Ag Alert October 21, 2020

Produce Continued from Page 1

busters frombeginning to end,” he said. But he did lose a cabbage crop at the start of the pandemic. “I had a small cabbage program that went through winter, and right as I was finishing iswhen thepandemichit,”Vierra said. “That’s when everything came to a screeching halt for about 10 days, when just the whole supply chain was screwed up, and I didendupdiskingabout 20acres of cabbage.” At Produce Express, Boyce said some prices have stabilized. “Someof the root vegetables likeonions, potatoes, things like that, have leveled off, and the prices are back down to seasonal norms,” he said. “It’s been a rough year for mostvegetables,beinghigherthannormal.” He attributed much of that to under- planting and a shortage of labor. “For squashes, bell peppers, peas, things like that, it’s just been a very rough year— really uncharacteristic seasonal highs for the summer months,” Boyce said. “It’s basically all labor-driven, whether it’s the planting of the product, the harvesting of the product or the fear of COVID itself just causing people to underplant that drove the prices prettymuch all summer.” Late-summerheatwavesandtheplague of wildfires have also taken a toll on vege- table supplies, he said. In Salinas, Shaw said demand for let- tuce, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and strawberries isoutpacingsupply, asweath- er and plant diseases reduce supplies of those crops. (Kevin Hecteman i s an ass i stant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at khecteman@cfbf.com.)

roofandstayedthroughtheroof.Notmuch haschanged.Asmymerchandisers tellme, it’s like the day before Thanksgiving just about every single day.” Mark Shaw, vice president of market- ing for the Markon produce cooperative inSalinas, said retail demandhas reached anequilibriumafter soaring inMarchand April and beginning to cool inMay. “Food-servicedemandhasbeenswing- ing up and down since mid-May, depen- dent onthegeographicareaand increased or decreased infection rates,” he said. What anewnormal, or a temporarynor- mal, might look like is a “great question,” Shaw said, adding, “Where does North America go fromhere?” “IthinkmostpeoplearepiningfortheOld Normal,andhopingwecanbringitback,”he said. “Butmoreandmoreofusarerealizing theOldNormal isnot comingback.” Shawsaidhethinks thenewnormalmay entail more grab-and-go foods withmore packaging, instead of hand-selecting pro- duce fromthe retail shelf. “Packagingwill give the feel theproduct has been touched by less hands,” he said. JimBoyce, owner of wholesale distrib- utor Produce Express in Sacramento, said one factor affecting produce demandwill bewhether, andtowhat extent, restaurants are allowed to resume indoor dining. In California, where outdoor dining is possible much of the year in some re- gions, a warmer-than-average winter

This lettuce field in Monterey County was struck with impatiens necrotic spot virus, contrib- uting to a reduc- tion in yields.

couldbe ahead, according to theNational Weather Service. Its Climate Prediction Center released a three-month outlook last week that foresees higher-than-aver- age temperatures, especially in Southern California, and lower-than-average pre- cipitation into the newyear. “It’s going to be curious to see what the general public thinks about eating out- side,”Boyce said. “I think, as longas it’snot awindyday, I think it’s apractice that peo- ple won’t shy away from too much. If it’s cold out, they can use heaters. If it’s rain- ing, most of themhave tents set upnow to where it won’t affect them. “We can all speculate, but we’ve never gone through it before, when the only op- tion todine out is to literally dine outside,” he said. “We’ll see if people are willing to do it or not.” In less-temperate climates, Shaw said, he fears the restaurant business will drop alongwith the temperature.

“Without a vaccine or meds to treat the symptoms of COVID-19, we will see the food-serviceindustrytakeastepbackward,” he said. “It will simply be too cold inmost of thecountry, andCanada, toeat outside.” That, headded,will drivepeopleback to eating at home. Shaw said a farmer’s primary market will dictateplantingdecisions. Thosewith a heavy food-service customer base will pullbacksomeplantingsonaccountofun- certainty “and will not overplant, which would create a supply-exceeds situation, dropping value of their crops.” Thosewith a strong retail base will keep to a normal schedule, he added. “Peoplewill still craveandeat freshfruits and vegetables, and will seek themout at the retail level,” he said. Vierrasaidhesawthat athis farm,where demand for watermelonwas “huge” until Mexicanmelonshit themarket earlier this month, and themarket for sweet corn re- mains “tremendous.” “Sweet corn was pretty much gang-

Agricultural Market Review

Study looks at native crop pests Because persimmons have no close relatives among California native plants, they also have few pests—and University of California researchers say that helps explain why crops such as persimmons receive fewer pesticide treatments. He said researchers can use an under- standing of the “evolutionary related- ness” of crops and native plants to find crops that will suffer fewer attacks and can therefore will need fewer pesticides to be cultivated successfully.

Quotations are the latest available for the week ending October 16, 2020 Year Ago Week Ago Latest Week Livestock Slaughter Steers – 5-Area Average Select & Choice, 1050–1150 lbs., $ per cwt. 108-110 103-108 107-109 Hogs – Average hog, 51-52% lean, Iowa-Minn. market, $ per cwt. 64.55 76.43 76.80 Slaughter Lambs – $ per cwt. 125–175 lbs. National weekly live sales 137.77-159 No Quote No Quote Field crops – basis prompt shipment Barley – U.S. No. 2, $ per cwt. Truck, Stockton-Modesto-Oakdale-Turlock 11 11 10-10.25 Cotton – ¢ per lb., Middling 1 3/32” Fresno spot market 68.23 68.70 70.48 Corn – U.S. No. 2 yellow $ per cwt. trucked 9.87 5.28 5.45 Alfalfa Hay – $ per ton, quality*, FOB Region 1, Northern Inter-mountain 160-200 (P) 200-220 (P) 200-220 (S) Region 2, Sacramento Valley 210-240 (G/P) No Quote No Quote Region 3, Northern San Joaquin Valley 230-295 (P) 275-292 (P) 275-280 (S) Region 4, Central San Joaquin Valley 205 (F/G) 220 (grass mix) No Quote Region 5, Southern California 270 (P) 255 (P) 255 (P) Region 6, Southeast Interior 155-160 (F/G) 135-140 (F/G) 135-140 (F/G) Oat Hay – $ per ton, quality*, FOB Northern California, dairy No Quote No Quote No Quote Oats – U.S. No. 2 white, $ per cwt. Statewide, trucked price No Quote No Quote No Quote

In a study published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , co-authors Ian Pearse, re- search ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and a UC Davis alumnus, and Jay Rosenheim, UCDavis distinguished pro- fessor of entomology, analyzed 2011-15 state records of pesticide applications for 93major California crops. Rosenheim and Pearse examined pes- ticide applications against arthropods, pathogens andweedplants, andanalyzed the data. “Wehypothesized that California crops that lack close relatives in the native flora will be attacked by fewer herbivores and pathogens and require less pesticide use,” Rosenheimsaid. Pearse said the study “shows that crops like dates, asparagus, figs, kiwis or per- simmons that are distantly related to na- tive California plants—and thus separat- ed bymanymillion years of independent evolution—are colonized by fewer pests and diseases.”

The researchers said crops such as arti- chokes, blackberries and sweet corn have close relatives among California natives andmay thereforebemoreprone toattract pests and diseases. “It iswellunderstoodthatmanyof thein- sectpestsanddiseases thatattackourcrops are often invasive species that come from overseas,”Rosenheimsaid.“Almostallcrops growninCaliforniahavebeendomesticated fromwildplantswhoseareaoforiginisover- seas, andmany of the invading pests come fromtheoriginal homeof thewildancestor of thenow-domesticatedcropplant.” Hesaidthenewstudyfocusedonroughly half theherbivores anddiseases that attack Californiacrops andarenative to the state. “These organisms originally attacked membersof thenativeCalifornia flora, but havenowshifted toattackanovel host: the cropplant,”Rosenheimsaid. “It’s relatively easy to shift to attack a close relative of a native host plant, but it’s relatively hard to shift to attack a very different host plant.”

Dry Beans – Grower FOB prices Baby Limas, $ per cwt, (sacked) Large Limas, $ per cwt. (sacked) Blackeye, $ per cwt. (sacked)

No Quote No Quote No Quote

Rice – Milled No. 1 Head, FOB No. Calif. mills Medium grain, $ per cwt. Wheat – U.S. No. 2 or better, winter, $ per cwt. 13% protein, Los Angeles, trucked price

37-39

38-41

12-12.25 No Quote Provided by the California Farm Bureau Federation as a service to Farm Bureau members. Information supplied by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market News Branch. * ADF=Acid detergent fiber; (S) = Supreme/<27%ADF; (P) = Premium/27-29; (G) = Good/29-32; (F) = Fair/32-35. No Quote

10 Ag Alert October 21, 2020