Market Notes July 8th, 2021
WATER
In the Klamath River basin in Oregon, the fish are quite happy, the growers are not. Water from this basin is seasonally allocated to growers for their crops, but not this year. While the drought has reduced reservoir levels, it has not gone to zero, the growers complain, so while the allocation might be reduced, it should not be eliminated. Some growers have had the foresight to see this problem and bring in supply from other areas at great expense, while others have simply reduced or eliminated their crop for this season. A few growers are considering other careers. The same is true in California and Colorado, though possibly not as severe. The overriding message is this, low rainfall and excessive heat is creating a serious problem for growers and their crops. While this has been a concern for decades, this year we will most likely see shortages and quality issues due to these environmental changes. This can happen quickly and without warning. Fields heat up, water evaporates, thirst abounds. This may well affect our potato deals for late summer. We will have to wait until harvest and storage too see. In another ten years will we all be working for Nestle?
ANDY’S
Andy’s is on and the world is a better place because….Andy’s. Starting next week, the Culinary express will be loading up at Andy’s and delivering to consolidation points south (Watsonville and Salinas). This is a great opportunity to taste and offer the finest stone fruit on this and many other planets. The candy-cot and Blenheim apricots are done but we have six to eight incredibly juicy weeks to enjoy their incredible fruits. You can pick up in Morgan Hill on your own trucks, but if you just want to see what all the fuss is about and do not want to deal with the weigh station on 101, let us help get you started. It is an amazing selection of heirloom, hybrid, and hand pollinated fruits that move real fast. What is in and great one week, is often gone the next. Also, please remember, this is tree ripened fruit, so it needs to move as fast on your end as it does from the orchard. If you want to get in on the best thing summer has to offer, please contact your Culinary rep for details.
HEAT
Due to the excessive heat many of our overnight shipments of herbs have had issues upon arrival. In a few cases these shipments have been held up in transit due to the soaring temperatures across the country. Storms are now adding to that delay and poor arrival. This has become a day-by-day analysis on both the shippers and receivers end. We will consider the conditions at both ends along with any points of consolidation along the way. For example, if it is 125 degrees in Memphis, probably not a good day for Fed-Ex overnight. Containers on the tarmac are also a concern for commercial airlines. We do not intend to stop, we just need to be careful and advise when we think orders will be compromised, and we will! No wonder truck rates are going up.
NEW PRODUCE QUIZ – WHO AM I ???
I wish they could get my name straight. From Callaloo to Inca Wheat to love-lies-bleeding, it’s all me but in many different forms. Even my primary name origin is confusing. It is derived from the Greek meaning unfading love flower. Found throughout the world but mostly in the tropics, I am an ornamental plant, a grain and an edible leaf. We also do food coloring, but that’s another quiz. My value as an ornamental is made obvious by my long clusters of beautiful red flowers and fiery red leaves. My plant grows up to 36 inches and each one of us can contain as many as 500,000 seeds. As a grain I am a historical staple. This changed when conquistador Hernando Cortés, in reaction to the Aztec’s donation of me in religious related rituals, ordered my fields destroyed and removed by the hands of any farmers who planted me. So, my humble Mexican beginnings were halted but not eliminated. My resistance to drought, ease of growth, and nutritional benefits prevailed and today I am popped, sprouted, used as a cereal, or a moist and sweet (yet unleavened) flour. As a green, I can be green, red, gold, or any combination of the three. My colorful tasty green is often substituted for spinach in soups, pasta dishes or vegetable dishes. Fry, steam or boil me briefly, as I do not require much heat to become tender. My amino acids are very well balanced (they don’t even wobble). I am rich in lysine, methionine and tryptophan, and provide an excellent source of magnesium, iron, phosphorus, copper and zinc. So, in one form or another, regardless of what you call me, I’’ be there.
Call 908-789-4700 –Lisa or Richard– Fax 908-789-4702 Visit us at www.culinaryproduce.com “like” us @ Culinary Specialty Produce on Facebook© Culinary Specialty Produce, Inc., 2020