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November
Strawberry companion crops can increase
early cash flow (The Vegetable Growers News,
Nov. ’04). “Strawberry growers looking to boost
early income can plant a variety of companion crops. . . .
Everything from onions, cole crops, lettuce, sweet corn, Irish
potatoes and asparagus can be timed to be ready at the same
time as strawberries are,” says Carl Cantaluppi, a horticulture
agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension. “These
recommendations assume the grower will be using a greenhouse
with daytime temperatures of 70 degrees F or greater and nighttime
temperatures of no less than 60 degrees F.”
FDA Releases Produce Safety Plan (PA
Vegetable Growers News, Oct. 04). “The U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) has released its final 2004
Produce Safety Action Plan, entitled Produce Safety from
Production to Consumption: 2004 Action Plan to Minimize Foodborne
Illness Associated with Fresh Produce Consumption, establishing
a set of four objectives . . . : 1) prevent contamination
of fresh produce; 2) minimize the public health impact when
contamination of fresh produce occurs; 3) improve communications
with producers, preparers, consumers, and government entities
about fresh produce; and 4) facilitate and support research
relevant to the contamination of fresh produce.” . .
. To view the entire document online, go to www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/prodpla2.html.
USDA Forecasts Record Farm Income for
2004. “The USDA’s Economic Research Service
(ERS) this week released its forecast that net farm income
for 2004 will be $77.5 billion, up $9 billion from last year’s
record amount. The value of both crop and livestock production
has risen 13% in the last year and has also reached record
levels. For more detailed information, visit the ERS web site
at http://www.ers.usda.gov/features/2004FarmIncome.”
(Source: NCFC Update, National Association of Farmer
Cooperatives, Nov. 12, 2004)
Berry Farming: Key Questions to Consider
Before You Begin in New York Berry News (Oct.
19, 2004) “P erhaps you are considering diversifying
your current operation or starting a new venture and
are considering small fruits as a possibility. How can you
determine if small fruit farming may be right for you or if
a new crop will be a profitable addition to your existing
venture?” Lori Bushway, Senior Extension Associate in
Berry Crops, Department of Horticultural Sciences at Cornell
University provides a checklist to assist you in your decision-making
process at http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pp/extension/tfabp/newslett/nybn40b.pdf.
From Farm to Fork in the October
2004 issue of Growing features the New York State
Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, N.Y. “The
Station was established in 1880, and is the sixth oldest experiment
station in the United States.” . . . Small fruits breeder
Courtney Weber released two new strawberries last year: L’Amour
and Clancy. The Station has released 38 strawberries since
its inception in 1880. Fruit growers depend on new varieties
to keep one step ahead of insects, disease, the weather and
the competition.
Watch for Hidden
Danger recommends Greenhouse Insider (October
2004). The article discusses the Cornell Farmedic Training
Program that trains rural rescue workers in farm rescue. “On
the farm, the machinery is the most dangerous . . . In fact,
. . . machinery is involved in 60 to 65% of farm fatalities.
Most of the time it is a tractor that is to blame because
that piece of equipment is used in so many operations, and
it is used in many different condition. In addition, . . .
tractors are operated by people having different levels of
experience.” The article recommends rollover protection
structures (ROPS) and shields that go over the PTO shaft.
More information on the Farmedic program is available at www.farmedic.com.
An Extra-Strawberry Success is the “Adapting
to Change” feature in the Canadian publication
The Grower (Oct. ’04). In 1972, seven strawberry
growers from Kent, England, established a cooperative called
Kentish Garden (KG) in order to reduce transportation costs
and develop the economies of scale needed to secure new markets.
. . . By the early 1990’s KG had grown into a substantial
business. . . . Certain they could expand beyond their 1994
turnover of CAD$28 million, KG invited two food industry experts
to join their Board . . . to help the fruit growers develop
a vision for the future. In 1995, KG formed a marketing company
called KG Fruits, Ltd and recruited a managing director that
could lead a CAD$230 million company. They are expected to
reach that figure this year.” More information on Kentish
Garden cooperative is available at the KG website: http://www.kgfruits.com/kgf_public_history_p.php.
Canada and U.S. reciprocity (The
Grower, Canada, Oct. ’04) asks “Why is it
important for Canadians shipping product to the U.S. to be
members of the Fruit & Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation
(DRC) or holders of a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
Produce License under the Licensing and Arbitration Regulations?
The short answer is to get preferred access to the USDA’s
Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) dispute settlement
mechanism. PACA requires persons acting as commission merchants,
dealers or brokers in the produce industry to be licensed.
Parties who are licensed under PACA are governed by a set
of trading standards and a dispute resolution system. . .
. Canadians enjoy an advantage under PACA. . . . However,
in a recent ruling the PACA has clarified that it will only
extend reciprocity to those exporters from Canada who comply
with Canadian regulations, meaning they are DRC members or
CFIA Licensees or they qualify for a specific exemption such
as, being growers who only ship produce they have grown themselves.
. . . If you are a Canadian exporter of fresh fruits and vegetables
to the U.S., make sure you are either a DRC member or a CFIA
Licensee and make sure you only sell to PACA Licensees,”
concludes the author.
For Raspberries, Ubiquity (at a Price)
in Bramble (Autumn, ’04) discusses how Driscoll
Strawberry Associates of Camarillo, CA produces raspberries
“in the months when the canes usually do not bear fruit.
The growers dig up dormant plants from northern nurseries,
hold them in cold storage, then plant them in Southern California
from April to September. The discombobulated plants then bear
fruit from late fall to early spring. That is the rainy season
in California, and rain causes raspberries to soften and rot.
So Driscoll began shielding many of the rows in near-transparent
plastic tunnels, originally adapted from Spanish strawberry
growers. Supported by metal hoops, and open at the sides for
ventilation, these structures also protect against wind and
mild frost. In the last two years, other growers have also
started using the tunnels. . . Driscoll’s innovations
are a tremendous boon to productivity and shipping, but do
not make the berries taste any better. Even the plastic tunnels,
as useful as they are, slightly reduce light, and so they
too reduce the raspberries’ flavor. . . . The company
now handles about half of the fresh raspberries shipped in
the United States. . . . California overtook Washington State
last year as the nation’s top raspberry producer.”
Selling the farm should be less taxing
says Hoard’s Dairyman (Oct. 10, ’04).
“Whether or not to sell the farm is a complex financial
and emotional decision, but understanding property exchange
tax benefits under Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 can
help farmers reap more benefits than costs if they decide
to exchange one property for another. . . . For instance,
if you sell property, you need to identify one or more replacement
properties within 45 days of the sale, and you need to close
on at least one of them within 180 days of the sale to defer
capital gains taxes.” The article stresses that to receive
a tax benefit you must use “a truly qualified intermediary.
. . . To do a 1031 exchange you must put all the money from
your property sale into their ‘qualified trust’
account until you are ready to close on another property.
Your money is in the name of the qualified intermediary during
that time. Be certain to find out if he or she has a large
fidelity bond and security arrangements for your money.”
Farm Subsidy Rules
Called Too Vague. Hoard’s Dairyman (Oct.
10, ’04) quotes a Washington Post article that
reported
“Farm subsidy payments from the Department of Agriculture
aren’t going to the right people, according to the
Federal Government’s General Accounting Office (GAO).
. . . The GAO sharply criticized the USDA saying that the
department’s
rules to qualify for payments are too loosely written. Additionally,
the GAO said that the USDA’s antifraud measures are
not tough enough.” Read the complete Washington
Post article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19029-2004Jun30.html.
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