Weather Worries
Farmers always keep a watchful eye on the weather, and produce buyers and processors should, too. If the weather’s great in one region, that probably means a crop is being hurt in another.
Here in Michigan, we had one of the wettest Junes on record, which followed two dry months. The rain and storms in June have hurt cherry yields, and hot days have moved up the apple crop. Hot weather in the Midwest will shorten the long-term storage of potatoes, but Texas is expecting a banner year for peaches and watermelons.
While buying local might be preferred for some, logistics and production don’t always make that possible. So buying the best quality produce to preserve shelf life and reduce waste requires buyers that understand crop production and keep an eye on the weather conditions. Just as the marketing department keeps an eye on consumer trends, buyers should keep an eye on growing trends.
We always hope for a good growing season in every region of the country for the benefit of farmers and improved access to fruits and vegetables for everyone. And as harvest continues or approaches, I hope for more or less rain (depending on the region) and no storms or hurricanes.
Industry Spotlight
Market Report
The Produce Traceability Initiative is still moving forward and the priorities haven’t changed, members of a coalition of industry associations told media last month, while announcing an adjustment to the milestone dates.
The Canadian Produce Marketing Association, Produce Marketing Association and United Fresh Produce Association, speaking on behalf of the PTI steering committee, reaffirmed the commitment to PTI and GS1, as well as the voluntary nature of the initiative and the end point of 2012. But the committee is addressing concerns from member companies and moving the goals for the next two milestones.
Milestone 4, which calls for human-readable information on cases, and Milestone 5, which called for that information to be encoded on the barcode, were both originally scheduled to be completed a full year before Milestone 6, where retailers would be able to read and record inbound cases.
“Is it necessary to get those done a year ahead of Milestone 6?” said Bryan Silbermann, president and CEO of PMA. “Given some of the difficulties, the direction is there but people need a little more time.”
For that reason, Milestones 4 and 5 have been pushed back to correspond with Milestone 6. Those three steps have a target goal 2011, with the final Milestone 7, the ability to read and store information on outbound cases, met by 2012.
During discussions with industry members, it became clear to the steering committee that there was confusion over adoption, best practices and the voluntary nature of the initiatives. The industry associations also addressed these issues in their press conference last month.
PTI also is working more closely with other fresh food initiatives in order to increase the value of GS1 for retailers across the fresh food category. This will lead to a harmonized approach and better coordination, Silbermann said. Moving forward, PTI will be working hand-in-hand with GS1, he added.
Moving Milestones 4-6 to one date will allow for more time to develop best practices, including working on pilot projects that will benefit retailers. For example, a pilot study could work with field packers to figure out the best way to capture outbound data from the warehouse to the store, Stenzel said.
For more on the PTI timeline, watch for the July issue of Fresh Cut in your mailbox.
