the Modesto-based Almond Board of California — has found similar results. In that study, conducted at Purdue University in Indiana, 20 overweight women were given two servings of almonds a day — totaling about 300calories — for 10 weeks. Another group got no nuts (too bad for them).
At the end of the study, researchers found that the women given the nuts did not gain any weight — despite having eaten an additional 300 calories every day for 10 weeks. In other words, by eating the healthy almonds they were less likely to turn to less healthy foods such as pizza, pretzels and chips.
That almonds provide health benefits is exciting news to the area's almond growers — as if they needed any more good news. Almonds were worth $473 million in Stanislaus County alone, and more than $1 billion statewide in 2005. This year's crop — which growers are saying is "very, very good" — is likely to be of similar value. With consumption of almonds growing every year, the good news just keeps blossoming.
But there's a bit of a conundrum involved with this latest research. Those who grow food generally want you to eat more of it — not less. So isn't a food that makes you feel full after eating only a little sort of defeating the purpose? Would you continue to buy that "can a week" if you're not going to finish it?
Our area's almond growers certainly hope so.
The almonds are off the trees and the harvest has been very good, growers say. But abundance is not the only good news about our region's most notable nut. Almonds, it turns out, can help control your weight. Two studies suggest almonds contribute to a feeling of fullness. Another word for that is "satiety" — and finding foods that create that effect has been called "the holy grail of nutrition" because something that make you feel full can help in the ever-widening worldwide fight against obesity.
The North American Association for the Study of Obesity reported at its annual meeting last month that eating "a handful or two" of almonds every day can calm your appetite. Why isn't precisely known, but another study — this one funded by the Modesto-based Almond Board of California — has found similar results. In that study, conducted at Purdue University in Indiana, 20 overweight women were given two servings of almonds a day — totaling about 300calories — for 10 weeks. Another group got no nuts (too bad for them).
At the end of the study, researchers found that the women given the nuts did not gain any weight — despite having eaten an additional 300 calories every day for 10 weeks. In other words, by eating the healthy almonds they were less likely to turn to less healthy foods such as pizza, pretzels and chips.
That almonds provide health benefits is exciting news to the area's almond growers — as if they needed any more good news. Almonds were worth $473 million in Stanislaus County alone, and more than $1 billion statewide in 2005. This year's crop — which growers are saying is "very, very good" — is likely to be of similar value. With consumption of almonds growing every year, the good news just keeps blossoming.
But there's a bit of a conundrum involved with this latest research. Those who grow food generally want you to eat more of it — not less. So isn't a food that makes you feel full after eating only a little sort of defeating the purpose? Would you continue to buy that "can a week" if you're not going to finish it?
Our area's almond growers certainly hope so.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
US: pecan production down
The heat, the drought and the immutable rhythms of nature have combined to knock pecan production off by 70 percent or more in the San Saba area and other parts of Central Texas, early estimates indicate. "It's not going to be pretty this year," said Neal Alexander, the Texas Cooperative Extension agricultural agent in San Saba County.
Alexander predicts pecan production will hit 25 percent to 30 percent of normal in the area, and San Saba considers itself the Pecan Capital of the World. Shawn Oliver of Oliver Pecan Co. in San Saba said 30 percent production might be optimistic. One of his Central Texas orchards that would normally produce about 100,000 pounds of pecans may turn out just 3,000 pounds this year.
"Some people can't even justify getting their equipment out to harvest," he said. "There's just not enough there to go out and get." In the roller-coaster world of pecan growers, 2006 was expected to be an off year, one that routinely follows a heavy year for production. But with abnormal dryness and heat much of the year, followed by punishing rains and wind as harvest time approached, the drop-off could be steeper than normal.
In a normal off year, Texas producers could harvest 45 million to 50 million pounds of pecans, said Jose Peña, a Texas A&M University extension economist in Uvalde. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's initial production estimate, the state will market 36 million pounds this year, down from 65 million pounds last year.
It may not be abnormally low in all regions. Some experts, including Kenneth Pape of Pape Pecan Co. in Seguin, said growers in the Winter Garden area south and west of San Antonio should have a fairly strong crop if they irrigated enough and managed their fields well.
Gary Schmidtke with South Country Pecans near Pearsall said that at the halfway point of the harvest early this week it was hard for him to say if the yield would fall short of his reduced expectations. "It'll be another two or three weeks until we have a good fix on it," he said. An off year for production does not mean, however, that pecans will be scarce as families begin to plan their dessert menus for the holiday season.
H-E-B spokeswoman Dya Campos said retail prices this fall are the same as last year. Peña reported that initial estimates call for nearly 134 million pounds of stored pecans to be carried over nationwide from last year's crop.
That's almost twice the size of the carry-over inventory that was available last year and would push the nation's total pecan supply to about 335 million pounds. The total is only 11.1 percent smaller than the 2005 pecan supply and is 50 million pounds more than the 2004 crop, which produced record prices, Peña said.
With pecan imports, including an estimated 70 million to 80 million pounds from Mexico, the United States' surging appetite for pecans should be satisfied, officials said. Pape said one exception could be the large paper-shell pecans that are popular early in the season but were hit particularly hard by the drought. If Georgia, the nation's leading pecan producer, has a weak crop, shortages for top-end pecans could arise, Pape said.
The U.S. is the world's largest producer of pecans. Georgia is expected to raise the most pecans this year, followed by New Mexico and Texas. In 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts pecan output nationally will reach 201.4 million pounds, down 28 percent from 2005.
The value of the nation's pecan crop exceeded $400 million last year, according to a preliminary USDA estimate. Texas pecans generated more than a quarter of that total, based on an average sale price of $1.70 a pound.
The good news for Texas growers is that pecan quality generally is up and prices have stayed strong. Pape said the difference paid between the bigger, soft-shell nuts and lower-end nuts is wide, but some prices are at an all-time high.
Those prices are what growers count on to cover accelerating production costs, which one grower said were the highest he had ever seen, mainly due to energy costs. The fear is prices could slip as more pecans come on the market.
Darrell Sparks, a University of Georgia professor who has researched pecans for more than 40 years, said pecan farmers generally must make half a crop to get by, and not everyone will make half a crop this year. "You'll need a cushion for off years," Sparks said.
Cameron Ocker, who manages the Bar D River Ranch southeast of San Antonio near Poth, said pecan farmers will probably do better than other South Texas farmers who did not irrigate this year. But in an off year, pecan growers typically just "hang on and survive," he said.
The heat, the drought and the immutable rhythms of nature have combined to knock pecan production off by 70 percent or more in the San Saba area and other parts of Central Texas, early estimates indicate. "It's not going to be pretty this year," said Neal Alexander, the Texas Cooperative Extension agricultural agent in San Saba County.
Alexander predicts pecan production will hit 25 percent to 30 percent of normal in the area, and San Saba considers itself the Pecan Capital of the World. Shawn Oliver of Oliver Pecan Co. in San Saba said 30 percent production might be optimistic. One of his Central Texas orchards that would normally produce about 100,000 pounds of pecans may turn out just 3,000 pounds this year.
"Some people can't even justify getting their equipment out to harvest," he said. "There's just not enough there to go out and get." In the roller-coaster world of pecan growers, 2006 was expected to be an off year, one that routinely follows a heavy year for production. But with abnormal dryness and heat much of the year, followed by punishing rains and wind as harvest time approached, the drop-off could be steeper than normal.
In a normal off year, Texas producers could harvest 45 million to 50 million pounds of pecans, said Jose Peña, a Texas A&M University extension economist in Uvalde. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's initial production estimate, the state will market 36 million pounds this year, down from 65 million pounds last year.
It may not be abnormally low in all regions. Some experts, including Kenneth Pape of Pape Pecan Co. in Seguin, said growers in the Winter Garden area south and west of San Antonio should have a fairly strong crop if they irrigated enough and managed their fields well.
Gary Schmidtke with South Country Pecans near Pearsall said that at the halfway point of the harvest early this week it was hard for him to say if the yield would fall short of his reduced expectations. "It'll be another two or three weeks until we have a good fix on it," he said. An off year for production does not mean, however, that pecans will be scarce as families begin to plan their dessert menus for the holiday season.
H-E-B spokeswoman Dya Campos said retail prices this fall are the same as last year. Peña reported that initial estimates call for nearly 134 million pounds of stored pecans to be carried over nationwide from last year's crop.
That's almost twice the size of the carry-over inventory that was available last year and would push the nation's total pecan supply to about 335 million pounds. The total is only 11.1 percent smaller than the 2005 pecan supply and is 50 million pounds more than the 2004 crop, which produced record prices, Peña said.
With pecan imports, including an estimated 70 million to 80 million pounds from Mexico, the United States' surging appetite for pecans should be satisfied, officials said. Pape said one exception could be the large paper-shell pecans that are popular early in the season but were hit particularly hard by the drought. If Georgia, the nation's leading pecan producer, has a weak crop, shortages for top-end pecans could arise, Pape said.
The U.S. is the world's largest producer of pecans. Georgia is expected to raise the most pecans this year, followed by New Mexico and Texas. In 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts pecan output nationally will reach 201.4 million pounds, down 28 percent from 2005.
The value of the nation's pecan crop exceeded $400 million last year, according to a preliminary USDA estimate. Texas pecans generated more than a quarter of that total, based on an average sale price of $1.70 a pound.
The good news for Texas growers is that pecan quality generally is up and prices have stayed strong. Pape said the difference paid between the bigger, soft-shell nuts and lower-end nuts is wide, but some prices are at an all-time high.
Those prices are what growers count on to cover accelerating production costs, which one grower said were the highest he had ever seen, mainly due to energy costs. The fear is prices could slip as more pecans come on the market.
Darrell Sparks, a University of Georgia professor who has researched pecans for more than 40 years, said pecan farmers generally must make half a crop to get by, and not everyone will make half a crop this year. "You'll need a cushion for off years," Sparks said.
Cameron Ocker, who manages the Bar D River Ranch southeast of San Antonio near Poth, said pecan farmers will probably do better than other South Texas farmers who did not irrigate this year. But in an off year, pecan growers typically just "hang on and survive," he said.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
That's Nuts! Crooks Steal Mounds of Almonds
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Authorities in California have recovered 44,000 pounds of stolen almonds, after the suspected thieves tried to sell the processed nuts on the black market.
The Fresno County Agriculture Crime Unit says thieves drove a truck full of Campos Brothers Farm almonds off the lot of a trucking company,
where the almonds were sent for distribution earlier this month.
Officials found the truck in a nearby Fresno County city, but it had been emptied of the nuts, valued at an estimated $135,000. But last week an almond broker called authorities when he suspected someone was trying to sell him illegal nuts.
A spokeswoman for the farm says "We're very
cooperative, even though we're competitors. We talk." Fresno County officials found the almonds in a San Leandro warehouse. Their unique packaging helped officials track them down, and
authorities have two "persons of interest" in the case.
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Authorities in California have recovered 44,000 pounds of stolen almonds, after the suspected thieves tried to sell the processed nuts on the black market.
The Fresno County Agriculture Crime Unit says thieves drove a truck full of Campos Brothers Farm almonds off the lot of a trucking company,
where the almonds were sent for distribution earlier this month.
Officials found the truck in a nearby Fresno County city, but it had been emptied of the nuts, valued at an estimated $135,000. But last week an almond broker called authorities when he suspected someone was trying to sell him illegal nuts.
A spokeswoman for the farm says "We're very
cooperative, even though we're competitors. We talk." Fresno County officials found the almonds in a San Leandro warehouse. Their unique packaging helped officials track them down, and
authorities have two "persons of interest" in the case.
Monday, October 23, 2006
U.S. PEANUT CROP UPDATE – From National Agricultural Statistics Service as of October 15, USA peanut crop is rated as 5% Very Poor, 19% Poor, 39% Fair, 32% Good and 5% Excellent. Last year on this same date, the crop was rated 2% Very Poor, 8% Poor, 37% Fair, 46% Good and 7% Excellent. Crop is 36% harvested compared to 46% last year and 55% 5-yr average.
STATE
ITEM
Oct 15, 2006
PREV. WEEK
Oct 15, 2005
5-YEAR AVG.
GEORGIA
Peanuts Dug
53%
38%
69%
78%
Peanuts Combined
40%
26%
52%
61%
Conditions
9% VP, 21% Pr
37% Fair
28% Good
5% Excellent
Soil Moisture (State)
31%Very Short
44% Short
25% Adequate
0% Surplus
Continued dry weather has been detrimental to late planted peanuts, including irrigated fields. Peg strength has been weak as a result of summer heat and drought. Yields and grades have been low. Lack of soil moisture has made digging difficult in some fields.
ALABAMA
Peanuts Dug
36%
21%
70%
78%
Peanuts Combined
25%
12%
47%
65%
Conditions
7% VP, 34% Pr
37% Fair
20% Good
2% Excellent
Soil Moisture
31% Very Short
47% Short
22% Adequate
0% Surplus
Peanut harvest continued at a rapid pace during the past week. Cool dry weather is not helping late peanuts finish maturing. Hard, dry ground is making digging difficult.
FLORIDA
Peanuts Harvested
42%
29%
65%
76%
Conditions
0%VP, 36% Poor
35% Fair
28% Good
1% Excellent
Soil Moisture
35% Very Short
45% Short
20% Adequate
0% Surplus
Another week of dry weather has not helped harvest. Peanut fields continue to suffer in the Panhandle and northern Peninsula areas. Without rain, late-planted peanut crop will not mature. Hardened soils make digging difficult with some peanuts losing pods in some Panhandle areas.
MISSISSIPPI
Peanuts Harvested
60%
42%
-
-
Conditions
0% VP, 2% P
28% Fair
59% Good
11% Excellent
Soil Moisture
26% Very Short
42% Short
32% Adequate
0% Surplus
No rain and good weather conditions allowed for harvesting all week.
N. CAROLINA
Conditions
1% VP, 1% Poor
21% Fair
71% Good
6% Excellent
Harvested
45%
23%
43%
51%
Soil Moisture
2% Very Short
18% Short
75% Adequate
5% Surplus
Below average temperatures for the week while peanut harvesting continued.
S. CAROLINA
Conditions
1% VP, 2% Poor
35% Fair
58% Good
4% Excellent
Harvested
44%
34%
49%
54%
Soil Moisture
4% Very Short
32% Short
61% Adequate
3% Surplus
No report available.
VIRGINIA
Conditions
0% VP, 13% Poor
34% Fair
43% Good
10% Excellent
Peanuts Combined
39%
35%
47%
46%
Soil Moisture
3% Very Short
9% Short
75% Adequate
13% Surplus
No report available.
OKLAHOMA
Conditions
3%VP, 9% Poor
36% Fair
45% Good
7% Excellent
Mature
83%
74%
90%
89%
Peanuts Dug/Combined
32% / 14%
12% / 3%
42% / 26%
43% / 27%
Top Soil Moisture
40% Very Short
32% Short
25% Adequate
3% Surplus
Recent rain was beneficial to producers but too late to make a difference for some crops. Peanuts dug and harvested jumped ahead this week although still behind normal.
TEXAS
Conditions
1%VP, 5% Poor
49% Fair
33% Good
12% Excellent
Harvested
27%
16%
20%
22%
Soil Moisture (WT)
17% Very Short
26% Short
48% Adequate
9% Surplus
Despite rainy conditions in the Southern High Plains, some producers dug and threshed peanuts. Growers also dug peanuts in South Texas. Peanut condition statewide was mostly good to fair.
STATE
ITEM
Oct 15, 2006
PREV. WEEK
Oct 15, 2005
5-YEAR AVG.
GEORGIA
Peanuts Dug
53%
38%
69%
78%
Peanuts Combined
40%
26%
52%
61%
Conditions
9% VP, 21% Pr
37% Fair
28% Good
5% Excellent
Soil Moisture (State)
31%Very Short
44% Short
25% Adequate
0% Surplus
Continued dry weather has been detrimental to late planted peanuts, including irrigated fields. Peg strength has been weak as a result of summer heat and drought. Yields and grades have been low. Lack of soil moisture has made digging difficult in some fields.
ALABAMA
Peanuts Dug
36%
21%
70%
78%
Peanuts Combined
25%
12%
47%
65%
Conditions
7% VP, 34% Pr
37% Fair
20% Good
2% Excellent
Soil Moisture
31% Very Short
47% Short
22% Adequate
0% Surplus
Peanut harvest continued at a rapid pace during the past week. Cool dry weather is not helping late peanuts finish maturing. Hard, dry ground is making digging difficult.
FLORIDA
Peanuts Harvested
42%
29%
65%
76%
Conditions
0%VP, 36% Poor
35% Fair
28% Good
1% Excellent
Soil Moisture
35% Very Short
45% Short
20% Adequate
0% Surplus
Another week of dry weather has not helped harvest. Peanut fields continue to suffer in the Panhandle and northern Peninsula areas. Without rain, late-planted peanut crop will not mature. Hardened soils make digging difficult with some peanuts losing pods in some Panhandle areas.
MISSISSIPPI
Peanuts Harvested
60%
42%
-
-
Conditions
0% VP, 2% P
28% Fair
59% Good
11% Excellent
Soil Moisture
26% Very Short
42% Short
32% Adequate
0% Surplus
No rain and good weather conditions allowed for harvesting all week.
N. CAROLINA
Conditions
1% VP, 1% Poor
21% Fair
71% Good
6% Excellent
Harvested
45%
23%
43%
51%
Soil Moisture
2% Very Short
18% Short
75% Adequate
5% Surplus
Below average temperatures for the week while peanut harvesting continued.
S. CAROLINA
Conditions
1% VP, 2% Poor
35% Fair
58% Good
4% Excellent
Harvested
44%
34%
49%
54%
Soil Moisture
4% Very Short
32% Short
61% Adequate
3% Surplus
No report available.
VIRGINIA
Conditions
0% VP, 13% Poor
34% Fair
43% Good
10% Excellent
Peanuts Combined
39%
35%
47%
46%
Soil Moisture
3% Very Short
9% Short
75% Adequate
13% Surplus
No report available.
OKLAHOMA
Conditions
3%VP, 9% Poor
36% Fair
45% Good
7% Excellent
Mature
83%
74%
90%
89%
Peanuts Dug/Combined
32% / 14%
12% / 3%
42% / 26%
43% / 27%
Top Soil Moisture
40% Very Short
32% Short
25% Adequate
3% Surplus
Recent rain was beneficial to producers but too late to make a difference for some crops. Peanuts dug and harvested jumped ahead this week although still behind normal.
TEXAS
Conditions
1%VP, 5% Poor
49% Fair
33% Good
12% Excellent
Harvested
27%
16%
20%
22%
Soil Moisture (WT)
17% Very Short
26% Short
48% Adequate
9% Surplus
Despite rainy conditions in the Southern High Plains, some producers dug and threshed peanuts. Growers also dug peanuts in South Texas. Peanut condition statewide was mostly good to fair.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
