10) THE PILL THAT WON’T KILL – For all of those who do not feel comfortable with a vaccination, mandated or not, the pill is a great alternative to help combat the virus and its contagion. An operative solution which will stop people from drinking bleach or injecting ivermectin. It seems like we may need to develop a multitude of options to suspend spread. One for each person/group that disagree with the most popular procedures.
9) SUPPLY SIDE DENIED– A bit of a product flip flop this year. Many growers, concerned about the massive amount of product either disked or dumped from inventory, were shy with their projections for this year. As such there was less product available in many areas leaving us short and making markets tight. For the Thanksgiving holiday they were wrong, but with the new spread, they may be right. Forecasting remains a roller coaster.
8) THE TASK OF THE MASK– Must wear or silly to care is still a major player in our economy. Mandates, company rules, employee action and reaction continue to affect the function of our industry, and our economy as a whole. Dealt with on many levels, the mask debate continues, sometimes in violence but often in resolve.
7) VIRUS vs VACCINE – Unfortunately, healthcare has become political. Managing one’s health through a politicians or parties’ opinion is an odd way to care for ourselves and those we care for. Doctors seem to be a good option for these types of decisions. While doctors are not always right, it is far superior and a lot more personal than listening to Fox, CNN, Congress, or the White House. They are too busy worrying about their campaign funds and objecting to what ever the other side says to actually care about what’s best for you.
6) FOOD BOXES– A truly wonderful thing. We know there was a lot of grumbling about who got how much and why, but when you look at the process of procurement it lite a spark in our industry for product movement. This allowed truckers to move, employees to pack, growers to load, and distributors to distribute. We know this also helped hundreds of thousands who were hungry, but it also helped the back side as well.
5) HOURS OF OPERATION– Operations that often took pride in extended hours of operations have just short of reversed that attitude. Get in, get done, get out seems to be the new credo. From sales offices, to receiving and loading hours, the windows are getting shorter, often without notice. We continue to check and advise in receiving and loading hours as they continue to change. This gets even more confusing with the addition of home office.
4) EMPLOYMENT/LABOR – The American work force has gone goofy on many levels, and our industry is no exception. First, there was “stay home, we’ll pay you.” Then quarantine and testing. Then vaccinations proof and more “stay home, we’ll pay you.” Then there was we won’t come back to work unless we get better benefits and $15.00 minimum wage. Then there were signing bonuses where employers were competing with government payouts for workers. Then there was ICE and the employers who protected employees from that. Then food and supplies got short due to lack of workers. Now everyone has to get tested in order to leave their homes. Then the trucking disappeared. As a result of all the goofy, the advancement of automation and robotics has grown exponentially.
3) TRUCKING – Many drivers simply retired, easier to collect funds from the government. Equipment has become difficult as orders for new trucks cannot be filled in time. Cost of trucking has gone up over 50% in many cases. DOT rules remain as draconian as ever. Driver less trucking is being successfully tested throughout the country and professional drivers most likely see the writing on the wall. The industry is poised for a change that will undoubtedly occur. The only question is timing.
2) NEW ORGANIC RULES – While we were worried about saving our jobs, lives, and businesses, The organic industry proposed new ruling which comes just short of saying that in order to say the “organic” you have to pay three thousand dollars a years and show your books to certifiers on demand. It is incredibly one sided and obviously influenced my certifiers and numerous other third parties that stand to gain form these preposterous proposals. From what we see on the produce side of organics, these new rules offer no gain for our planet or the consumer other than this design will make organics more exclusive and much more expensive.
1) COVID & COMPANY– For the second year in a row Covid and its variants have dominated every aspect of our lives personally, medically, professionally, socially, and within our families and communities. While laws, restrictions, apparel, will continue to fluctuate as necessary, overall, we do see fewer fatalities with each new iteration. Is this an indication that this “demic” is winding down? Let’s see what it will do in 2022.
MARKET NOTES AND PRODUCE QUIZ WILL RETURN THURSDAY JAN 6, 2022
