Core Report August 2015

Transcription

Your AMO assessments fund all of
the activities of the New York Apple
Association, helping to encourage
profitable growing and marketing of
New York apples.
Stories and photos
with this logo
specifically highlight
how your AMO dollars
are being put to work for you.
Inside:
NYFB fighting
minimum wage
hike.
Page 5
Official Newspaper of the New York Apple Association
In this Issue
Jim Allen on AMO’s impact on direct marketers.
...................................... Page 3
Wolcott grower launches new
product line.
...................................... Page 6
New York growers reminded to
deal only with licensed dealers.
...................................... Page 6
USDA expands crop insurance
options for fruit growers
...................................... Page 6
NYAA working on design for Apple Country® pouch bags.
...................................... Page 7
Rep. Stefanik crosses aisle to
support Schumer’s hard cider tax
bill.
...................................... Page 8
NYAA’s public relations efforts focus on new crop.
.................................... Page 10
George Lamont Award winners
named.
.................................... Page 13
7645 Main Street
PO Box 350
Fishers New York 14453-0350
Volume 4, Issue 3
August 2015
2015-16 consumer
advertising campaign
• Mix of traditional and digital media
By Michael Cassidy
[email protected]
The 2015-16 New York Apple
Association consumer advertising
campaign will be in “full bloom”
beginning in early September with an
aggressive mix of traditional and digital
o n l i n e
m e d i a
vehicles.
T
h
e
primary
target of the
campaign is
women 2554 with children.
It will commence in early September
and run through February 2016 in all
of upstate New York. The objectives
of the campaign are to build interest
and purchase of New York apples
during peak apple season and
beyond. Promotional advertising will
encourage consumers to visit their
local orchards, farm markets and local
retailers, as well as interact with the
NYAA web site, nyapplecountry.com.
Here is an overview of the traditional
and digital campaigns:
The New York Apple Association’s website, above, and ‘From Blossom to Awesome’ video, below, are part of the association’s advertising strategy.
Traditional media
See Advertising, Page 14
Susan Sarlund to lead EPC
Cornell offers workshop on bird
damage.
.................................... Page 13
Prospects for agricultural trade
with Cuba.
.................................... Page 16
The Board of Directors of the Eastern
Produce Council is proud to announce
the appointment of Susan McAleavey
Sarlund as Executive Director of the
Eastern Produce Council.
Sarlund is a graduate of Boston
College with a bachelor’s degree
in communications; she went on
to achieve her master’s degree in
marketing from Fairleigh Dickinson
University in New Jersey.
Sarlund is currently part of the
Northeast Sales team for the New
Sarlund
York
Apple
Association.
She
held
various sales
and marketing
positions with
companies
including
N a b i s c o ,
Hilton Hotels
and two other
Investment
firms, prior to
joining the New York Apple Association.
She brings a wealth of knowledge as
well as experience to the EPC, where
she has served under former longtime
executive director John McAleavey
over the past five years.
“Susan was the natural choice,
there were no other candidates for
this position that could hit the ground
running and keep the EPC course set
See Sarlund, Page 14
Page 2
Core Report® August 2015
Retail Review
News from the retail marketing industry
A&P declares
bankruptcy
Andnowyouknow.com
MONTVALE, N.J. - After several
months of speculation, Great Atlantic
& Pacific Tea Co. (A&P) has officially
filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the
second time in five years.
“After careful consideration of all
alternatives, we have concluded that
a sale process implemented through
chapter 11 is the best way for A&P to
preserve as many jobs as possible, and
maximize value for all stakeholders,”
said Paul Hertz, president and chief
executive officer of A&P. “And while
the decision to close some stores is
always difficult, these actions will
enable the Company to refocus its
efforts to ensure the vast majority of
A&P stores continue operating under
new owners as a result of the Courtsupervised process.”
The company has already lined
up deals with three grocery chains
that would acquire 120 of its stores
employing 12,500 employees for
nearly $600 million, USA today
reported early this morning. Ahold also
announced this morning that its Stop
& Shop branch will acquire 25 of these
locations at a cost of $146 million.
The grocery chain filed for bankruptcy
protection in a federal court in the
Southern District of New York, citing
about $2.3 billion in debts and listing
$1.6 billion in assets, according to
USA Today. A&P also has two loans
totaling $270 million, according to
data compiled by Bloomberg, taking on
an additional $420 million in juniorranking debt as part of its exit from
bankruptcy in 2012. At the time it had
lost around $123 million on sales of
almost $1.6 billion in its latest quarter,
according to a regulatory filing.
Without the proposed sales, A&P will
have “no choice but to liquidate their
business in a fire sale and piecemeal
fashion,” Great Atlantic & Pacific
Tea Co. Chief Restructuring Officer
Christopher McGarry said in the filing.
“The best and only viable path to
maximize the value of their business
and preserve thousands of jobs is a
strategic chapter 11 filing to facilitate
sales free and clear of liabilities.”
The company has several sources of
secured financing, according to USA
Today, including investors represented
by U.S. Bank ($677.1 million) and Wells
Fargo Bank ($561 million). A&P listed
supplier C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc. as
its largest unsecured creditor with $39.4
million in claims. The next four largest
unsecured creditors are McKesson Drug
Co. ($8.4 million), Facility Source LLC
($6.7 million), Coca-Cola Enterprises
($4.8 million) and Mondelez Global
LLC ($3.2 million).
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. has
296 supermarkets and other stores
under several brands, including A&P,
Waldbaum’s, SuperFresh, Pathmark,
Food Basics, The Food Emporium,
Best Cellars, and A&P Liquor.
Key Food debuts
new banner
Supermarket News
Key Food Stores Co-operative said
it would debut a new banner, Windsor
Farms Market, later this month in
Brooklyn.
The store in Brooklyn’s Windsor
Terrace neighborhood will offer
customers a full deli department with
prepared foods made by on-site chefs, a
scratch bakery, fresh seafood including
sushi along with fresh produce and of
fresh produce and organic and nonorganic products.
“The community asked for a grocery
solution and we’re here to deliver,”
Key Food VP of business development
John Durante said in a statement. “It’s
so exciting to open our doors to the
Windsor Terrace community.”
Local officials and Key Food
executives will attend grand opening
ceremonies at the store, located at 589
Prospect Ave., July 20. Based in Staten
Island, N.Y., Key Food is a cooperative
of more than 180 independently owned
and operated grocery stores with $1.6
billion in annual sales.
Price Chopper
names first
non-family president
Supermarket News
The Golub Corp., parent company
of Price Chopper Supermarkets, said
Scott Grimmett has been named
president — the first non-Golub to hold
that title in the company’s 84-year
history.
Grimmett will continue as COO, a
title he has held since he joined the
chain as EVP and COO in 2012. Jerry
Golub will give up the title of president
but continue as CEO, and Neil Golub
will continue as executive chairman of
the board.
Before he joined Schenectady, N.Y.based Price Chopper, Grimmett spent
37 years with Safeway, including
serving as president of Dominick’s and
later its Denver divisions.
He joined Safeway as a courtesy
clerk in its Seattle division and worked
subsequently in the Seattle and
Northern California divisions as a store
manager and district manager before
spending a year on the corporate
operations and administrative staff
at the chain’s offices in Pleasanton,
Calif. In 2000 he was named VP, retail
operations, for Safeway’s Dominick’s
Finer Foods division in Chicago and
later was named president — a post he
held until moving to head the chain’s
Denver division in 2003.
British chain lifts
sugary kids drink
The (UK} Daily Mail
The UK’s biggest supermarket
chain is axing some of the best-selling
children’s drinks brands as the war on
sugar is stepped up in a bid to tackle
childhood obesity, according to a new
report.
Tesco has revealed that it is to cull
an array of added-sugar soft drinks
including CCE’s Capri-Sun and
several varieties of Suntory’s Ribena
as it revamps its range amid growing
concerns over health and obesity.
And the sugar crackdown was
immediately welcomed by health
campaigners who challenged other
supermarkets to follow the lead set by
Tesco.
Wash. Court sides with
workers on piece-rate pay
Fruit Grower News
In July, the Supreme Court for the
state of Washington ruled that farm
workers who are paid a piece rate must
also be compensated for rest breaks.
The court made the decision
unanimously.
The decision could drive up the
cost of labor in Central Washington’s
fruit production industry, where the
workforce makes up about half the
average farmer’s operating costs.
“What this means is a higher cost
of production,” said Mike Gempler,
executive director of the Washington
Growers League, a Yakima association
that represents farmers in labor issues.
The ruling is the result of a portion
of a class action lawsuit by Skagit
County berry farm laborers in federal
court, which sent the rest break pay
question to the state Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court heard arguments
in the case during a March session at
Heritage University in Toppenish.
State regulations mandate that
employers cover the cost of 10-minute
rest breaks every four hours for all
workers in all industries. Farming is no
exception.
However, the case was less clear
when applied to piece-rate work
compensated by unit instead of time.
In the case, piece workers accused
Sakuma Brothers Farms of denying
them rest breaks; the farm owners
argued that the rest breaks were
already included in the negotiated
piece rate pay.
The court sided with the workers.
Those who side with the Supreme
Court believe that paid breaks will
encourage laborers to “take a breather
from time to time for their own health.”
August 2015
Core Report® Core Report® is published
monthly by the New York
Apple Association
as a member service.
New York Apple
Association staff: Front
row, from left — Ellen
Mykins, Molly Zingler.
Back row — Jim Allen,
Cathy Jadus, Joan Willis.
New York Apple Assn.
Contact
7645 Main St., Fishers, NY 14453-0350
Phone: (585) 924-2171, Fax: (585) 924-1629
www.nyapplecountry.com
Staff
James Allen, President, [email protected]
Molly Zingler, Director of Marketing, [email protected]
Joan Willis, Executive & Communications Assistant
Cathy Jadus, Administrative & Retail Assistant
Ellen A. Mykins, Accounting Dept.
Susan Sarlund, Northeast Account Manager
Linda Quinn, Nutrition Spokeswoman
Julia Stewart, Public Relations Director
and NYAA spokesperson, [email protected]
Board of Directors
Page 3
President’s Message
What does AMO
Assessment do for
direct marketers?
By Jim Allen
[email protected]
Last month I teased readers by saying
“stay tuned, next month I will take
the processing assessment question
and direct it
to the direct
marketers.”
It’s
next
month!
So
the
second most
asked question
from
the
industry over
the years has
been, “What
do I get for my
Jim Allen
fresh
direct
assessment
money?” This is certainly not a new
question. It actually peaked back
in the ‘90s, when as a result of the
inquiries the assessment rate paid by
growers who sold apples directly to
the consumer was reduced by a grower
vote. The rate went to $.08 per bushel.
For most cases that action alone
seemed to eliminate most of the
questions and also in the 90’s the
attention given to that segment of the
industry was very small compared
to now. Today, I have no problem
defending and showing by example the
benefits that this market receives from
their $.08 AMO assessment.
First of all so much has changed
since 1995, and many of those changes
have benefited direct marketers. The
biggest, homegrown; second, the
internet; third, food safety; and fourth,
the buying habits of consumers.
Certainly we (AMO and NYAA)
cannot take credit for the homegrown
movement; but we will take credit
for using the trend to promote New
York apples. There is no market that
benefits more from homegrown than
your market. Even where the major
retailers try and promote homegrown,
they still have issues on what exactly
homegrown, locally produced or
regionally correct means and how they
can use it. Today in New Jersey efforts
are being made to restrict the use of
homegrown to only New Jersey grown
produce sold in New Jersey. That would
See Allen, Page 14
Branching Out
Will Gunnison, Chairman, District 1, Crown Point,
(518) 597-3363, [email protected]
Jay Toohill, District 1, Chazy, 518-846-7171,
[email protected]
Jonathan Chiaro, District 2, Hudson, (518) 828-1151,
[email protected]
David Jones, District 2, Germantown, 518-537-6500,
[email protected]
Alisha Albinder, District 3, Milton, (845) 795-2121,
[email protected]
Kurt Borchert, District 3, Marlboro, 845-236-7239,
[email protected]
Sarah Dressel, District 3, New Paltz,
Jack Torrice, District 4, Oswego
Richard Endres, District 5, Sodus
Todd Furber, Vice Chairman, District 5, Sodus
Chris Hance, Treasurer, District 5, Pultneyville,
Abram Peters, District 5, Pultneyville,
Kevin Bittner, District 6, Barker, 716-795-3030,
[email protected]
Kaari Stannard, District 6, Medina, 518-477-7200,
[email protected]
Jason Woodworth, District 6, Waterport,
585-682-4749, [email protected]
Retailers are ready
to move 2015 crop
By Molly Zingler
[email protected]
The apple season is almost upon us
and there is a sense of anticipation in
the air; the excitement of a new crop gets
the
industry
l o o k i n g
forward to fall.
I am setting
up promotional
programs with
retailers
for
the upcoming
season
and
there
is
a
resonating
theme amongst
all of them --Molly Zingler
they want New
York apples!
The apple category is growing leaps
and bounds for retailers. And yes
while we often sigh at the introduction
of new club varieties with the fear
that our conventional varieties might
be pushed aside, consumers’ choice
and buying habits will keep our fan
favorites alive; I am certain of it.
Backed with strong retail promotions
such as ads, demos and the ever
expanding digital coupon world, it
is my job to keep our apples in the
forefront of the retailer buyer’s mind.
We want them requesting Empire,
Macs, New York Gala and New York
Honeycrisp specifically to fulfill our
promotions.
We are armed with exciting new POS
cards, variety guides and a bin header
(see photo) to attract the consumers to
our apple displays.
There are no other apples quite like
New York apples and we intend
to drive that message
home as always.
ly
l
o
M
Page 4
The Hort Report
News from the New York State Horticultural Society
The five things we cannot change
What political party
do you belong to?
By Paul Baker
NYS Horticultural Society
It is the end of July and we are about
to harvest yet 30 million more bushels
of apples soon here in New York. On the
national agenda we anticipate record
projected crops from Washington and
Michigan. We are planting orchards,
erecting cold
storages, new
packing lines
and more.
So what did
I leave out?
Oh yes, what
is our strategy
to turn this
work into a
profit?
We
have fearlessly
invested
in
new concepts
Baker
as growers. We
embrace this
opportunity. Question I am asking --what is the basis for all of this inertia?
Record returns after prolonged years
of break-even to negative returns
have left us feeling the glass is full of
opportunity for continued success.
Jim Allen and I have recently,
independent of each other, drafted
articles suggesting that we need to
revisit our strategies to market these
crops. I could not be more in line with
this. It is summer and there is very
little legislatively to report to you so
let me challenge you with this series of
thoughts.
There is a short book I would
encourage each of you to invest in.
On Amazon it is less than $10. I
recall George Lamont prior to the last
critical look at our marketing strategy
encouraged us all to read a short book
about marketing cheese. History seems
to be repeating here. The book is by
David Richio and is called The Five
Things We Cannot Change. There
are certain facts of life that we cannot
change --- the unavoidable “givens” of
human existence.
u Everything changes and ends
u Things do not always go according
to plan
u Life is not always fair
u Pain is part of life
u People are not always loving and
loyal
If we can accept for the moment that
most, if not all, of these concepts are
US Apple
Association
is online at
www.usapple.org
By Paul Baker
Agriculture Affiliates
By the time most of you read this
there will be snow in the forecast.
So with that in mind I will pose
this rhetorical question to you. As
a farmer, do we have a particular
political party we support? The reason
you will be reading this with snow is
because for the next three months you
will only have enough time to harvest
your fruit and perhaps get a couple
hours of sleep. If you keep this Core
Report it will be in the corner pile on
your desk. I know this because I have
been in your shoes.
The Presidential debates seem
to begin shortly after the elected
new president is sworn in. I find
this actually an insult to us that we
devote so much time and energy
to this rather than address the real
difference maker issues perennially
waiting on Congressional desks.
Immigration/guest worker reform
jumps to the top of this list.
I have been stumping around both
Washington and Albany now for you
for over a decade. The routine seems
to play out the same. New names rise
up and declare their good intentions
as to how they will correct the many
injustices if you only cast your vote for
them. Upon arrival at their respective
capital they make a few initial sounds
but are quickly escorted off to back
rooms and told what the PARTY line
is. Gone is the independent thinker
who sold me the idea that he/she was
different. So the question really is are
we electing a candidate or only one
true, then the question has to be --- have
we made the necessary adjustments to
cope with time?
I personally believe he is correct.
Nothing lasts forever. In Roman times
the chariot was the Cadillac. Think
about bottled water. We consume more
bottled water than all the beer sales in
this country. Who in 1950 following
WWII would have believed this could
be possible. Water? … It is free; just
open your tap.
While we, years ago, created with the
best of intentions a strategic plan, it may
need revisiting. Those of you operating
a farm can relate to the second point I
am certain, that everything will not
always go according to plan. Plans
work when we are flexible to adjust to
Labor matters
News from
Ag Affiliates
more vote on the party side we feel is
going to act in our best interests.
Traditionally I think most farmers
tend to be conservative. Therefore,
they would feel the greatest affiliation
with the Republican Party. On
the topic of immigration reform
it has been the leadership of the
Democrats in the Senate that got the
only meaningful piece of legislation
passed on immigration reform. This
legislation, when turned over to the
Republican controlled House, simply
never got to a vote. It was stalled and
died.
On a second very emotional topic
such as the Affordable Health Care
Act, this was Democrat driven and
Republican opposed. Most farmers
see this as a huge burden being
jammed down their already over
regulated lives.
the present environment. We all have
experienced either frost or hail so we
can relate to number three. Life is not
always fair. Yes, pain is part of life and
survival. Finally personal connections
are fluid. Loyalties do seem to be rather
volatile at times. Sales connections and
markets are not guaranteed.
I know I am trying to convince you of
these five points. What I hope you are
beginning to grasp is that no matter
how sensational any plan or strategy, is
it will always need to reflect the present
challenges. We can only guess what
will happen in the future. What we
know about the future is that it will be
different from the present.
Good organizations are constantly
adjusting their strategies to meet the
So the question remains. Which
party really has your best interest at
heart?
This is how I see it. We have no
party.
We support issues. Our
requests serve the combined needs of
our industry.
When we are asked, and we
have been in the past, to support a
particular candidate we decline to
declare. As an individual you can fight
for the candidate of your personal
choice. I do not think Agriculture
Affiliates for example can afford to be
labeled a Democratic supporter or a
Republican backer as well. To do so
we automatically remove our message
from 50 percent of the elected. By
remaining neutral we can enter any
office to discuss our “issues.”
Many of our issues as already
illustrated are not clearly rooted in
one particular political ideology.
To advance our agendas we need to
remain neutral so we can have all of
the doors in the Capital open to us.
I certainly am not discouraging
each of you from sending the brightest
and best to Washington, D.C., and
Albany. Ask them hard questions. I
always remind those of you who have
made the trip to D.C. or Albany, they
work for you.
They are only there because a large
enough majority of your peers saw
the wisdom of having them carry
your messages.
Grade their work, just as you
do on a daily basis with those in
your operations who work for you.
Sometimes we have to make some
changes for the collective good.
current marketing scenes. We need
to be doing this and projecting ahead
a road of opportunities. To continue
to hold onto the same marketing
plans while everything else about this
industry is changing is, in my opinion,
a short road to foreclosure.
I am fully in favor of new technologies.
I feel we need to continue the growth
in all aspects of our business or we will
quickly fall out of balance. The laws of
supply and demand do not respond
well to imbalance. We need to move
now while we are still on the road of
optimism from recent years.
Let’s keep this industry strong and
not fall into the trap of complacent
routine actions when all around us the
world continues to spin forward.
August 2015
Core Report® 2015 Labor Issues
By Frank Gasperini
National Council of Ag Employers
The news in late July remains
dominated by the Greek economic
crisis, acts of domestic terror in the
United States, the arrivals finally of
larger numbers of H-2A and domestic
migrant workers for many fruit and
vegetable growers, and Donald Trump.
Did I say Donald Trump, I meant to
say the escalating 2016 Presidential
campaign but “The Donald” has
dominated the recent news cycles.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could get
Congress, the media, and the public to
pay one tenth as much attention to the
work that continues to be left undone
to assure continued success of our fruit
and vegetable producing agriculture;
and our nation’s food security?
So far this season the H-2A visa
program broke down in early June
as part of a global problem in the
Department of Homeland Security’s
security clearance computer programs
that shut down the processing of all
visas for over two weeks. Growers lost
millions of dollars, and workers who
had hoped to be earning wages to get
their families
through
the
next
year
lost
work
opportunities.
U.S. growers
as well as
f o r e i g n
w o r k e r s
and
their
families
lost
opportunities.
Gasperini
Although
the
system
appears to be
working now, opportunities lost are
lost forever.
NCAE
and
others
call
on
Congressional leaders to demand an
accounting from Homeland Security
and the State Department to explain
what happened, how they will prevent
it happening again, and that they have
back-up plans for any future difficulties
so that domestic businesses are not
left rotting in the fields, orchards, and
vineyards along with their crops again.
The 2015 visa issue did not
stop workers entering from the
Caribbean Basin Initiative countries,
predominantly Jamaica because they
are pre-screened and pre-approved
and do go through the same U.S.
Consulate process as other workers.
We hope that the system continues
to run smoothly and that all backlogs
will be overcome in time for the fall
tree-fruit harvest season.
Agriculture and other businesses
are expecting continued onslaught
of regulatory action for the next 12 to
18 months with the Pesticide Worker
Protection standard now rumored
to be back on track to publish a final
rule, that agriculture employers will
find onerous and time-consuming to
implement, in the next month or two.
We have already seen the Waters of
the U.S. regulations being finalized,
and expect a series of H-2A special
procedures related final or proposed
rules by the end of the year.
With everything being thrown at
us, and no legislative relief in sight,
NCAE and our allies are working now
to prepare a comprehensive agenda for
ag employers nationally to prepare for
2016 and beyond.
In December NCAE will host its
second annual Agricultural Employer
Page 5
Labor Forum in Las Vegas with speakers
from the private sectors, associations,
and government. Registration for this
forum is now open in our website. It
is only by working together to learn
and share strategies that we can standup to the growing regulatory load that
growers face.
Also this month, NCAE is moving
our offices closer to the Capital and
the federal agencies who legislate and
regulate issues of importance to our
industry.
As the season progresses please keep
us posted on your key labor issues and
deficiencies so that we can address
them in future columns.
The author is Executive Vice
President of the National Council
of Agricultural Employers. NCAE
is the national trade association
representing Agricultural Employers
in Washington, D.C. NCAE advocates
and addresses employer issues for all
employers of both domestic and H-2
agriculture workers. Visit NCAE’s
website at www.NCAEonline.org for
more information and continuing
updates.
N.Y. Farm Bureau takes stand on minimum wage
By Nicole Horowitz
New York Farm Bureau
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the
Commissioner of Labor recently
convened the State Wage Board in
relation to fast food employees wage
rates.
They have now held public meetings
in multiple locations to discuss an
increase in wages
for the fast food
industry with a
target of possibly
$15 per hour. New
York Farm Bureau
has
voiced
our
strong concern to
both the governor
and the Department
of Labor through both testimony and
letters. At the time of this publication,
an official decision by the Wage Board
has not been made in this matter.
While we recognize the support for
increasing the minimum wage, we
oppose any further increase in the
minimum wage at this time. However,
by circumventing the Legislature in
this matter, through a Wage Board,
the Legislature will be prevented
from thoroughly vetting this issue,
and effectively representing their
constituents, from districts as diverse
as Brooklyn in New York City and
Mayville in rural Chautauqua County.
We are equally concerned by
prospective unintended consequences
from a minimum wage increase for
the food industry in our state. If the
minimum wage is increased for fast
food workers, our farms will be asked
to lower the cost of their products
being sold to these companies to
offset increased labor costs for those
businesses. This will, in turn, likely
force restaurants to source their
products (tomatoes, lettuce, etc.) from
another state, or more likely another
country, that can offer a lower priced
product. Of course this result is wholly
counterproductive to the past efforts
by the state to highlight agriculture,
and to the “buy local” effort in New
York.
Furthermore, in crafting a specific
definition of “fast food chain,” the
Wage Board will have to make
distinctions that result in arbitrary and
disparate treatment of businesses and
their employees. This runs contrary
to the Board’s stated objective of
preventing unfair competition, and will
impose significant
implementation
hurdles
for
businesses.
It is unclear how
fast food employees
will be viewed and
established within
the job industry if
the Wage Board
moves forward with this initiative.
Serious questions arise in these
circumstances, such as how does a
cashier at a fast food establishment
differ from the cashier at a local farm
stand that serves food? How does
a person making food behind the
counter at a fast food restaurant differ
from an employee at a winery serving
sandwiches and cheese platters to their
wine tasting customers?
There are numerous questions and
similarities between jobs that could
very well cause difficulties for the
agricultural industry if the Wage Board
moves forward in regard to the fast food
industry. It is not definitive, but the
process of convening the Wage Board
and focusing on fast food employees
could have serious implications for the
future of not just farm employees, but
all employees throughout the state.
Currently, all businesses throughout
the state are linked to the New York
minimum wage, which today is $8.75
and is set to increase at the end of 2015
to $9.00 per hour. New York has already
created a separate state minimum
wage rate, ending the automatic link
to the federal rate. The full impacts of
New York’s current, escalating wage
increases have yet to be seen, let alone
the impacts of separating an entire
industry from the rest by arbitrarily
increasing their labor costs.
New York Farm Bureau is closely
monitoring any further efforts or
meetings of the NYS Wage Board and
will continue to have conversations
with the Department of Labor and
Governor’s office to voice our member’s
concerns and the possible unintended
consequences this could have on our
industry.
Page 6
Grower, entrepreneur
rethinks apple retailing
By Jena Lunkenheimer
[email protected]
Bob Norris has been an apple grower
for 22 years, so he knows the industry
inside and out. And for all of those
years, he grew apple varieties and sold
them just like other apple growers.
Then, about two years ago, the
Wolcott, N.Y., grower had an
epiphany. “What if we sold apples
based on their flavor, not by variety?”
he thought.
From this “aha” moment came an
innovative business in Wayne County,
and exciting growth potential.
TreeCrisp2Go is the name of the
company formed by Norris and his
wife Cindy. Their apples sold by flavor
not variety include (for starters)
Flavor Freak™, Pucker Punch™, and
Sweet Shock™.
In a way, it seems like Norris is
adapting the marketing strategies of
snack food manufacturers and using
them for apples.
“First, no apple variety is great allyear round,” Norris says. “Second,
people are hesitant to eat an apple
from a grocery or convenience store
without washing it first. And third, by
focusing on flavor and specific taste
appeal we are marketing apples as
great snacks. People know apples are
good for them and a healthy choice,
and TreeCrisp2Go builds on that
knowledge by creating an appealing
product that adds fun and flavor to the
mix.”
Currently TreeCrisp2Go apples are
being sold at airports, convenience
store chains, vending machines and
micro markets. His goal, through
packaging, promotion, merchandising
N.Y. Ag & Markets
and events is to help consumers look
at and buy one of his TreeCrisp2Go
apples the same way they would a bag
of chips or an ice cream sandwich.
Norris’ apples are all triple-washed,
fresh, and individually bagged and
sealed. But the beauty of Norris’
concept is that he is not locked in to
any specific varieties.
“Whatever is the best, freshest fit
for each brand profile is what we will
provide,” he said. “Now a consumer
doesn’t have to know 30 apple
varieties, simply whether he or she
enjoys a more tart or sweeter apple,
for example.”
Additionally, Norris feels not
enough has been done to increase per
capita consumption of fresh apples,
especially in the snack and ready to
eat markets.
“Apples, as currently sold in the
ready to eat snacking market, are a
failure,” he said. “Bananas out sell
apples 30 to 1 and I don’t have data but
I’m pretty sure candy and doughnuts
out sell bananas.”
The new TreeCrisp2Go product
addresses the problems that prevent
apples from selling in ready to
eat markets. Also, TreeCrisp2Go
apples are sold in refrigerated cases,
therefore shelf life and quality can be
maintained.
For the apple supply, TreeCrisp2Go
will use apples from Tree Crisp
Orchards for the 15-16 season, but will
need apples from other growers once
they expand. Two important apples
that have performed extremely well
for TreeCrisp2Go are Jonagold and
Cameo. Knowing returns for these two
varieties have not been stellar the past
two seasons, he hopes some growers
will be willing to keep some Jonagold
and Cameo orchards.
Operating out of the Wolcott area,
TreeCrisp2Go apples are prepared
and packed on a production line at
Empire Fruit Growers, where Norris
leases space from this apple-packing
co-op where he’s a member.
House OKs voluntary GMO labeling bill
By Tom Karst
The Packer
With a tougher fight expected in the
Senate, the House of Representatives
decisively passed legislation that
would pre-empt state-labeling for
genetically modified food and put in
place a voluntary labeling system for
genetically modified foods.
While produce industry organizations
support a federally based approach
to labeling regulations, United Fresh
Produce Association, Western Growers
Farmers
reminded
to sell only
to licensed
dealers
and the Produce Marketing Association
didn’t voice oppostition to the Safe
and Accurate Food Labeling Act,
introduced by Reps. Mike Pompeo,
R-Kan., and G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C.
“If the consumer wants to know
about how the food is produced, I
think the industry would be much
more comfortable with a federal rule as
opposed to individual state rule,” said
Robert Whitaker, chief scientific officer
for the Produce Marketing Association,
Newark, Del.
Whitaker said having to comply
with individual state rules would be
expensive and potentially disrupt
distribution.
PMA likes the concept of federal
preemption but will wait and see what
the Senate bill looks like, he said.
“If there needs to be labeling at all, we
would rather see (federal) preemption
so there is one set of guidelines to be
used by everybody in the industry,” he
said.
See GMO, Page 13
ALBANY — New York State
Agriculture Commissioner Richard
A. Ball in July reminded farmers that
in order to protect themselves against
non-payment and to ensure they are
paid in full and on time, they should sell
only to licensed farm product dealers.
The New York State Department of
Agriculture and Markets maintains a
current list of licensed farm product
dealers on its website and will provide
a hard copy upon request.
The Agricultural Producers Security
Law, under Article 20 of the Agriculture
and Markets Law, requires that farm
product dealers must be licensed in
order to buy or receive farm products
from New York producers in excess of
$10,000 annually to resell at wholesale.
They must also provide security in the
form of a bond or letter of credit, and
they must contribute to a security fund,
offering additional financial protection
to farmers in the event of a default in
payment.
In order to preserve a producer’s
eligibility for the financial protections
available under the Agricultural
Producers Security Law, the producer
must:
u Sell only to licensed farm product
dealers.
u Stop selling product to a farm
product dealer who is 120 days
delinquent on payment.
Unpaid
transactions that occur after the 120day period will not be eligible for
financial protection.
u File a claim of nonpayment with
the Department within 365 days of
delivery of the farm products.
Farm product dealers’ licenses
expire April 30 each year and must be
renewed for the license year beginning
May 1.
Forms to apply for the license are
available at www.agriculture.ny.gov/
programs/apsf.html. To renew an
existing license, farm product dealers
can call 518-485-0048.
For up-to-date information about
the law, a copy of the brochure or a
list of licensed farm product dealers,
please visit the Department’s website
at www.agriculture.ny.gov/programs/
apsf.html or call the Department at
1-800-554-4501.
USDA broadens Crop Insurance options for fruit producers
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S.
Department of Agriculture in July
announced the expansion of crop
insurance to provide additional options
for fruit and nut producers. The
Supplemental Coverage Option and
the Actual Production History Yield
Exclusion are now available to cover
fresh fruit and nuts in select counties
beginning with the 2016 crop year.
“USDA remains committed to
making new crop insurance options
outlined in the 2014 Farm Bill
available to as many types of producers
as possible. Providing these options
for our producers of fresh fruit and
nuts gives them the stronger safety net
they need to continue farming, even
after particularly bad years,” Secretary
Tom Vilsack said. “USDA will continue
to work toward implementing risk
management provisions from the
Farm Bill as quickly as possible so that
producers can plan for the future and
protect their businesses.”
SCO will now be available in
select counties for almonds, apples,
blueberries, grapes, peaches, potatoes,
prunes, safflower, tomatoes, and
walnuts for the 2016 crop year.
Grapefruit,
lemons,
mandarins/
tangerines, oranges, and tangelos will
be eligible for coverage beginning with
the 2017 crop year. This is in addition to
the alfalfa seed, canola, cultivated wild
rice, dry peas, forage production, grass
seed, mint, oats, onions, and rye that
were recently made available for 2016
as well. Currently, SCO covers corn,
cotton, cottonseed, grain sorghum, rice,
soybeans, spring barley, spring wheat,
and winter wheat in selected counties.
SCO is an area-based policy
endorsement that can be purchased
to supplement an underlying crop
insurance policy. It covers a portion
of losses not covered by the same
crop’s underlying policy. USDA’s Risk
Management Agency, which administers
the federal crop insurance program, has
posted information on the expanded
program, including where SCO is
available by crop and county. Visit www.
rma.usda.gov/news/currentissues/sco/
index.html to learn more.
Producers of apples, blueberries,
grapes, peaches, potatoes, prunes,
See Insurance, Page 15
August 2015
Core Report® Page 7
Getting personal
with social media
By Christina Herrick
American Fruit Grower
The business of fruit growing takes
skills both in the orchard and out. You
can grow the best fruit, in the most
progressive ways, but you also have to
be able to sell your produce.
Increasingly, social media is a
common way growers are successfully
marketing their fruit. When it’s done
well, social media can be effective,
even “viral,” which is a good thing in
the social media world.
I’d like to highlight some of the
creative marketing ideas I’ve noticed
on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter from
you, the business owners. Each one of
these ideas is unique to their medium,
but each post has one thing in common
— they create a personal connection
with potential customers.
I found this photo posted on the
Tougas Family Farm Facebook page to
be creative and memorable. It features
a great idea from co-owner Mo Tougas’
son-in-law, Alan.
The caption on the photo reads “Alan
was up early this morning picking
CARAMEL APPLES off the caramel
apple tree so he can bring them up to
the Farm Store, YUM!” The caption
also mentions which apple varieties
are available for picking at the time of
the post and lists other activities on the
farm, the farm’s hours, and what else is
available in the kitchen.
We’ve all seen photos of caramel
apples, and this is a unique way to
highlight a product that your farm
sells, while catching the attention of
your followers.
Some examples of creative social media
promotions from Tougas Family Farm in
Massachusetts, above, and Three Springs
Fruit Farm in Pennsylvania, below.
By Jim Allen
[email protected]
Promoting things
in a different way
Holmberg Orchard’s Twitter feed
is filled with great photos and videos
that typically push visitors to their
Facebook page. Kimberly Schlapamn
of Kimberly’s Simply Southern show
on Great American Country network
visited the orchard in late fall for
a taping with third- and fourthgeneration apple growers Rick and
Russell Holmberg. She was nearby for
a Little Big Town concert and thought
the story of Holmberg Orchard was
perfect for the show.
To help promote when the episode
was going to run, the orchard ran
a blooper reel from the taping that
pushed Twitter and Facebook followers
to YouTube (visit this link to view the
video). In the blooper reel put together
by the network, Russell Holmberg
shows a more personal and goofy side.
What a great idea to use extra elements
from the TV crew’s visit to highlight the
orchard.
“It was a fun experience and a fun
day. I’m glad we did it,” says Holmberg.
Using the medium
to the maximum
Ben Wenk keeps the Three Springs
Fruit Farm Instagram feed fresh with
apple art creations that are featured at
the Silver Spring FRESHFARM Market.
Whether it be an apple butterfly, turtle,
or ladybug, each photo is a different
and gives followers something to look
forward to. Wenk also ties all the
Instagram photos to Twitter, which is
NYAA does preliminary
pouch bag design
a good way to push his 2,500 Twitter
followers to the farm’s Instagram
account.
This photo features an apple owl,
created by Shane Gladhill (pictured).
The caption includes the hashtags
#SilverSpring,
#farmersmarket,
#localfood, and #apple. Wenk also
tagged the farmer’s market in the post
as well. This idea is a great way to
highlight the farmers markets where
Three Springs Fruit Farm sells its
produce.
Pinning to win
Sietsema Orchard uses Pinterest as
another way to connect with customers,
highlighting products at the orchard
market, orchard weddings, and even
food pairings with the products they
sell. Pinterest definitely reaches a
different demographic of produce
consumers than your Instagram and
Twitter feeds.
The common thread
Produce buyers desire a closer
connection with the people growing
the food they buy and social media can
help you reach your customers. As you
can see from the examples above, what
better way than to post videos, creative
photos, and food pairings with your
produce to make a personal connection
with your consumers?
At the request of a New York
apple shipper, the New York Apple
Association commissioned Mason
Marketing to create a generic New
York Apple Country® Pouch Bag.
The example shown is for
Honeycrisp.
Other varieties can
be substituted as requested. The
Association collects a royalty on all
the Apple Country® bags that are in
use, and that money is used to update
or create innovative packaging for the
industry as requested.
The art work would be provided to
individual packers to share with their
bag manufactures.
The shipper is responsible for
the printing plates and the packer
identification information on the bag.
If New York shippers are interested
in this artwork at no charge, please
contact Jim Allen (jimallen@
nyapplecountry.com or 585-9242171).
Waiting to harvest after a rain
enhances food safety
Cornell University
To
protect
consumers
from
foodborne illness, produce farmers
should wait 24 hours after a rain or
irrigating their fields to harvest crops,
according to new research published in
the journal Applied and Environmental
Microbiology.
Rain or irrigation creates soil
conditions that are more hospitable to
Listeria monocytogenes, which when
ingested may cause the human illness
Listeriosis. Waiting to harvest crops
reduces the risk of exposure to the
pathogen, which could land on fresh
produce. Cornell scientists, along with
other agricultural researchers from
around the country, are conducting
more food safety research in order to
set rules, standards and guidelines for
the Food Safety Modernization Act,
which became law in 2011.
“We’re looking at the science that
helps governmental entities, such as the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and
private entities create policies that keep
our food supply safe,” said Daniel Weller,
a doctoral student and the lead author
of the new work, “Spatial and Temporal
Factors Associated With an Increased
Prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in
New York State Spinach Fields.”
Factors such as proximity of a field
location to water and other landscape
features also play important roles in the
presence of Listeria. The researchers
tested fields in a variety of locations
throughout New York and found that
after rains or irrigation, the chances of
finding Listeria were 25 times greater.
But, after the fields dried at least 24
hours, the chances of detecting Listeria
dropped dramatically, to levels similar
to baseline.
Page 8
Stefanik joins Schumer on cider tax
The (Glens Falls) Post-Star
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro,
in July co-sponsored legislation
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon,
introduced Jan. 28 to tax hard cider
the same as beer.
Hard cider now is taxed as a luxury
beverages.
The proposed law — HR 600,
the Cider Industry Deserves Equal
Regulation (CIDER) Act — is a
companion bill to legislation U.S. Sen.
Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced
Stefanik
in the Senate,
according to
the
Library
of
Congress
government
information
web site.
It is one of
the legislative
priorities
of
Adirondack
G a t e w a y
Council,
a
coalition of municipal government,
planning agencies and economic
development groups in Warren,
Washington and northern Saratoga
counties.
Schumer visited Washington County
in 2013 to discuss the proposed change.
The following criteria in the proposed
legislation defines hard cider:
Carbonation level does not exceed
6.4 grams per liter;
Beverage is derived totally from
apples, apple juice concentrate and
Can you survive ‘Mobilegeddon’?
By Christina Herrick
American Fruit Grower
The Mobilegeddon is upon us. No,
this isn’t a time to prepare disaster
bunkers, or buy canned food in bulk.
But this is a good time to take another
look at your business’s website because
you might get buried in search results
if you’re not careful. On the bright side,
though, if you are prepared the change
could be a nice plus.
Late last year, Google announced
a change in the way websites will be
ranked in search results on mobile
phones. Specifically, if your website
isn’t mobile-friendly, it will appear
lower in search results. People are using
the term Mobilegeddon to describe the
impact of these new search features.
That may sound like hyperbole
but if you have a retail operation
that relies on your website to reach
potential customers, falling lower in
Google search rankings truly could be
a disaster.
Here are a few things Google is
looking for when it comes to making
your site more mobile-friendly:
u Avoid using software not accessible
on mobile devices, such as Flash.
u Make sure your website’s text is
readable without users having to zoom.
u Make sure the size of your page
is displayed properly on the screen so
users don’t have to scroll to zoom.
u Make sure links are placed far
enough apart so users can correctly tap
on the proper link.
u The first thing to do is to check
if your website is vulnerable to being
penalized in search rankings on mobile
phones and tablets. Google has an
online test to see if your site is mobilefriendly. If your site passes the test,
congratulations. If not, the test will tell
you what problems there might be with
your website.
Here are some tips to help you
survive Mobilegeddon I found really
helpful from the California Small
Business Development Center.
Remember what users visit your
site for. Contact information, hours of
operation, address, etc., should appear
in your home page.
Keep your navigation and design
simple. If your website has a lot of
drop-down menus and photos, it will
be hard to display on a phone.
Remember how your site will be
viewed. I’ve read a lot of pointers
that say your site should be “thumb-
water or pears, pear juice concentrate
and water;
No fruit product or flavoring other
than apples or pears in ingredients;
Alcohol content is at least 0.5 percent
and less than 8.5 percent in volume.
The House legislation had 20 cosponsors -- 12 Republican and 8
Democrat -- as of July 17. Elsewhere in the
region, Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam,
co-sponsored it on May 5.
Stefanik has now co-sponsored 13
Democratic-introduced measures.
friendly” or “swipe-friendly” because
that’s precisely how mobile visitors will
navigate through your site.
Less content is better to view.
Mobile visitors want quick-to-access
information.
Think about the tools you use
to build and maintain your site.
Content management sources such as
WordPress, Joomla, and Squarespace
offer “responsive design” that can help
your websites display on the proper
device.
Get some help. I had hoped to offer
some inexpensive ways to convert your
website, but if you have used an outside
source to design your website, you may
need to get some help. There are places
See Mobile, Page 13
August 2015
Core Report® Time to buy some New York apples
The “Apple Watch” advertisement has appeared
in two national trade publications, The Produce
News and Produce Business magazine. Both
publications each year have a special Hunts Point
Market edition which features stories about Hunts
Point, the merchants, and the wholesale market.
The New York Apple Association always places
ads in both publications.
Page 9
Page 10
PR focuses on new-crop buzz
By Julia Stewart
[email protected]
With all but a few storage facilities
across New York state now emptied
of their 2014-crop fruit, the New York
Apple Association’s public relations
team has turned our full attention to
building buzz for the crop awaiting
harvest.
Late spring can be a bit schizophrenic
for your PR folks; one hand is promoting
the crop that is finishing up, while the
other is starting to talk up the one that’s
blooming on the trees. It’s always a bit
of a relief to be able to focus on the new
crop, and doing one job well.
As we reported in this column in
June, NYAA began promoting the 2015
crop in early May. Our annual bloom
announcement also proclaimed the
official end of winter, as declared by our
gorgeous pink and white blossoms. We
also took that occasion to reassure crisisseeking reporters that our hardy trees
had overwintered just fine, thank you.
NYAA won’t issue our usual July
crop forecast this year, instead we will
report on the state forecast developed
at U.S. Apple Association’s marketing
conference the third week of August.
We have decided to discontinue our
July forecast in favor of a later, better
look at the crop. Meanwhile, our friends
at Cornell Cooperative Extension are
working on designing a state forecast/
estimate model.
Next our attention will turn to
trumpeting the beginning of harvest,
to get consumers salivating for the new
crop as it heads to market.
We plan to emphasize the localness,
flavor and variety of our 2015 crop, to
differentiate our wares from the other,
more travel-weary fruit that flooded
our markets this spring when the U.S.
export markets hit various road bumps.
We are planning a heavy schedule
of media outreach activities this fall,
to help keep New York state apples
and cider top of mind with consumers
during the peak of our season. We
will tie into fall holidays and other
seasonal rites of passage, such as
packing healthy, local lunches for all
Start your PR engines
By Julia Stewart
[email protected]
Harvest is right around the corner
– is your business ready for our
industry’s best opportunity to get in
front of consumers?
Whether you’re a direct marketer
or wholesaler, these days engaging
directly with consumers is a must for
most of us.
As we’ve written numerous times in
this column, consumers increasingly
want to know the face and the story
behind the foods they eat. Because
most of the consuming public hasn’t
been involved in agriculture for a
few generations now, they want our
reassurance that they can trust us to
meet their most basic human need
(and pleasure): food.
To make the most of your harvest
communications opportunities, we
recommend that you:
u Spruce up your website: At a
minimum, make sure all your content
is current, and all the links are working.
Remove any content that’s no longer
relevant. Check recent editions of this
column for consumer trends you can
tap into to attract customers. Make
sure you’ve linked to nyapplecountry.
com and nycider.com. Search engines
prefer sites that are updated, so post
new content regularly.
u Go mobile: If your site isn’t mobilefriendly, it’s time for a redesign if you
want your customers to be able to find
you. A majority of Internet searches
are now conducted on mobile devices
(phones and tablets) – and the largest
search engine (Google) now prioritizes
mobile-friendly sites when returning
results for mobile searches.
u Get social: Today’s consumers
want to engage with the companies
they do business with, and social
media is the easiest, cheapest platform
to connect with them. As we wrote in
this column last month, Facebook is
the best way to reach Baby Boomers
and Millennials alike (who should be
your No. 1 and No. 2 target audiences,
respectively).
u Put your smartphone’s camera
to work: Social posts that include
a photo or video consistently get
more attention than posts that don’t.
Today’s phones can shoot world-class
photos and videos, but you don’t have
to be Ansel Adams or Frank Capra.
Just have a steady hand, share content
consumers will find interesting, and
keep your videos short and to the point.
(Our world is now foreign enough to
them that you may be surprised at
what they will find interesting!)
u Reach out to local reporters:
Media relations is symbiotic: by
providing reporters with news they
can use, you help them do their jobs –
and by reporting your news, they help
you reach your customers. Today’s
news rooms are smaller and leaner
than ever, so it can be hard to get
reporters’ attention… but an invite to
visit your beautiful orchard or hightech packing shed, not to mention
a gift box containing some hot new
(or old!) varieties, are great attention
getters. Remember, reporters and
producers want and need news, so be
ready to talk to them about what’s new
and different in your apple world.
u Play offense, not defense: Today’s
consumers (rightfully) want to know
how you’re producing the food that
they are putting in their mouths and
bodies. Be ready to field consumers’
questions about key industry issues.
Pollinator
health,
biotechnology
and foodborne illness are trending
in the news; pesticide residues are a
perennial topic. Your customers will
appreciate your thoughtful, positive
responses. Contact NYAA for key
messages
regarding
geneticallymodified Arctic apples, and the socalled Dirty Dozen list. See our website
FAQs for advice on how to talk about
wax coatings and internal defects. See
the May 2015 edition of Core Report
for media relations 101 advice.
Apples and apple cider are very old
foods that we are constantly making
new again.
We have great stories to tell our
customers. So let’s get to it!
For more information or assistance
with social, media, issues and other
public relations, contact NYAA Public
Relations Director Julia Stewart by
email at [email protected]
or by telephone at (703) 727-8808.
those apple-loving kids heading back
to school.
The fun won’t stop when fall gives
way to winter. We’ll continue to
promote your wares through the yearend holidays, after the New Year and
into the spring, for as long as they are
in the market.
The PR team will also support NYAA
Consulting Dietitian Linda Quinn’s
work this summer and fall to highlight
the health benefits of New York apples.
We’ll work to encourage local media
to get the word out to state fair goers
about Linda’s appearance, and help
her book television appearances as she
makes her annual live on-set visits.
Meanwhile,
NYAA’s
websites
nyapplecountry.com and the new
nycider.com will help New Yorkers
learn all they want to know about
our apples and cider – and our home
page’s locator map will help them find
your pick-your-owns, farm markets
and cider mills.
NYAA invites you to tailor any of our
plans to help promote your business.
For more information or assistance
with social, media and other public
relations, contact NYAA Public
Relations Director Julia Stewart by
email at [email protected] or
by telephone at (703) 727-8808.
Let’s get ready for New York apples
By Susan Sarlund
It’s the time of year when Staples and
Target are relentless with their Back to
School advertising. Sure it’s great to
see bathing suit ads in March and April
signaling summer is on the way but
Back to School ads in mid-July?
Not a favorite in my home, that’s
for sure. Along the same lines, this
is the time of year when produce
departments are looking ahead to the
new season, fall. And what does fall
bring? New York apples.
Just like your backyard garden
where things are starting to wilt and
get a little tired looking. It’s time to get
excited for a change, a fresh start.
Nectarines, peaches, plums and
watermelon (to name a few) have been
the summer fruit stalwarts driving the
produce departments these past few
months. And, in many supermarkets,
mini farm stands have been created to
promote locally grown produce from
W
e are
getting
great feedback
on our new POS
cards.
farms in the general vicinity, bringing
that homegrown feeling to consumers.
Shortly, these departments will
transition to fall, to fall fruits and to
New York apples.
The resounding theme as we visit the
major Metro New York retailers these
days is this building excitement. Out
getting commitments for early crop ads
and point-of-sale orders, each of the
Produce Buyers we work with is telling
us that they’re psyched for apple season.
“We can’t wait to have New York apples
to sell,” is what we’ve heard.
To help sell the apples through
at store level, we are getting great
feedback on our new POS cards. In
addition to the single variety POS
cards, the Variety Guide has always
been utilized by retailers. The newly
designed one has been well received
and ordered as in certain locales the
Spanish version is the perfect choice.
Two other POS cards have been
positively received out on our calls; the
“NY Feature Apple” card with a white
box that the individual stores can write
in their own variety and price as well as
the New “Sweet to Tart” card featuring
our New York apples along a line graph
from sweet to tart tasting.
Between this POS and the building
interest from our customers and
consumers, we have an exciting
opportunity in front of us. We have an
attentive audience ready and waiting
for our product. Customers ready
to turn over their departments and
consumers ready to buy.
Something else that could prove as
an opportunity for us has to do with
the pricing of stone fruit coming out
of California. With the water shortage
issue out there, prices have climbed.
While a good feature price used to
be $.99/lb. which has climbed to
$1.99, with an average retail of $2.99,
consumers putting a few peaches in a
bag could all of a sudden be spending $6
for a few pieces of fruit which can start
to get expensive. There is a ceiling for
everything and there is a fine line before
you turn off your loyal customers.
In this regard, apples could benefit.
New York apples – they’re close, water
is not an issue, transportation is not an
issue and we will be more competitive
pricewise versus stone fruit which will
be winding down when we start to
ramp up. Good supply, quality fruit –
bring on New York state apples.
Good selling!
August 2015
Record
exports
for Yakima
County
Yakima (Wash.) Herald
For the fifth straight year,
Yakima County set a record for
export value.
Driven largely by everincreasing international sales
of fresh fruit, the Yakima
Metropolitan Area exported $1.3
billion worth of goods in 2014,
a 4.2 percent jump over the
previous year, according to a new
report by the U.S. Department of
Commerce.
Agricultural products led the
way in Yakima, capital of the
tree-fruit world.
A total of $644 million worth
of crops was exported in 2014,
just under half of total exports,
according to the report. Other
key export categories for Yakima
in 2014 were processed foods,
chemicals and machinery.
Yakima County is the largest
apple-packing county in the
nation, and the state produces 60
to 70 percent of America’s apples.
Export values, at least for
fruit, will likely increase even
more in coming years, said
Todd Fryhover, president of the
Washington Apple Commission,
the Wenatchee-based group
charged with marketing apples
overseas. At least, he hopes they
will, because domestic demand
for apples has stagnated.
His goal is to increase exports
of Red Delicious apples 48 to 60
percent and Galas by 50 percent
in the next two years.
Earlier this year, the U.S. and
China reached an agreement
allowing trade of all apple
varieties. Before the agreement,
China
had
allowed
the
importation of only Red Delicious
and Golden Delicious apples.
Meanwhile, industry officials
hope new trade policies help.
Pacific Northwest fruit growers
typically export between 30 and
40 percent of their cherries,
apples and pears each year to the
tune of roughly $1 billion, said
Kate Woods, vice president of the
Northwest Horticultural Council,
a Yakima-based association that
represents the fruit industry in
international trade and federal
politics.
“For example, Vietnam —
which is already a combined
$22.5 million dollar market for
Northwest apples, pears and
cherries — has significant growth
potential should the existing 10
percent tariff on these products
be removed through TPP
negotiations,” Woods said in an
email.
Recipes,
nutrition facts,
more
nyapplecountry.com
Page 12
August 2015
Bird damage
seminar set
Cornell Cooperative Extension
BALLSTON SPA — Cornell
Cooperative Extension of Saratoga
County will offer a one-day workshop
on limiting bird damage in fruit on
Wednesday, Aug. 19 from 8:30 a.m.
to 4 p.m.
In the morning learn which bird
species damage fruit, economic
losses from birds to fruit, consumer
preference for management tactics
(e.g. kestrel nesting boxes), New
York grower survey, tactics for
deer
management,
regulations
& permitting for wildlife control,
landscape factors that place fruit at
risk, and bird mitigation strategies.
Morning session available via
WebEx webinar.
In the afternoon enjoy on-farm
field demonstrations of scare
tactics such as falconry, air dancers
and exchange insights through
discussions of tactics being used on
your farms.
Gain comprehensive knowledge
about successful bird management
strategies in susceptible fruit crops,
including sweet and tart cherry,
blueberry, Honeycrisp apples and
wine grapes.
The deadline for registration is
Wednesday, Aug. 12. The workshop
is limited to 30 attendees.
The cost is $10, which includes
lunch.
To register contact: Marcie
Vohnoutka, ENYCHP, at 518-2724210 or email [email protected].
Lamont Award winners named
By Molly Zingler
[email protected]
This year’s Lamont Leadership
Development Award winners are
Kaitlyn Kelder of Kelder Farm in
Accord and Maxwell Russell of Russell
Farms in Appleton.
Kelder will be starting her senior
year at Cornell University in the ag
sciences program focusing on business
and education. She has been active
in multiple clubs while studying
at Cornell; she is president of the
Collegiate FFA, the Ag Ambassador
in the Collegiate Farm Bureau Club, a
member of the Dairy Science Club, as
well as a Farm Credit Fellows.
Kelder also spent a semester abroad
in 2014 studying in Ireland to gain
an understanding of international
markets. She has worked over the
past few years as a summer intern at
the Tompkins
County
4-H
office, as well
as the Hudson
Valley Cornell
Cooperative
Extension Lab
researching
B r o w n
Marmorated
Stink Bug.
Russell will
Kelder
be
starting
his
senior
year at Cornell University majoring in
applied economics and management
with a concentration in agribusiness
management.
He has been active in many
organizations while studying at Cornell;
he holds the position of president of
the Collegiate Farm Bureau at Cornell,
a member of the Cornell University
R O T C
program,
Cornell Food
I n d u s t r y
Management
Program Food
Marketing
Fellows,
as
well as a Farm
Credit Fellows.
Russell has
had
numerous
Russell
responsibilities
over
the years on the family farm, as well
as spent three years at the Cornell
Orchards as a fruit picker.
We congratulate both Kaitlyn and
Maxwell on this distinguished award
achievement and we look forward
to hosting them at the 2015 Produce
Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit
in Atlanta this October.
State opens more Taste NY stores
ALBANY, N.Y. - Gov. Andrew M.
Cuomo in July announced the newest
Taste NY stores are open at the
Pattersonville and Sloatsburg Service
Areas on the New York State Thruway,
and at the Broome Gateway Travel and
Tourism Center on Interstate 81.
These mark a major step toward
Cumo’s goal of tripling the gross sales
of participating Taste NY vendors and
expanding the state’s efforts to promote
New York’s agricultural producers.
GMO
Continued from Page 6
With growing global food needs, Whitaker
said it is good to have the debate about GMOs.
“We want to make sure our members
participate in that debate,” he said.
Retail and farm groups expressed support for
the legislation, which passed by a margin of 275
to 150.
“The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of
2015 would protect consumers from confusing
and misleading GMO labels and create a
national, voluntary labeling standard based
on science and common sense,” Bob Stallman,
president of the American Farm Bureau
Federation, said in a news release.
The Food Marketing Institute and the
National Grocers Association issued a joint
news release applauding the House action.
In 2014, total gross sales of New York
products from Taste NY events and
stores amounted to approximately $1.5
million. Pictures of the Sloatsburg store
can be found here, the Pattersonville
store here, and the Broome County
store here and here.
“We have said time and time again
that New York produces some of the
best food and beverage products in the
world, and taking Taste NY to service
areas across the state is just one more
“Having a clearly defined national labeling
standard to identify the GMO content of food
products is essential if we hope to avoid adding
to consumer confusion about GMOs, and if
we wish to elude unnecessary impediments to
interstate commerce, both of which would result
from a state-by-state patchwork of muddled,
differing and conflicting GMO labeling laws,”
Food Marketing Institute president and CEO
Leslie Sarasin said in the release.
Safe and Accurate Food
Labeling Act key points:
u The Food and Drug Administration must
allow, but not require, food to be labeled as
GMO;
u FDA must regulate the use of “natural” on
food labels; and
u Requires the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service to
establish a program to certify non-GMO food.
way to get the message out,” Cuomo
said.
“Each year, rest areas on the Thruway
and major Interstates are frequented
by millions of visitors, all of whom will
now have the opportunity to discover
the great food and beverages made
right here in the Empire State.”
The Pattersonville store is located
on I-90 westbound between exit 26
(Schenectady/Rotterdam West) and
exit 27 (Amsterdam – Route 30).
Mobile
like Fiverr.com, where you can bid for the assistance of creative
professionals and that may cut down on costs. Our company has
gone through the process of mobile-optimizing all of our websites
(including GrowingProduce.com), and may be able to offer advice
or help as well. You can learn more at Meister Interactive.
Whether or not your business’s website is impacted by the
Mobilegeddon is entirely dependent upon what your website is
designed for. You know your market best, and if you feel like
the best way to reach your customers is through social media,
perhaps making your website mobile-friendly is not a priority.
However, if you are near a metropolitan area and growing your
business is important, you may need to upgrade sooner rather
than later, or you may lose out on potential customers who
search on their phone for pick-your-own or on-farm markets,
simply because your website is not mobile-friendly.
Who would want to lose out on business all because of a website?
That truly would be Mobilegeddon.
Page 14
Core Report® Allen
mean Shop Rite could not say that New
York apples are homegrown in their
Jersey Stores, but a store 5 miles into
New York could. That is ridiculous!
What could be more homegrown
than purchasing apples at a farm
market or green market from a New
York apple grower? Better yet, picking
apples at a PYO!
The main theme of our consumer
promotion efforts is homegrown. We
advertise in regional food publications
such as Edible and Hudson Valley
Table, and New York City publications
such as Metro Newspaper which
carries full page ads on PYO orchards,
apple varieties and cider locations in
upstate New York.
The NYAA spends thousands and
thousands of dollars on TV, radio,
print and now internet that promotes
homegrown and directly targets your
market segment.
Our fall radio messages for the last
number of years are designed to get
people excited in the fall about New
York apples and direct them to your
markets. Our TV spots are often filmed
in orchards and even farm markets
to communicate the “on the farm”
message.
The second reason is the Internet;
and as we have reported in the past,
our Apple Country® website and now
our new Apple Cider website are both
consumer driven tools to get people
to buy homegrown. The most popular
page on our site continues to be “Find
an Orchard or Farm Market near
you.” Hands down, the go-to resource
for consumers that want to find your
orchard, your market or your products
is our website. And now with the
growth and excitement with juices and
ciders, that is only increasing the online traffic. As a direct marketer, having
your presence on line and a link to your
operation is invaluable; and yes, well
worth the $.08 per bushel.
The third reason you are getting your
.08 cents worth deals with Food Safety
and the perception that consumers
have about food safety. Your
assessment works very hard for you on
a national level through the U.S. Apple
Association to help mold the national
policy on food safety regulations.
Unless you have the resources to
travel to D.C. to attend USDA and FDA
hearings where the regulations are
written that will be imposed on you,
no one is representing you better than
USApple and our coalition groups.
Consumers perceive that homegrown
is safe compared to factory farms that
distribute nationally and can cause
national recalls. It’s your job to provide
safe food and it is our job to provide you
with all the needed tools to comply, yet
not be buried with over-burdensome
regulations. Such regulations could
easily cost you many times over your
AMO assessment.
I run the risk of stirring up some
bad feelings with the mention of cider
and cider treatment regulations. But
as a result of our actions a number
of years ago on behalf of the vast
majority of the cider producers in New
York, and dealing with food safety,
the New York cider industry today is
stronger than ever. Consumers are
assured that the cider they drink from
New York is safe and we have not
experienced any food illness outbreaks
or cider contamination issues since the
pasteurization/treatment regulation
went into effect, while other states
have. Those that ignore the regulations
are a risk to themselves and then to the
industry.
The fourth reason is the buying
habits of today’s and tomorrow’s
consumers. We have nothing to do
with this, other than help facilitate
these habits by offering to consumers
knowledge and information on what
they are purchasing.
Today’s buyers want to know so much
more than I ever did as a consumer. If
it looks good and tastes good, that’s
good enough for me. But today the
questions are, who grew it, how was it
grown, what the carbon footprint is and
unfortunately, what is used to grow it.
Our job on your behalf is to assure,
to reassure, to educate and to facilitate
the consumer’s decision to purchase
New York apples and feel good about
it. We fight hard to defend you and our
products and to fend off those that are
driven to disparage and condemn how
you grow apples. From the chemicals
to the labor you use, you are constantly
under attack by advocacy groups.
This alone could be a full time effort
especially with the Internet and the
speed of disseminating information,
specifically alarming information!
I will use the same closing as last
month’s column … So What’s The
Bottom Line? Hopefully one can see
that the Fresh Direct AMO Assessment
of $.08 per lb. is used in myriad ways
to benefit growers at some level in
many ways. In this case, compared
to the processing efforts, most all of
these efforts are very visible and very
prominent in print, broadcast,
internet and now in
this column!
Good luck this
season.
Jim
August 2015
Advertising
u Television spots in Buffalo,
Rochester, Syracuse, Albany and
Poughkeepsie will begin in early
September and run through January
2016. A mix of 30 and 15-second
commercials will be highlighted by
a spot featuring Abby Wambach,
women’s international all-time leading
goal scorer, Women’s World Cup
Champion and Rochester native. A spot
titled “From Blossom to Awesome” and
two new 15-second animated TV spots
will be added to the mix.
u Radio commercials will also run in
these same markets plus Burlington,
Vt. These spots, running in September
and October will be “Orchard Reports”
encouraging consumers to get out to
their local orchards and pick apples,
buy apple cider and visit farm markets
and their local retailers. In addition,
“live” radio remotes will be held at the
NYS Fair, as well as popular “apple
festivals” throughout the state.
u Again this year, the NYAA will be
sponsoring the “Total Traffic Network”,
in all upstate New York markets. New
York apple growers will be a sponsor
of these widely listened to reports,
which will add more than 1,000
commercials to an already aggressive
radio campaign.
u New this year on radio, the NYAA
will be a sponsor on National Public
Radio in all of the major upstate
markets.
Digital online media
Media viewing habits are continuing
to shift to internet enabled computers,
tablets and smart phones. In fact, on a
typical day, adults will spend over five
and a half hours on their digital devices.
Given that ever increasing trend, the
NYAA digital campaign will be in the
forefront to achieve high impact and
engagement across multiple channels
targeting our primary consumers,
women 25-54.
Interactive
banner ads
u These interactive banner ads will
have three “click through” tabs where
consumers will be able to locate a nearby
orchard or farm market, download
“apple” based recipes or watch NYAA
TV commercials or education videos.
These ads are completely “trackable,”
so we know how many people clicked,
clicked through, or even “moused” over
our ads.
u The ads will rotate over thousands
of web sites targeting NY Apple
consumers that feature, health, fitness,
recipes, parenting, etc.
u Banners will also be featured
on the most popular TV, radio and
newspaper sites throughout New York.
Online videos
u Online video viewership has
exploded,
providing
numerous
opportunities to engage with apple
buying consumers. More than 73
percent of Internet users are online
video viewers, and more than 27
percent view videos online daily.
Online video tactics to be executed
include:
u 15-second second videos “From
Blossom To Awesome” and “Make It
Your Goal Abby Wambach will play
prior to a video that at a con”sumer has
already chosen to watch. These will be
placed across thousands of web sites
that appeal to our consumers.
u 15-second videos will also be
posted on Facebook, and will be
promoted to thousands of users who
aren’t currently following the New
York Apple Facebook page. (facebook.
com/nyapples)
Facebook
promoted posts
u Facebook is the largest social
network reaching almost 70 percent of
the online U.S. population. According
to Facebook, there are currently
1,100,000 women 25-54 in our target
markets who are active users.
• Promoted posts are even more
effective than traditional Facebook
advertising. The NYAA promoted posts
will be used to promote videos, recipes,
events as well as increase “likes” the
NY Apple Facebook page.
• The promoted posts will appear on
Facebook within the newsfeed of our
target demographic in New York.
Native Content Advertising (New
this year)
• NYAA press releases will be
contextually targeted to relevant
editorial placements. This “semantic
targeting technology” will be able to
place editorial content from NYAA
releases across Family & Parenting,
Food & Drinks, Health & Fitness and
News & Travel articles on the Internet.
Videos will also be embedded within
the articles for additional consumer
engagement.
Internet radio
advertising
u Pandora is the largest “streaming”
internet radio service offering audio
and display advertising that is highly
targeted. A consumer must register
for this service allowing us to target
our advertising to women 25-54 in our
upstate markets. According to their data,
Pandora reaches over 620,000 women
25-54 in our markets. This represents
34 percent of the total population.
u NYAA commercials will stream
both on desktop as well as mobile
devices. Banner ads will also run,
providing an opportunity for consumer
interaction.
u IHeartRadio is an “app” made
available through IHeart Radio
stations. They provide a “streaming”
radio service that can play both on
custom channels, like Pandora, and
local channels owned by IHeart
Radio. As part of a value-add to our
radio buys in Rochester, Syracuse
and Poughkeepsie, we will receive
additional commercials to listeners of
the app.
Sarlund
straight as we know Susan can,” EPC
President Vic Savanello said. “We are
very happy to be able to retain Susan,
the vote at our July 14 meeting was
unanimous in support of Susan’s
appointment, we can’t wait to see her
blossom as our new leader.”
“I was thrilled with the outcome
of the vote as I know my father is,”
Sarlund said.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to
serve the Board and the membership in
this new capacity, to continue John’s
legacy and build on the success of the
organization.”
August 2015
Cuba
Virginia and North Carolina, did ship
and has shipped into the market. You
can make your own judgment on why
Virginia and North Carolina apples
found a niche in that market.
In 2008, a large New York Delegation
visited Cuba. The trip was planned
by the Department of Agriculture
and folks from across New York
attended representing wood products,
vegetables, wine, canned vegetables,
New York apples and a number of
other products and/or services.
This was a very well planned
and scheduled trip which included
meeting with Alimport, Ministry of
Foreign Trade, Foreign Relations,
food markets, farming operations and
others. At least three New York apple
exporters were on the trip and each
one had face to face meetings with the
appropriate Cuban officials involved
with importing fresh apples.
As it turned out, since this trip was an
official New York state sanctioned and
sponsored mission, it quickly became
apparent that the goals for the Cubans
were to express continued opposition to
the U.S., the U.S. Embargo and mostly
of the history of abuse taken against
Cuba by the U.S. Government over the
last 100 years. To my knowledge no
trade agreements, contracts or future
business resulted in this mission. In
my opinion, since New York state was
involved and because of our strong
senatorial leadership, this became a
political mission for Cuba. Also, the
same restrictions on trade still existed.
Fast forward to 2015 and the recent
developments between the U.S. and
Core Report® Cuba. Flags are flying over Embassies
and Jet Blue is flying to Havana. With
this change many of the obstacles
should also be removed such as
banking procedures, exchange of funds,
communications and trade protection
measures, as well as the ability to trade
under somewhat normal conditions. At
least now, or in the near future, you can
travel to Cuba and conduct business
without having to gain Department of
State clearance or fly from Canada.
The Cuban market does or could offer
some opportunities for our industry.
Although it will certainly be a growth
market and will take time to emerge
as more Americans travel to Cuba,
the appetite for U.S. products has to
increase, including New York apples.
The Cuban population here in New
York is measurable and as they travel
to and from their motherland, they too
will demand more New York products.
Looking ahead to Cuba I see some
real possibilities for increasing trade
and business. I think that the fresh
vegetable production in Cuba has
a real opportunity to flourish and I
predict that major U.S. growing and
marketing companies will invest in
Cuba. They have the resources needed
in fertile land, water and labor. They
could become the smaller Mexico of
the east, providing fresh vegetables to
the eastern seaboard; in some places
in hours and others a day or two.
Compare this to Mexico or better yet,
to the Salinas Valley that is drying
up! Between running out of water
and the U.S. government’s failure to
confront immigration reform, feeding
Americans with U.S. grown produce
continues to be at risk.
Growing apples in Cuba is not
possible; but growing their economy to
purchase New York apples is.
Insurance
safflower, tomatoes, and walnuts in
select counties will have the option
to elect the APH Yield Exclusion
for the 2016 crop year. Producers
of grapefruit, lemons, mandarins/
tangerines, oranges, and tangelos
will have the option to elect the APH
Yield Exclusion for the 2017 crop year.
Alfalfa seed, cultivated wild rice, dry
peas, forage production, oats, onions,
rye and winter wheat are also eligible
in certain counties beginning with the
2016 crop year. These are in addition
to barley, canola, corn, cotton, grain
sorghum, peanuts, popcorn, rice,
soybeans, sunflowers and spring
wheat, which were offered beginning
in the 2015 crop year.
The APH Yield Exclusion allows
farmers, with qualifying crops in
eligible counties, to exclude low yields
in exceptionally bad years (such as a
year in which a natural disaster or other
extreme weather occurs) from their
production history when calculating
yields used to establish their crop
insurance coverage. Crop years are
eligible when the average per planted
acreage yield for the county was at least
50 percent below the simple average
for the previous 10 consecutive crop
years. It will allow eligible producers
to receive a higher approved yield on
their insurance policies through the
federal crop insurance program.
Producers also have access to new
online tools designed to help them
determine the options that work
best for their operations. The Crop
Insurance Decision Tool and the SCO/
APH Yield Exclusion mapping tool,
Page 15
available online, provide farmers with
information on APH Yield Exclusion
and SCO eligible crops, crop years,
and counties where they may elect the
programs. This user-friendly resource
can help producers quickly explore and
understand available coverage options.
Users will get general estimates to
help them make purchasing decisions.
Producers should consult their
crop insurance agent for detailed
information, sales closing dates and an
actual premium quote.
A list of crop insurance agents is
available at all USDA Service Centers
and online at the Risk Management
Agency’s agent locator. Growers can
use the agency’s cost estimator to get
a premium amount estimate of their
insurance needs online. Visit the Risk
Management Agency at www.rma.
usda.gov/news/currentissues/aphye/
index.html to learn more about SCO
and APH Yield Exclusion.
APH Yield Exclusion and SCO are
made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill,
which builds on historic economic
gains in rural America over the past
six years, while achieving meaningful
reform and billions of dollars in
savings for taxpayers. Since enactment,
USDA has made significant progress
to implement each provision of this
critical legislation, including providing
disaster relief to farmers and ranchers;
strengthening risk management tools;
expanding access to rural credit;
funding critical research; establishing
innovative public-private conservation
partnerships; developing new markets
for rural-made products; and investing
in infrastructure, housing, and
community facilities to help improve
quality of life in rural America. For
more information, visit www.usda.
gov/farmbill.
Volunteers Needed
for NYAA’s booth at the New York State Fair
F
or the 16th consecutive
year, we will be promoting the many healthy
aspects of apples by providing fresh apples, sauce
and cider to fairgoers in
exchange for a donation
to the American Cancer
Society. This is a great opportunity to promote our wonderful New York apples
and apple products to thousands of fairgoers.
W
e are asking growers, packers, shippers, and apple
industry members to come help us staff this exhibit. The booth is open every day from 10:00 a.m. until
6:00 p.m. You can join us for a variety of timeframes (10–5:30, 10–2, or 2–5:30); we’d love to have you help
promote apples as well as your own farm or business, and your generous donation of time will be appreciated
very much. Fair admission and parking passes will be provided. Also, if you have shirts with your farm name
and/or logo on it, please wear it to promote your business.
T
he Fair runs Thursday, August 27th through Labor Day, September 7th. Please contact Joan Willis at the
NYAA office in Fishers (585-924-2171) if you are interested in volunteering or have any questions.
Thank you and we hope to see you at the fair!
Page 16
Export Report
Cuba – could it be a new market
for New York apples?
By Jim Allen
[email protected]
Cuba sure has been in the news and
it is causing a renewed interest in the
Cuban market for New York apples.
Stepping back in time to June of
2002, two NY exporters and I visited
Cuba to participate in the first U.S.Cuban Trade show. The show was
the result of President Clinton’s
action that allowed food stuffs and
pharmaceuticals to be exempt from
the U.S. Embargo. The trade show was
dominated by large U.S. commodity
groups and products such as beef,
grain, soy, etc. We met with the state
controlled import agency, Alimport. As
a result of the trip, we learned that the
demand for apples in that market was
separated in two different categories.
First was the state need, to feed
residents in feeding programs and
controlled markets. As we experienced
from seeing these markets, the
selection, quality and infrastructure to
provide anything close to safe, quality
produce was very limited. In addition,
a good portion of this fruit went to open
air markets, similar to our farmers
markets, but on a larger scale.
The second avenue was to provide
fruit to the food service and tourist
trade, which served the emerging
tourist business. This market preferred
higher quality fruit than what they fed
residents, but it was still underpriced.
Most of this growth was because of
outside investors, such as Argentina and
Spain, who were partnering with the
Cuban government. They were investing
in coastal hotels and resorts. But in
2002 that investment was somewhat
limited. It was obvious to us at that time
that both markets were driven by price
and that quality was pushed aside.
In 2002, even though this new trade
opportunity had emerged, there were
still a number of hurdles, obstacles
and risks in the market. None of the
commerce was sanctioned by the U.S.;
therefore, all typical trading guidelines
and protection measures were not
available. The exchange of money
was a huge issue and shipments were
restricted to certain ports and shipping
lines. All of these obstacles, in addition
to unattractive pricing, certainly did
not encourage any measurable trade
for New York apple exporters. Very few
loads were shipped.
Our neighbors from the south,
See Cuba, Page 15
Calendar
August 19, 2015
USAEC Meeting
Chicago, IL
August 20-21, 2015
Apple Crop Outlook
and Marketing Conf.
The Ritz Carlton
Chicago, IL
August 27 – Sept. 7, 2015
New York State Fair
NYAA Booth –
Horticulture Building
Syracuse
September 9, 2015
New York Farm Days
by Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand
Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC
October 24-25, 2015
PMA Fresh Summit
Georgia World Congress Center
Atlanta, GA

Core Report August 2015

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