After heavy rains deluged their growing regions, New York growers expect to ship considerably fewer cartons of sweet corn and green beans.
CornBuyers should expect large corn supply gaps in late August and early September, said Jason Turek, a partner in Turek Farms of King Ferry, N.Y.
Turek said he expects his company’s acreage to be down by a fourth and said buyers should expect a season of short supplies.
“Initially for us, during the front part of August, we will have promotable volumes,” he said July 8. “But at some point, we will have some skips. We’re trying to identify when that will be. We have quite a few empty acres this year and things may start to get a little dicey.”
Turek Farms planned to begin harvesting July 18.
Holley, N.Y.’s James J. Piedimonte & Sons Inc., and Anthony J. Piedimonte/Cabbco, the northern marketing division of Wimauma, Fla.-based Wm. P. Hearne Produce Co. LLC, escaped serious crop damage.
Tony Piedimonte, owner, said he expects planting gaps throughout the eastern U.S., including the Ohio Valley and Michigan.
“There will be some marketing opportunities and some headaches,” he said. “We should have fairly good supplies. We don’t really look for much interruption in the corn supply as long as the weather remains favorable.”
Piedimonte plans to start harvesting in late July.
On July 7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported wirebound crates of four dozen yellow, white and bicolor from Georgia selling for $9.45-10.95 compared to last year in mid-July when those same colors sold for $6-7.95.
New York corn production typically finishes by early October.
BeansTorrential rains battered New York’s beans.
Piedimonte expects to lose about a fifth of production early in the season and said he hopes the deal will improve as it progresses.
“Everything put in during the last plantings is beautiful and should straighten out for September,” he said July 8. “The first few fields look beautiful other than some wet spots. July and August are when things will be a little sporadic. Once we get to late August and early September, product should be more available, we should see more moderate prices and retailers will be able to feature them in more promotions.”
Turek expects a loss of a third of his bean crops.
“What’s there is good but spots in fields are gone,” Turek said July 8. “Of the third in the ground, we should see half the yield at best. What’s left in the high spots looks good. We should see big skips at the end of July and first of August. The skips should shrink a little but we will have 10-day gaps.”
Torrey Farms Inc., Elba, N.Y., expects ample supplies.
“I don’t see any significant gaps,” said Shannon Kyle, a saleswoman and marketer. “I expect the first few weeks from first plantings to yield well and quality looks good on those. If we start to see it tighten a little, it will be in the later part of August when we get to those times when we should have been planting during the end of June but couldn’t because of the rain.”
Torrey planned to begin harvesting July 13.
On July 7, the USDA reported bushel cartons/crates of machine-picked round green beans from the Eastern Shore of Virginia selling for $26.85. Last year in mid-July, those cartons sold for $17.
Bean production typically runs through late September and early October.
CucumbersBuyers should expect sporadic supplies of cucumbers from western New York, said Piedimonte.
“The cucumbers are okay but they’re not fantastic,” he said July 8. “We will start with slow volume and hopefully build as we go through the season.”
Piedimonte planned to begin harvesting July 20.
While early plantings look good, later plantings could yield less, Kyle said.
“There won’t be a bumper crop, which should keep supply a little on the light side,” she said July 8. “Not only from western New York, but also from other states we compete with that had the same issues, including Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and even Massachusetts.”
Source - http://www.thepacker.com
