-July 8,2019-
SLO avocado harvest yield best in state
Last summer’s heat wave hurt this summer’s California avocado harvest but in SLO county, the northern most avocado producer, the yield per acre in San Luis Obispo is double any other avocado county. This according to a chart from the California Avocado Commission.
India tariff retaliation hurting nut sales
Last month India responded to President Trump’s tariff decision imposing a new tariff itself on 28 US products including fruits and nuts from California. Almonds may be the hardest hit this year with the loss of the Chinese market overhanging the industry. Now India is lost as well just as the new harvest looms.
Press reports say tree nuts are the top farm export to India, at $662 million in 2018; fresh fruit ranked number two with $163 million. As of April, India had already purchased $192 million worth of almonds, or over 76 percent of all U.S. in-shell almond exports.
Egg prices down
Wholesale egg prices are trading at at multi-year lows this summer with retail prices in Southern California to retailers ranging from 118-127 cents per dozen for large eggs.Over the last five years the egg market has seen record highs and lows in part due to the coming and going of the 2015 Avian Influenza Outbreak.
Hotter weather predicted for most of the state
Here is the latest temp prediction for mid-July.
Strawberry farmers make more fruit without methyl bromide
The California Strawberry Commission says fewer strawberry farms are producing more strawberries even though methyl bromide has been phased out and the industry struggles with a worker shortage. Here is how they describe the transformation.
In 2014, California strawberry farmers harvested 230 million trays of strawberries from 38,966 acres, achieving near record-levels of efficiency, at 5,905 trays per acre. In 2018, 250 million trays of strawberries were harvested from 33,838 acres; establishing a new record, of 7,415 trays per acre.
The changes from 2014 to 2018 reflect a 13 percent decline in acreage, while simultaneously increasing total production by nine percent and increasing production efficiency by 40 percent.
However, to achieve these production efficiencies in accordance with California requirements, costs have skyrocketed. As a result of these skyrocketing costs to farms in California, 25% of strawberry farmers are gone.
USDA wont monitor honey bees
USDA has suspended data collection for its annual Honey Bee Colonies survey, citing budget constraints, CNN reports. A department spokesperson said the suspension was temporary, but didn’t address when or if it will be resumed. The new come as report of huge bee colony die offs continue.
Heat melts Salinas lettuce production
Press reports say that Mid-June heat has cut lettuce volume from the Salinas growing region, causing prices to spike to the $30 per carton range. Grower-shippers expect the market conditions to remain until mid-July. Crop losses ewer estimated at 20 to 30 percent.