Bumper Crop Leads to Lower Almond Prices
Almonds, the beloved snack that recently overtook peanuts as the most consumed nut in America, might have gotten a little too popular for their own good. After years of steady price increases, thanks in large part to sky-rocketing demand, the protein-packed nut has suddenly become much cheaper. Almond prices, which reached record highs early last year, have fallen by roughly 25 percent since late 2014. “They dropped a lot faster and...
The Business of Agriculture: Cold-hardy kiwi has high-value potential
The first time Iago Hale popped a cold-hardy kiwifruit in his mouth in graduate school, he was left speechless, amazed that he had never encountered the delicious, grape-like fruit before. Now, the researcher with the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of New Hampshire is a hardy kiwifruit breeder working to develop the small, sweet fruit into a new high-value crop for New England farmers. “Hardy kiwis are...
Sugar (Beet) High in Midwest
Minneapolis — Minnesota sugar beet growers are looking at one of their best crops ever this fall, and they may even need to leave some of the harvest in the ground because of its abundance. Success for the farmers means more delight for your sweet tooth because the sugar in ice cream, cereal, soda and thousands of other food products comes from sugar beets, not sugar cane. More than half the sugar produced in the United States comes...
Organics Do Well in Produce, but Struggle in Meat, Bread Aisles
Washington — Organic foods are seizing shelf space in the fresh-foods sections of grocers but struggling to break into the bread and meat aisles. Organic-product sales farmers made to businesses including Dean Foods and Wal-Mart Stores totaled $5.5 billion in 2014, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture survey of organic growers. The total is 72 percent higher than the last time a similar survey was conducted in 2008. Sales so...
Strong Forecast For N.E. Apples
Boston — As summer winds down in New England, apple-picking season is gearing up with growers forecasting a bumper crop. According to the U.S. Apple Association, the six-state harvest is expected to be about 14 percent higher than last year’s and 18 percent above the region’s five-year average. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service forecasts the total New England apple production will come in at just under 170 million...
