Fruit ICM News

 

Volume 8,  No. 43
December 9, 2004

 


In This Issue

Calendar
New U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Named
Small Fruit Cultivar Review, 2003
Margaret Phillips Obituary
H-2A Proposed Modifications
Terminal Market Wholesale Fruit Prices
Preliminary Climatological Data for November

Calendar

December 14:  Agricultural Labor Camp Workshop for Camp Operators, Pomeroy, OSU Meigs County Extension office, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.  For those who own, operate, or are considering the development of temporary labor camps for agricultural and food processing workers.

January 19-21, 2005: Ohio Fruit and Vegetable Growers Congress / Ohio Direct Marketing Conference, Toledo SeaGate Centre.  Contact Tom Sachs at 614-246-8292 or e-mail growohio@ofbf.org.

February 10-12, 2005: North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Conference and Trade Show, Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, MA.

New U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

Source: The OSU Extension Communique

Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns has been chosen by President Bush to serve as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to oversee the nation’s farm and food programs.  The selection of Johanns reflects the administration’s desire to focus heavily on farm trade.

Strawberry, Raspberry, and Blueberry Cultivar Review 2003

Source: Courtney Weber, Department of Horticultural Science, Cornell University, Geneva, NYcaw34@nysaes.cornell.edu, <http://www.hort.cornell.edu/ extension/commercial/fruit/Berries/berrycult2003.html>

The winter months are a good time to review your current small fruit cultivars and consider new plantings.  New cultivars are released all the time, and the vast majority of them fail to catch on for various reasons, including poor adaptability to diverse growing regions, unforeseen disease or insect susceptibility, or fruit characteristics that are unacceptable to the buying public.

The following sections are meant as a guideline for New York and the northeastern U.S.  No cultivar will work well in all locations, soil types, and production systems, but many have proven to be useful in various different situations.  Some new cultivars show promise and may be suitable for your operation.  However, as always, try new cultivars on a limited basis before abandoning cultivars that have proven reliable in your production scheme.

This list is by no means complete, but should address most situations.  For convenience, an asterisk follows the standard cultivars (*).  The author can be contacted with questions or to discuss other possibilities at caw34@cornell.edu.

Strawberry Cultivars

Strawberries are probably the most variable and temperamental of the small fruits and also probably have the most cultivars to choose from because they are often adapted to a relatively small growing region.June-bearing types are most commonly grown in NY and the northeastern U.S., but interest is growing in day-neutral types grown on plastic.

Early Season

Mid Season

Late Season

Clancy (NYUS304B, Patent Pending) is a new release from Cornell that was developed through a joint venture with the USDA breeding program in Beltsville, MD.  It has parents that are resistant to

red stele root rot.  The fruit is a round, conical shape with darker red color and good flavor.  The flesh is firm, with good texture and eating quality.  Insect and other disease resistance is unknown at this time, but no significant problems have been noted to date.  Growers looking for a firm, late season berry may want to try this one.

Day Neutral

New Cultivars - These have not been tested in Geneva but may be of interest.

Avalon (Rutgers University, Plant Patent #11,372) is an early season berry with large fruit size.  The fruit is rounder than Earliglow and somewhat dark.  Flavor and firmness are very good.  Plants are large and vigorous.

Raspberry Cultivars

There are a lot of raspberry cultivars out there dating from the 1940’s to 2003.  They come in summer bearing floricane types and fall bearing primocane types.  By planting a series of cultivars, it is now possible to have fruit from mid to late June until frost in much of NY and the northeastern U.S. with only a short late summer lag in production.  Here are some thoughts on some of the cultivars available.Early Season

Mid Season

season, is medium to large in size, firm, and bright red with excellent flavor.  It has moderate to poor hardiness, and buds may winter kill in cold climates.  It is susceptible to Phytophthora root rot.

Late Season

Black Raspberries

Purple Raspberries

Fall Bearing


Greenhouse Production

                     Blueberry Cultivars

While blueberries are not widely grown in NY, there are regions with suitable soil.  They are more widely grown in other regions in the Northeast.  Blueberries exhibit a wide range of hardiness that must be taken into account when selecting cultivars.

Early Season

Early Mid Season


Mid Season

Late Season

New Cultivars

Margaret Phillips Obituary

Margaret Phillips of Berlin Heights died December 5 at her home.  She had been the sales manager for the A.B. Phillips Fruit Farm since the 1950's.  Previous to that time, she had worked as the Home Demonstration Agent for the Erie County Agricultural Extension Service.

Margaret was an active member of the First Congregational Church of Christ in Berlin Hts. and was the organist for 52 years.  She was also active in the Northwest Ohio Association of the UCC Church.

She is survived by 1 daughter, 4 sons (including Brad), 5 grandchildren, and 1 sister.  Services will be held Sunday, December 12, at the First Congregational Church of Christ in Berlin Hts. at 3:00 p.m. with calling hours from 1:00 p.m. until the time of the service.  Memorial gifts can be made to the music fund of the church, Stein Hospice, or the American Cancer Society.

H-2A Proposed Modifications

Source:  Ohio Farm Bureau Federation Proposed National Policies for 2005

The official policy of the American Farm Bureau Federation has asked for modifications to the Federal immigration policy outlined in H-2A to make it more useful to the nation’s farmers.  Following is the policy adopted on December 3, 2004 by the voting delegation of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.  The underlined portions are additions to former policy.

We recommend that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) give farming the appropriate credit for being a significant economic activity for immigration purposes.  Our continuing efforts in this area of immigration policy should stress the following points:

1.)  We support the development of new, multi-sector temporary worker program, which includes agriculture and:

a.) Quickly, simply, and effectively matches willing foreign workers with willing U.S. employers when no Americans can reasonably be found to fill the job opening;

b.) Creates a temporary worker visa that will last 3 years and be renewable;

c.) Provides financial incentives for temporary workers to return workers permanently to their home countries after their period of work in the U.S. has expired;

d.) Requires that the temporary workers pay payroll and social security taxes for which they may receive a benefit, and receive the same workplace protections the law requires for American workers, such as the minimum wage, right to change jobs, due process, and health and safety requirements;

e.) Allows temporary workers to travel freely to and from their home countries, and requires them to return home if they do not remain employed, do not abide by the rules, or break the law; and is open to undocumented workers if in addition to abiding by the rules and returning home after their time ends, they come forward, register, and pay a one-time fee.

2.)  We support the use of the agricultural prevailing wage rather than the adverse effect wage rate in the H-2A program;

3.)  Federal H-2A users should not be subject to the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA);

4.)  We will oppose any efforts to repeal the open agricultural field search warrant provisions of the 1986 Immigration Reform Act;

5.)  When we have workable legislation that ensures a sufficient supply of farm workers, we will support simplification and replacement of the present document system.

6.)  We support repeal of the employer sanctions clause.  Growers should not be held liable for determining the legal or illegal status of employees;

7. - 15.)  Deals with procedural changes;

16.)  We recognize the need for efforts to protect the security of our homeland.  We believe the following issues are critical to agricultural employers:

a.) The implementation of an effective temporary worker program must come before the introduction of US VISIT to U.S. Land Ports of Entry and the introduction of new workplace enforcement of homeland security measures.

b.) Expansion of US VISIT to U.S. Land Ports of Entry should not necessarily delay the movement of legal workers through the border.

Regulatory compliance assistance and educational efforts should be a critical component of workplace enforcement efforts.

We insist that the Department of Justice and the DHS respect the civil rights and civil liberties of farmers and farm workers in the course of enforcement of immigration law.


Terminal Market Wholesale Fruit Prices - December 8, 2004

Source: Chicago <http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/HX_FV010.txt>

Detroit <http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/DU_FV010.txt>

Pittsburgh <http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/PS_FV010.txt>

                 Chicago

     Detroit

     Pittsburgh

Apples,  cartons, 12  3- lb bags  U.S. ExFcy (unless noted)

IL Jonathan  2¼" min     12.00 

MI  Gala      2¼" min     12.00

G. Delic       2¼" min      12.00  Jonamac       2¼" min     12.00  Jonathan       2¼" min     12.00  R. Delic        2¼" min     12.00

 

IL U.S. Fancy Jonathan

                     2¼" min    12.00

MI Empire   2½" min   11.00-13.00

Fuji              2½" min   13.00-14.00

Gala             2½" min   13.00-14.00

Golden Delicious 2½" min 11-13.50

Jonathan       2½" min   13.00-14.50

McIntosh      2½" min   11.00-14.50

Red Delicious 2½" min 11.00-13.50

Rome            2½" min  13.00-13.50

NY R. Delic  2½" min  14.50-15.50

Rome             2½" min 13.50-14.50

 

MI U.S. Fancy

Gala              2¼" min  11.50-12.00

G. Delicious  2¼" min  11.50-12.00

McIntosh       2¼" min  11.50-12.00

R. Delicious   2¼" min 11.50-12.00

MI U.S. Fancy

Golden Delicious

     2½" min        13.50-14.50

McIntosh    2½" min     13.50

R. Delicious 2½" min    13.50

NY Combination

U.S. ExFcy-Fancy

R. Delicious  2½" min   12.25

Apples, cartons

cell pack, U.S. ExFcy (unless noted)

NY  McIntosh    80s      24.00                             96s      22.00                     100s  13.00-13.50

                        120s      12.00

NY Empire    100s       18.50-20.50

McIntosh       100s       20.00-21.00

NY McIntosh   100s      19.50

U.S. Fancy

McIntosh           80s      17.00

                        100s     17.50

Apples, bushel cartons loose, U.S. Ex Fcy (unless noted)

IL  Red Delicious          14.00

MI G. Delicious  3" min    12-14.50

McIntosh             2¾" up       12.00

Red Delicious      2¾" up       12.00

                         3" min 12.00-14.50

The intent of listing terminal market prices is to provide information available in the public domain.  It is not intended for price setting, only to assist growers in evaluating the value of their crops.  Producers need to remember that the prices listed are gross;  consideration must be given to other marketing costs, i.e. commission, handling charge, gate fees, and possible lumper fees.

Preliminary Monthly Climatological Data for Selected Ohio Locations

                                                                 November 2004

Weather Station Location

Monthly

Precipitation

Normal Monthly Precipitation

Year-to-Date Precipitation

Normal

Year-to-Date Precipitation

Average High

Normal High

Average Low

Normal Low

Mean  Temp.

Normal  Mean

Akron-Canton

3.14

3.04

44.29

35.49

51.0

48.7

35.8

33.4

43.4

41.0

Cincinnati

5.15

3.46

45.51

39.32

54.7

53.6

40.7

35.7

47.7

44.7

Cleveland

3.24

3.38

34.92

35.56

51.7

48.7

37.2

34.9

44.5

41.8

Columbus

4.12

3.19

45.92

35.57

53.8

52.4

38.6

34.9

46.2

43.7

Dayton

3.18

3.30

40.12

36.50

52.6

50.1

37.3

34.3

45.0

42.2

Fremont

4.09

2.78

30.49

31.97

52.7

49.3

31.7

32.1

42.2

40.7

Kingsville

2.45

3.60

46.69

36.80

51.2

49.6

37.0

35.0

44.1

42.3

Mansfield

3.55

3.76

41.84

39.97

50.4

48.7

35.3

32.2

42.9

40.4

Norwalk

3.50

2.91

36.99

32.87

52.2

49.3

34.6

33.0

43.4

40.3

Piketon

4.68

3.00

28.74

38.80

56.8

51.4

38.3

34.1

47.6

42.7

Toledo

3.33

2.78

27.48

30.57

50.3

48.3

35.4

32.6

42.9

40.4

Wooster

2.54

2.93

43.53

33.57

52.8

49.3

36.1

31.8

44.4

40.5

Youngstown

2.46

3.07

41.61

35.06

51.1

48.4

34.3

33.0

42.7

40.7

                                                                               Temperatures in degrees F, Precipitation in inches.


Table Created by Ted W. Gastier, OSU Extension from National Weather Service Data, OARDC, and local reports

The Ohio Fruit ICM News is edited by:

Ted W. Gastier
Extension Agent, Agriculture
Tree Fruit Team Coordinator
Ohio State University Extension Huron County
180 Milan Avenue
Norwalk, OH 44857
Phone: (419)668-8210
FAX: (419)663-4233
E-mail: gastier.1@osu.edu



Information presented above and where trade names are used, they are supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Ohio State University Extension is implied. Although every attempt is made to produce information that is complete, timely, and accurate, the pesticide user bears responsibility of consulting the pesticide label and adhering to those directions.

Copyright © The Ohio State University 2004

All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.

Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension.

TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868


| Back |