News
Weis-Buy Farms expands its
private-label, social media programs
By Chip Carter - Produce News -|
November 01, 2011
Arthur Ellis, Chuck Weisinger, Paul Boris
and Michael Shapiro of Weis-Buy Farms at the
Florida Tomato Conference earlier this year.
(Photo by Chip Carter)
The always innovative team at Weis-Buy Farms,
Inc. in Fort Myers, FL, has added a few new wrinkles
to its lineup, readying to establish a social media
presence and expanding an already successful
private-label import program.
The company will soon launch a produce industry
blog on its web site at www.weisbuy.com, to
accompany current information like market reports
and insights from owner Chuck Weisinger’s many years
in the business.
The company’s private label, “Tropical Jewels,”
is expanding and upgrading its Dominican Republic
production facilities to bring in even more premium,
greenhouse-grown colored peppers, cucumbers and
tomatoes. And a new deal with a premium grower in
Mexico will have Weis-Buy marketing its own
pineapples by the end of November.
Weis-Buy was founded in 1991, and “We’ve survived
because we’ve changed with the times,” Mr. Weisinger
said. “That’s why we personally went into this
Dominican Republic pepper deal. We grow red, yellow
and orange, everything we have is grown in a
hothouse, so the product is very, very fancy. It’s a
year-round deal out of Florida, prices are always
commensurate with what’s going on and we like the
fact that there are very few complaints about our
product.”
Weis-Buy has 100 Primus-certified greenhouses in
the Dominican Republic under contract.
“It’s a good source of supply for us and the
quality has been superb. It’s a nice thing to hang
your hat on,” said Paul Boris, who handles the
Dominican deal from Weis-Buy’s branch on Florida’s
east coast. “We have colored peppers, we’re going to
have some slicer cucumbers grown in greenhouse which
is something a little different, we’ll have some
regular English cukes as the season progresses and
we also have Romas, round tomatoes and some
beefsteak and on-the-vine clusters.”
The Dominican deal “has really expanded for us
and we’re looking to expand it some more,” Mr. Boris
said. “We have a definite niche in the Southeastern
region because we’ve got less freight and we’re a
little closer than if we were bringing stuff in from
Mexico or Canada. We’re making strides to improve
the pack, we’re putting in some new precoolers and
we’re able to do some custom packing, like the
stoplights. We’re aggressively talking to retailers
and we’re open to doing some custom packing or even
proprietary or private label packing.”
By the end of the month, Weis-Buy’s first
pineapples should be heading to the United States
from Mexico. Though it has not yet been decided how
the pineapples will be labeled (either under the
grower’s “Pinicola” label or Weis-Buy’s “Tropical
Jewels”) the company’s Mike Shapiro made it clear
this will be a premium product.
“Our partner is a great grower and a shrewd
businessman,” Mr. Shapiro said. “We’re waiting for
the fruit to sweeten up to his standards. I’ve
tasted it, it is a delicious piece of fruit. We’re
already calling potential customers about this.”
Mr. Weisinger said he expects “pretty good
volume” for its Dominican product starting in
mid-November.
Meanwhile, the company continues to trade in a
wide variety of produce, much of it Florida-grown.
“Cultural practices have saved our industry —
we’ve gotten better at what we do,” Mr. Weisinger
said. “Today’s produce business is, number one,
proactive, not reactive; second, in Florida we can
guarantee the safest produce in the world right here
and we’ve got the paper to prove it; third, with the
price of gas going the way it is and Eastern markets
going where they are, Florida has an edge on a
delivery basis.”
He continued, “We’re making substantive changes,
other people are making substantive changes. I think
we’re all going to have to have a blend of produce
from here and overseas and the truth of the matter
is the one who does it the best and the cheapest is
going to end up surviving. This isn’t all about
Mexican produce or Chinese produce — this is about
making a living and keeping your supply chain
filled, that’s all it is.”
A Cartoon from Chuck

Freezes felt in Lee, Collier County Produce Aisles
By Laura Ruane – News-Press January 8, 2011
Some
produce shoppers are feeling the price pinch after
December’s three freezes battered Southwest Florida
crops.
“Fruit and vegetables are through the roof,” said April
Hyndman, 47,
Fort Myers
mother of two
and a discount shopper.
The picture after the third freeze, Dec. 26-68, actually is
mixed: Some prices are up, others down.
Experts say scarcity and prices aren’t as bad as last
winter, when — after January’s killer freezes
some restaurants put tomatoes in salads and sandwiches only
upon buyers’ request.
They credit several factors, including the salvaging of some
Florida
crop, replanting in the
Sunshine
State
and an influx of produce from
Mexico
.
“Will we see $6-a -pound retail for tomatoes? No, but you
might see them as high as $3.49 a pound,” said Chuck
Weisinger, a Fort Myers-based fruit broker and president of
Weis-Buy Farms Inc.
At the Oasis restaurant in downtown
Fort Myers
, however, kitchen manager Kyle Fortuna said he’s had no
problems getting produce, noting: “We’re getting our
tomatoes right now at a fairly good price.”
Fritz Roka is the Immokalee-based agriculture economist for
the
University
of
Florida
’s Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences. “With
so much produce coming in from
Mexico
, it’s not necessarily true that prices will go up for
every commodity,” Roka said. Broker Weisinger said from
about now
through
early April as much as 90 percent of cucumbers, peppers,
squash and beans will come from
Mexico
. “That’s normal,” he said.
Shannon Patten, spokeswoman for Lakeland-based Publix Super
Markets Inc., wouldn’t discuss
specific produce prices — past present or future. The
freezes and any resulting price changes are
“an industry issue, not a Publix issue,” Patten said.
The Publix at First Street Village in downtown Fort Myers on
Thursday listed green bell peppers at $2.49 a pound;
zucchini (Mexico) at $2.49 a pound; and green beans at $2.99
a pound. Cucumbers from
Mexico
were 99 cents each. Strawberries were
$2.99 a pound.
Before the first freeze on Dec. 6, “we were selling
cucumbers two for a dollar,” said Bill Reners, Southwest
Florida
operations chief for the area’s Save-A-Lot discount food
stores. That shot up to one cucumber for 99 cents shortly
after the Dec. 26-28 freeze, “with ... everybody else
charging over a dollar,” Reners said.
When a main vegetable supplier in Wauchula lost most crops
to the freezes, “we had to go more south — to the
Miami-Homestead area, to Immokalee — and to
Mexico
,” Reners said.
The most-recent weekly federal survey available Friday for
advertised prices of produce at major retail supermarket
outlets showed a mixture of ups and downs:In Southeastern
U.S.
stores, plum
(Roma)
tomatoes fetched an average price of 98 cents a pound as of
Dec. 30. That’s down from
$1.26 a pound Dec. 3. Green bell peppers, however, shot up
from $1.49 to $1.64 a pound on average, between Dec. 3-30.
Earlier this week, Reners passed on buying strawberries from
Plant City
, where the December chill slowed growth, but didn’t
devastate the crop. The prices were just too high to pass
along, Reners said: “People won’t buy them when
they’re at $3.39-$3.99 a pint,” Reners said, noting:
“They might
at Publix, but our shopper won’t.”
Hyndman hits the fruit stands for produce in season, swaps
extras with friends, and will buy from
Publix — “whatever they’ve got on sale.”
On Friday, Hyndman packed her daughter a school lunch
featuring a chicken sandwich garnished with
store-bought salsa. She tells her son and daughter: “Have
you seen the price of tomatoes?”
Nogales
Annual Produce Convention
November 10, 2010
Michael
Shapiro just returned from the Fresh Produce Association of
the
Americas
42nd
annual convention. He renewed many of our relationships.
This was the second
year in a
row that Michael attended this event. He visited many of the
offices and
warehouses
in
Nogales
in which we ship from. A large amount of quality Mexican
produce
enters the
U.S.
in
Nogales
. Such items as round tomatoes, roma tomatoes,
grape
tomatoes, green and colored pepper, cucumbers, eggplant and
squash is available.
Kenny
Olmos Jr and Steve Arellano was generous host for Michael.
Big Michael Dean
of Mother
Truckers helped guide Michael around during his visits to
shipping offices.

Jim Hardin
Danny Connell

Manny Fajardo
Danny Carosilva

Kenny Olmos Jr
Rafael Felix and Justin Lombardi

Jessica Southard and Brent Harrison
Atanacio Panousopoulos & Kenny Olmos

Mike Shapiro and
Jason Bolin
Jeff Wright and Dave Spellmire
The
PMA Fresh
Summit
–
Orlando
,
Florida
– October 2010
Thank
goodness the PMA finally happened and it’s over. My feet
hurt now and I’ll be yours do too. I wore a pedometer (a
PMA gift). It counted 23,100 steps and I’ll some of us
walked more than that.
The
show motivated myself, Michael Shapiro, and the boys who
stayed home to mind the store. We all want to work harder so
we can play harder. We have great ideas and quality produce.
I became addicted to Rambutan!
Chuck
Weisinger
Owner
Weis-Buy
Farms
Check
out these photos of Chuck with some of WeisBuy’s friends.

Pal Brooks – Brooks Tropicals
Montie McGovern – Frank’s Distributing

Paul
Ryan – Katzman Produce
Jackie Caplan Wiggins & Karen Caplan - Frieda’s

Luisanna and Kenny Olmos – Kenny’s Produce
David Neill and Patrick Engle – Big Red Tomato

The Blue Girls
David Cook - Deardorff
Family Farms

Jamie
Weisinger of 6 L’s and his Dad
John
Cefalu - G. Cefalu & Sons
Low markets on tomatoes
damage relationships
As most of
Florida
’s tomato harvesting has been winding down with production
shifting to the
Mid-Atlantic states
and the start of the various smaller summertime deals, the
difficulties tomato marketers experienced this spring left a
bitter taste in their mouths.
Grower-shippers invest millions making sure their crops
mature and are ready for sale at retail.
Batista Madonia Jr., vice president of sales and
operations for East Coast Brokers and Packers Inc.,
Plant City
,
Fla.
, is visibly disappointed with the support his operation
received from retailers after a flush of tomatoes finally
started refilling packinghouses after unfavorable winter and
spring growing conditions.
He was selling large mature-green tomatoes for $3 a box
plus the industry’s $1.95 handling charge.
Madonia said growers felt betrayed by retail marketers
who did not stand by them when the growing end experienced
oversupply and price problems.
“I don’t know what it costs to take the tomatoes off
a truck and put them on the shelf, but it costs growers a
lot more to do all the work and get them to the
consumers,” he said.
“We do believe everyone is entitled to a fair profit
margin, but when we lose $3-4 for every box we pack and
retail prices don’t change, we have a dysfunctional system
that can only be changed with the consumer.”
Like other growers, Stephen Madonia Sr., Batista
Madonia’s brother and vice president of operations who
oversees growing operations, missed many nights of sleep
trying to salvage product for the operation’s customers.
“We stayed out all night when we had freezes, night
after night, making sure we had supplies,” Batista Madonia
said.
“But when we have a crop to sell, we don’t get
support from retail. If we cannot survive, we will be
dependent upon other countries to feed us like we are with
oil, TVs and washers and dryers. The one thing we need to be
able to have is a food source made in
America
.”
Because of the effort they put into producing their
crops, growers say they don’t want to receive
bottom-market prices when supplies return to normal.
Chuck Weisinger, president and chief executive officer of
broker Weis-Buy Farms Inc.,
Fort Myers
,
Fla.
, said the sudden plunge in prices sellers endured this
season wasn’t normal.
“We are getting more wild swings in the tomato business
than I have ever seen,” he said.
“This is becoming more like the vegetable business
where we get those large swings, like in the stock market.
Receivers have to watch what they’re doing even more than
what they have done in the past, and have to work with
people that will help them out.”
On one morning, Weisinger said prices for the highest
grade extra-large 5x6 tomatoes dropped from $19.95 to $13.95
within three hours, a steep fall from prices that aren’t
normally that high.
A grower-shipper of other vegetables told me they all
sell to the same customers and that what happened to Florida
tomato growers wasn’t any different than what the cabbage
deal experienced when a delayed deal plunged prices after
the St. Paddy’s Day push.
In mid-June, tomato prices began to stabilize and
increased a little to $7.95 for 5x6s, 6x6s and 6x7s but then
declined to $6.95 for those same sizes later in the month.
The weather set the terms for marketing crops this
year, and in 45 years in the tomato business, Weisinger said
this season has shown him he understands less than what he
has ever known.
Prices
fall as late-starting central Florida tomato volume ramps
up
Florida
tomato prices are beginning to drop as a tardy
winter-ravaged crop finally begins to bring promotable
volume to the market.
The later starting central Florida deal is also expected
to run longer than normal and overlap with the north
Florida deal which starts in early June.

|
|
Doug
Ohlemeier
|
|
After
being damaged by January freezes and unfavorable
growing conditions since, Florida's tomatoes in
early May are beginning to return to volume.
Central Florida's deal is running late and is
expected to overlap with north Florida production.
|
After being damaged by January freezes and unfavorable
growing conditions since, Florida's tomatoes in early May
are beginning to return to volume. Central Florida's deal
is running late and is expected to overlap with north
Florida production.
While south Florida harvesting was winding down in early
to mid-May, growers had started harvesting light volume in
central Florida.
Tony DiMare, vice president of the DiMare Co., Homestead,
Fla., said he expects promotable volume to begin in the
Pal-metto, Fla.-Ruskin, Fla. region on May 20, about 10-14
days later than normal.
Central Florida normally begins light harvesting April
20-25 with volume hitting around May 10.
Most central Florida growers were either just getting
started or preparing to start, DiMare said on May 11.
“There have been some rougher tomatoes (this winter)
because of the wind and cold,” DiMare said. “But the
Palmetto-Ruskin area has had very good growing weather the
last couple of months. We will see some of the best
quality tomatoes the state has had this year.”
While winter’s cold created a shortage of large-sized
tomatoes, DiMare said the central Florida deal should
bring an abun-dance of extra larges, the 5x6s.
Chuck Weisinger, president and chief executive officer of
broker Weis-Buy Farms Inc., Fort Myers, Fla., said buyers
should see a major shift in prices and that the market
won’t settle until May 14-18.
“There is a wide range of prices this morning,” he
said May 12. “There is a range as much as 30% in
pricing. I think we are looking at a more stable market
than we have had all winter. We will sell product like we
do for more normal prices in the next month or so.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture in mid-May reported
25-pound cartons of loose mature greens 85% U.S. No. One
or better from south Florida selling for $19.95 for 5x6s,
$17.95 for 6x6s and $15.95 for 6x7s.
That’s lower than the $23.95 that the 5x6s sold for,
$21.95 for the 6x6s and $17.95-$19.95 for the 6x7s the
USDA reported on May 4.
For cherry tomatoes, the USDA reported flats of 12 1-pint
baskets with lids from south Florida selling for
$6.95-8.95, down from $9.95-11.95 reported on May 4.
On grape tomatoes, the USDA in late February reported
$7.95-9.95 for flats of 12 1-pint baskets and $15.95-17.95
for 20-pound cartons of loose grapes.
In early May, the USDA quoted $10.95-11.95 for the flats
and $19.95-21.95 for the cartons.
Romas sold for $13.95 for 25-pound loose cartons of extra
large, $11.95-12.95 for large, and $8.95-9.95 for mediums,
below the $14.95-15.95 for extra large, $13.95-14.95 for
large, and $9.95-11.95 for mediums reported May 4.
Gerry Odell, chief operating officer of farming and
packing for the Immokalee, Fla.-based Lipman Family
Companies, which grows and packs tomatoes through Six
L’s Packing Co. Inc. and Custom Pak, said he expects
central Florida this season to have a bigger than normal
overlap with Quincy, Fla.
“There is always some overlap (between the two areas),
but the overlap will be excessive this year,” he said.
North Florida production normally starts in early June and
runs through July 4.
Six L’s was moving to the Palmetto-Ruskin region on May
11 by first picking romas and starting rounds by May 15.
Odell said he expects volumes to begin peaking May 18-25.
“We should start to have some very good quality fruit
(then),” he said May 11. “The roma quality is already
coming up and the rounds will be much better than they
have been.”
Winter pack-outs have been low as packinghouses graded out
many culls because of scarring and irregular shaped fruit,
Odell said.
In mid-May, Six L’s and DiMare were still harvesting
limited volumes from the Immokalee and Naples, Fla.,
regions.
Odell said Six L’s planned to shift production to
Palmetto-Ruskin the week of May 17.
Low
Florida
tomato volume expected to run through mid-April
By
Doug Ohlemeier
The Packer – 3/1/10
A large gap in
Florida
tomatoes production has tomato buyers scrambling for
product.
|
|
|
Doug
Ohlemeier
|
|
Tomatoes run
on the packing line at the DiMare Co., in
Homestead
,
Fla.
, in mid-February. Grower-shippers say
Homestead
is one of the few areas supplying
Florida
tomatoes and that buyers should expect a large gap in
Florida
mature green packings until early to mid-April.
|
Prices in late February escalated into the $30s for mature
greens and as high as $50 for grape tomatoes, and
grower-shippers say buyers shouldn’t expect any
appreciable volume until early to mid-April.
Cold and rainy weather since the Jan. 10-11 freeze that
gutted Immokalee, Fla.-area plantings has prevented south
Florida
production from returning to normal volume.
“No one has any tomatoes, so the price is
insignificant,” said Ed Angrisani, partner with
Taylor
& Fulton Packing LLC, Palmetto,
Fla.
“
Florida
is packing like 20,000 (cartons) a day or like that. It’s
just not enough to do anyone any good.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported in late February
light supplies of south
Florida
mature greens and insufficient volume of cherries and roma
tomatoes to establish a market.
Grower-shippers and the USDA reported 25-pound cartons of
loose mature greens 85% U.S. No. One or better from south
Florida selling for $31.95 for 5x6s, 6x6s and 6x7s, up from
$21.95-23.95 for those same sizes in mid-February.
For grape tomatoes, the USDA reported $25.95-26.95 for flats
of 12 1-pint baskets with 20-pound cartons of loose grapes
selling for $50.95-51.95, considerably higher than the
$16.95 for clamshells and $31.95 for cartons in
mid-February.
Fort Myers, Fla.-based Weis-Buy Farms Inc. brokerage has
been receiving many requests for
Florida
tomatoes.
Chuck Weisinger, president and chief executive officer, said
foodservice suppliers are struggling for product.
“My phone is filled with people requesting tomatoes,” he
said March 1. “We cannot supply our own clientele. We are
in a critical situation for supplies now. Anything that
looks like a tomato is going to sell.”
While DiMare Co.,
Homestead
,
Fla.
, has limited supplies in
Homestead
, and most other packers had sporadic volumes, Weisinger
said.
Gerry Odell, chief operating officer of farming and packing
for the Lipman Family Cos., Immokalee, said he doesn’t
expect
Florida
to return to normal volumes until early April.
He said he expects Mexican tomatoes to play out before
Florida
returns with any kind of volume.
Odell said
Mexico
’s production of field-grown mature greens is light and
shipments should wind down by April 1, but strong shipments
of romas should continue throughout most of the year.
While central
Florida
pickings normally start in mid-April, Odell said January
planting delays should prevent the Palmetto-Ruskin region
from having any volume until early May.
Any volume before that will have to come from south
Florida
, Odell said.
“Typically, March is a hard month to have a lot of
tomatoes in
Florida
,” he said March 1. “In an average year, if you have
iffy weather in January or early February that hurts your
fruit set. It will be tough to have volume in March and it
will be even tougher this year.”
Nighttime temperatures have consistently fallen into the low
40s and upper 30s — below the limit for fruit set.
Tomatoes planted before the freeze, which normally would be
harvested in early March, haven’t fully developed because
of the cold, Odell said.
Odell said
Florida
shippers have been sending only 10-11 truckloads a day to
out-of-state customers. Six L’s, which markets tomatoes
packed by the Lipman Family Cos., doesn’t plan to ship any
mature greens until around March 5.
Freeze
destroys much of
Florida
’s tomato crop
By
Doug Ohlemeier
The
Packer – 1/13/10

Burned
leaves are evident in this field of mature green tomatoes
south of Immokalee after repeated nights of subfreezing
temperatures.Grower-shippers warn buyers to expect
considerably smaller supplies and higher prices until south
Florida’s spring production begins.
IMMOKALEE,
Fla.
— Prices are increasing as the extent of damage to
Florida
’s tomato crop becomes better known.
Grower-shippers have
suspended pickings as the arctic temperatures damaged plants
and warn buyers to prepare for news of lots of damage,
shorter supplies and higher prices.
Subfreezing temperatures
that struck south
Florida
’s tomato fields during the early morning hours of Jan. 12
have apparently destroyed a significant portion of the
state’s winter tomato crop in the Immokalee area.
Some growers estimate up
to 60% of the tomato crop has been lost, including Plant
City-based Ag-Mart Produce Inc.
Grower-shippers spent Jan.
13 updating their customers about what they should expect.
“It’s going to be
rough,” one salesman said.
Citing insufficient
supplies to establish a market, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture didn’t report
Florida
tomato prices on Jan. 13.
Chuck Weisinger, president
and chief executive officer of broker Weis-Buy Farms Inc.,
Fort Myers
, quoted $23.95 for 25-pound cartons of extra-large rounds
and $21.95 for cartons of large rounds, up from $16.95 a
carton before the freezing weather struck Jan. 4.
Weisinger said he expects
Florida
to have only a handful of tomatoes.
“Anything from Immokalee
north looks like it is just a done deal,” he said Jan. 13.
“I have a feeling that a lot of this that was grown by
some of the
Naples
growers for the winter is also done. Any plants that had
been open, that had been picked at least once and didn’t
have the leaf protection, were destroyed. It’s going to be
a horse race for the next two months until spring starts.”
Weisinger said
temperatures in the Immokalee area fell to 27 degrees and
remained there for up to six hours during the early morning
hours of Jan. 11. It was so cold for so long that the frost
protection systems failed.
Though he hadn’t talked
with
Homestead
growers, Weisinger said he heard there might be a small
number of fields on the East Coast that escaped freeze
damage.
Much of south
Florida
’s sweet corn, green beans, bell peppers and squash have
been damaged as well.
Skip Jonas, field
compliance officer for the Florida Tomato Committee,
Maitland, said on Jan. 13 he thinks it would take several
days before the industry will have a full report of the
extent of the damage.
After a
freeze, the fruit takes a while to show how much damage it
has received, he said.
Freezing
temperatures blast
Florida
; cold will persist through at least Jan. 11
by Chip Carter - Produce News - 1/5/10
Freeze warnings remained
in effect Tuesday morning, Jan. 5, for the state of
Florida
as far south as
Miami
on the east coast and
Naples
on the west, with sub-freezing low temperatures predicted to
continue through at least Monday, Jan. 11.
According to the National
Weather Service, a "reinforcing shot of colder and
drier air pushing through the area will set the stage for a
threat of freezing temperatures late tonight and Wednesday
morning & for four to six hours & except for two to
four hours along the [western Florida] Treasure Coast.
Outlying areas south of Interstate 4 (which bisects the
state roughly east to west from Daytona to
Tampa
) could have two to three hours of low temperatures below 28
degrees."
Florida
strawberry production is
centered in
Plant City
, just south of I-4 in the western part of the state.
Forecast lows in the mid-
to high 20s would shatter existing records in areas
including Orlando and
Miami
if reached.
One Accuweather
agricultural meteorologist predicted temperatures in
Florida
between 27 and 34 degrees Tuesday morning and perhaps
Wednesday morning but said that the lows should not be
sustained long enough to cause significant crop damage.
Florida
farmers have yet to note
losses from the icy arctic air mass that blasted the state
over the weekend of Jan. 2-3, with an even more threatening
blow expected this weekend (Jan. 9-10).
"I've never been
through something like this where it's [several] consecutive
days of sub-freezing temperatures," industry veteran
Sal Toscano of Plant City, FL, berry producer Sunny Ridge
Farms told The Produce News Jan. 4. "I'll tell you the
same thing I'm telling my bosses: I don't really know what
to expect, I don't know what's going to happen. No one does.
I know at best there's going to be a lot of water [sprayed
on plants in an attempt to hold temperatures at 32 degrees].
This thing looks like it's going to last to another four or
five days. Anything I tell you can be wrong in another 24
hours. How it's going to affect us long term I'm not sure.
I'm not sure I can remember a period where they were calling
for sub-freezing temps for this long, and there's another
front coming for the weekend. It's day to day."
Florida
strawberry and citrus
producers weathered the first three days of freezing
temperatures with little damage recorded, though Mr. Toscano
noted that some loss is unavoidable.
Exposed plant sets were
covered with layers of insulating plastic. Strawberry fields
were sprayed with water to encase berries in a protective
layer of ice. Meanwhile, citrus groves across the state were
enshrouded in a fog produced by misters spraying 68-degree
water in an effort to cloak the trees in a protective cloud.
But even the best
protective measures could prove in vain if
Florida
experiences sustained, sub-freezing temperatures for several
nights in a row. Accompanying low humidity exacerbates the
danger, since there is little moisture to help protect
plants.
"Anything that's open
to the air is going to be a problem," said Chuck
Weisinger of
Fort Myers
,
FL
, produce broker Weis-Buy Farms. "Stuff north of the
Caloosahatchee
River
(which runs parallel from the western edge of Lake
Okeechobee to
Fort Myers
) could be in trouble. It depends on how much cold weather
we get for how long and whether the wind continues and
whether we continue to get a cloud cover. I just don't see
any relief with this."
One
Florida
produce industry veteran, who asked not to be identified,
told The Produce News Tuesday night, Jan. 4, that he feared
that the tomato and vegetable crops centered on Palmetto and
Ruskin could be lost. "I think the Palmetto-Ruskin deal
is done," he said.
Meanwhile,
Florida
farmers rushed to pick any fruits or vegetables already in
the fields as the National Weather Service predicted even
colder temperatures for the rest of the week.
According to the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, freezing temperatures were
recorded as far south as Lake Okeechobee and
Naples
Saturday and Sunday nights, Jan. 2 and Jan. 3. Even colder
weather was forecast for the remainder of the week, with
major citrus-growing areas facing projected temperatures as
low as 24 degrees and a potential hard freeze -- three or
more hours at temperatures below 32 -- as far south as
Lake Okeechobee
.
Citrus freezes at 28
degrees, strawberries can bear 26 degrees; more than four
hours of unprotected exposure at those temperatures results
in major damage. Also at risk are northern
Florida
broccoli and cabbage, as well as tomatoes, corn and other
vegetables in the southern half of the state.
"Everybody's got
their pumps ready and working and getting ready to spray,
checking the Rainbirds," Mr. Toscano said. "We'll
have ice, let it melt, let the fields dry, go in and see
what we can [pick] day by day. I wouldn't even attempt to
predict what it's going to do before the [coming]
weekend."
Wall Street was betting
that at least the
Florida
citrus crop would escape the freeze in good shape. On Dec.
31, orange juice futures for March delivery fell 5.7 percent
in anticipation that the impending cold snap would not be
significant enough to disrupt production.
The cold snap portends the
longest period of freezing weather in
Florida
in more than a century. Freezes in 1894-95 were so severe
that seven of eight banks serving central
Florida
's citrus corridor collapsed, and the state's citrus
industry relocated further south in the aftermath.
FLORIDA
TOMATO PRICES REMAIN HIGH
By Andy
Nelson
The
Packer – November 18, 2009
Prices for
Florida
remained high in mid-November, and would likely stay high at
least through the end of the month, particularly with strong
Thanksgiving demand.
“Demand should remain extremely high,” said Chuck
Weisinger, president and chief executive officer of Fort
Myers-based broker Weis-Buy Farms Inc. “Supplies haven’t
jumped out and hit us in the face.”
Prices would likely remain very high at least through
the end of November, and possibly through the first week of
December, Weisinger said.
Pricing will likely stay about where it is “for the
next several weeks,” Bob Spencer, vice president and sales
manager of West Coast Tomato Inc., Palmetto, Fla., Said Nov.
18.
Yields won’t likely return to normal until
mid-December, Spencer said. Combined with that, shippers
were seeing more demand from the West Coast, where
California
and Baja supplies were drying up quickly, Weisinger and
Spencer said.
Supplies the week of Nov. 16 were “almost
non-existent,” and prices would likely stay high at least
through the end of the month, predicted Tony DiMare, vice
president of Homestead, Fla. based DiMare Co.
The week of Nov. 16, Weisinger was seeing prices as
high as $31.95 for 25-pound boxes of extra-large greens,
with larges fetching $29.95 and mediums $27.95.
On Nov. 17, the U.S. Department of Agriculture
reported a prices of $25.95 for 25-pound cartons of 5x6
mature green tomatoes from
Florida
, up from $19.95 last year at the same time.
The mid-November prices were the highest Weisinger
has seen for mature green tomatoes in several years.
“And it’s not just round greens,” Weisinger
said, “Everything has suffered. Grapes and cherries are
really short, too. I wish there were more tomatoes to supply
the demand.”
WISE
GUYS AT WEIS-BUY PREDICT HOLIDAY REBOUND
By Chip
Carter
The
Produce News – November 9, 2009
Fort Myers
,
FL
– Despite a late start to the
Florida
fall season, the brain trust at Weis-Buy Farms is hopeful of
a solid market over the holiday season that could perhaps
even signal the beginnings of a wider-spread economic
recovery.
President Chuck Weisinger said there is “not a
lot” of squash or tomatoes in the early going due to heavy
early rains followed by unseasonably high heat. Most product
will have some systemic or surface damage, Mr. Weisinger
said, “This fall, nothing’s going to be perfect this
fall.”
Mr. Weisinger said that less product early is not
necessarily bad news. “Had we hit with product right now
we’d have some flat markets,” Mr. Weisinger said.
“There were no hurricanes, there was a decent weather in
California
, and hot-house product is still around in abundance.”
Mr. Weisinger told The Produce News Oct. 22 he
expected increased demand to arrive along with increased
yields the first week of November. He said consumers have
become more cautious in their buying habits, but that after
months of gloomy economic forecasts, many are ready to stop
listening to bad news.
Since early spring, the Weis-Buy has seen clients
buying less product more often, a trend the company believes
will continue.
“In the
United States
, we’re not buying anything we don’t have to have.
Instead of buying four tomatoes, Mama Housewife is buying
one.” Mr. Weisinger said.
But, “We (Americans) have a different attitude now
– propel have been listening to gloom and doom so long
they’re just not listening any more,” Mr. Weisinger
said. That being the case, “I think you’re going to see
some increased buying by Thanksgiving,” he said. Market
rebound, “if it happens,” will being around Nov. 5 and
continue through Christmas.
Weis-Buy salesman Mark Weisinger agreed with his
brother. An increasingly “optimistic attitude could be the
accelerator for more demand,” he said. “I think
Americans are sick of negativity. I for one just walk away
from it.”
Even with a solid domestic market, Chuck Weisinger
said the produce industry said
Florida
farmers in particular need to broaden horizons.
“We need to market ourselves as Floridians, as
Americans, not only as providing local product, but also the
safest product in the world,” Chuck Weisinger said.
“We’ve got a product that will carry overseas. I think
the cheap dollar will help us abroad. I think we’re going
to be able to go into foreign markets more than before.”
That expansion cannot come at the expense of local
markets, he said. “We need to be selling
Florida
flavor – and safety. We need to market to ‘locovores,’
“gourmands who demand local produce for freshness and
flavor.
Added Weis-Buy salesman Mike Shapiro, “There’s a
different definition of fresh for a chef than for a
consumer. Chefs want produce that’s no more than two days
old. Chefs’ definition of freshness is very different from
consumers and marketers of produce.”
Said Chuck Weisinger, “The bottom line is, our
focus needs to be on local (and) American product that looks
good and tastes good, and we need to market ourselves as
being the safest produce in the world. That’s what it’s
all about – safety and flavor.”
NEW FARM BILL LEGISLATION WEBSITE
The U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service has
created a side by side comparison of key components of the
2008 Farm bill with previous legislation.. The site is
accessed
www.ers.usda.gov/farmbill/2008
This site
allows a comparison of key provisions of the new bill with
what the law specified before it was passed.
CONSUMER SITE FOR FRUIT, AND VEGETABLE ORIGINS
Consumers can
now determine where 95 commonly found fresh fruits and
vegetables found in their local supermarkets are grown.
Users can also find out which states are the leading
producers of various crops. The web site is:
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/resources/fruitveg/fruitveg.php
This tool was
created by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
and the center for Transportation Research and Education at
Iowa State University.
This
information comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Fruit and Vegetable Market News Service.
IS ORGANIC FOOD WORTH IT?
Is buying organic food the
best thing for your health? Use this guide for tips on
organic fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, grains and more.
PROS and CONS of
EATING ORGANIC
While buying organic foods
may seem like the right thing to do for your health, the
environment and your family, sometimes it's difficult to
justify the added expense. Plus, more food industry experts
are starting to recommend choosing local foods over their
organic counterparts, especially when it comes to foods
where freshness really counts, like produce, dairy and meat.
So what's a responsible,
price-conscious consumer to do? Nutrition experts stress
that while eating organic can be a smart way to reduce your
exposure to potentially harmful chemicals, striving for a
healthy diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits and
vegetables and limits processed grains, animal fats, sugar
and salt is a far more effective way to boost your health.
WHAT DOES ORGANIC
REALLY MEAN?
Organic foods are produced
with little or no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides and
are free of added antibiotics or hormones. In order to be
called organic, a product must be certified by the United
States Department of Agriculture. Don't confuse "organic"
with "natural" though. "There's no legal definition of a
natural food," says Terrie Holewinski, RD, a cardiovascular
dietitian at the University of Michigan Health System. "The
food industry often uses the term 'natural' to mean
minimally processed or preservative-free.
So are certified organic
foods better for you than conventional foods? "At this
point, there is no scientific evidence that organic foods
are healthier or safer than conventionally grown foods,"
says Holewinski. But it's hard to identify the long-term
effects of the pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals
that are found in so many of our foods.
Do organic foods taste
better? Some fans of organic say their food definitely
tastes better. But the taste difference could be linked to
other factors like the season and growing conditions.
So when should you splurge
on organic, and when is it safe to save your money? This
guide to the food groups can help you decide.
A GUIDE TO ORGANIC
FRUITS AND VEGGIES
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
When it comes to fresh
fruit and veggies, the best thing you can do is to eat more
of them -- organic or not. "If you're not eating enough
fruits and vegetables overall, then buying organic is like
worrying about pennies but not dollars," says Suzanne Havala
Hobbs, DrPH, RD, clinical assistant professor in the
department of health policy and administration at the School
of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
Joel Fuhrman, MD, author of
Eat to Live and Disease-Proof your Child, agrees.
"Pesticides are not the main factor in determining things
like cancer, heart disease and diabetes. The main factor is
that the American diet gets less than 10 percent of calories
from fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds.
That said, "there is some
justifiable concern that chemicals are potentially harmful,"
says Dr. Fuhrman, "but you don't have to eat completely
organic. If you avoid the 12 most contaminated fruits and
vegetables, you can eliminate more that 90 percent of your
pesticide exposure.
BUY THESE ORGANIC
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES:
- Apples
- Bell Peppers
- Celery
- Cherries
- Imported grapes
- Nectarines
- Peaches
- Pears
- Potatoes
- Red Raspberries
- Spinach
- Strawberries
IT'S OKAY TO BUY
THESE NON-ORGANIC FRUITS AND VEGETABLES:
- Asparagus
- Avocados
- Bananas
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Corn (Sweet)
- Kiwi
- Mangos
- Onions
(Source for lists:
Environmental Working Group
www.foodnews.org )
If you can't afford to
purchase organic, peel apples and potatoes and consider
substituting less contaminated produce like kale or Swiss
chard for more contaminated items like spinach. Also,
whether you buy organic or not, make sure to wash produce
thoroughly and remove the outer leaf of leafy vegetables
like lettuce and cabbage.
A GUIDE TO ORGANIC
GRAIN, MEAT, DAIRY AND FISH
GRAINS
"Like the other food
groups, if you have access to organic grains and can afford
them, I believe organic is better than conventional and
always for the same reason: You're exposing yourself to
fewer environmental contaminants with organic," says Dr.
Hobbs. Another plus: Most organic grain products are healthy
whole grains.
MEAT AND DAIRY
When it comes to animal
fats like meat and dairy products, you may want to consider
going organic, but limiting your intake of animal fats
overall is your healthiest move.
"The higher-fat animal
products are also those that deliver the most toxicity to
us. I recommend that people eat fewer animal products and
opt for lower-fat versions which are less contaminated and
are probably better for us anyway," says Dr. Fuhrman. "For
example, instead of foods like cheese and butter, get your
fat from healthier sources such as nuts, seeds and
avocados." Adds Dr. Hobbs, "If you can afford it, you're
better off buying organic meat but at the same time, you
should reduce the frequency of meats, regardless of whether
they're organic of conventional.
When eating meat, you can
cut your chemical exposure by removing as much of the fat as
you can since that's where chemicals are likely
concentrated, says Holewinski.
FISH
Because the USDA doesn't
certify fish, it's not usually identified as organic or
non-organic. Some fish, like salmon, are identified as
farm-raised or wild, and in this case wild is your best bet.
Most food experts and nutritionists agree that wild fish are
both better tasting and more nutritious because of their
natural and varied diet.
Many people are concerned
about harmful mercury in fish, "All fish contain mercury but
some more that others," says Dr. Fuhrman. The most
contaminated varieties are tilefish, white snapper, shark,
mackerel, swordfish and tune. The least contaminated:
flounder, tilapia, sole and trout. It's best to limit your
intake of contaminated fish varieties to one servig per
week, less if you're pregnant or nursing.
In the end, the decision to
buy organic or not is a very personal choice, says
Holewinski. One thing is for sure: Whether or not you opt
for organic fare, packing your plate with fresh fruits and
vegetables and lightening up on processed foods and animal
fats is a smart way to give your health an boost.
SIX STEPS TO SAFER
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

CHECK
- Check to be sure that
the fresh fruits and vegetables you buy are not bruised
or damaged
- Check that fresh cut
fruits and vegetables like packaged salads and precut
melons are refrigerated at the store before buying. Do
not buy fresh cut items that are not refrigerated.
CLEAN
- Wash hands with warm
water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after
handling fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Clean all surfaces and
utensils with hot water and soap, including cutting
boards, counter tops, peelers, and knives that will
touch fresh fruits or vegetables before and after food
preparation.
- Rinse fresh fruits and
vegetables under running tap water, including those with
skins and rinds that are not eaten. Packaged fruits and
vegetables labeled “ready-to-eat”, “washed”, or “triple
washed” need not be washed.
- Rub firm-skin fruits
and vegetables under running tap water or scrub with a
clean vegetable brush while rinsing with running tap
water.
- Dry fruits and
vegetables with a clean cloth towel or paper towel.
- Never use detergent or
bleach to wash fresh fruits or vegetables. These
products are not intended for consumption.
SEPARATE
- When shopping, be sure
fresh fruits and vegetables are separated from household
chemicals and raw foods such as meat, poultry, and
seafood in your cart and in bags at checkout.
- Keep fresh fruits and
vegetables separate from raw meat, poultry, or seafood
in your refrigerator.
- Separate fresh fruits
and vegetables from raw meat, poultry, and seafood. Do
not use the same cutting board without cleaning with hot
water and soap before and after preparing fresh fruits
and vegetables.
COOK
- Cook or throw away
fruits or vegetables that have touched raw meat,
poultry, seafood, or their juices
CHILL
- Refrigerate all cut,
peeled, or cooked fresh fruits and vegetables within two
hours
THROW AWAY
- Throw away fresh
fruits and vegetables that have not been refrigerated
within two hours of cutting, peeling or cooking.
- Remove and throw away
bruised or damaged portions of fruits and vegetables
when preparing to cook them or before eating them raw.
- Throw away any fruit
and vegetable that will not be cooked if it has touched
raw meat, poultry, or seafood.
- IF IN DOUBT, THROW IT
OUT!
This is the latest news
affecting the produce industry. The entire staff at Weis-Buy
wishes to bring this to the attention of our customers.
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