12
CapitalPress.com
Friday, June 26, 2020
Smaller cherry crop yields higher prices
By DAN WHEAT
For the Capital Press
WENATCHEE, Wash. — The
Pacific Northwest cherry crop is
smaller than anticipated, which is
bringing strong prices after Cali-
fornia’s crop finished light.
The average freight-on-board
price on Northwest red cherries
was around $52 per 20-pound
box for the week of June 14-21,
said Brian Focht, manager of
the Northwest Cherry Marketing
Association in Wenatchee. That’s
$16 more per box than at the same
time last year, he said.
It’s common for the season’s
first cherries to garner $70 per
box or more for the first week of
exports to Asia, but prices can be
around $20 by July as supply over-
takes demand.
Increasing volume the week of
June 21-28 will push prices down a
little because demand will remain
Cattle
slaughter
running
close to a
year ago
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
BURLEY, Idaho —
Slaughter plants are run-
ning closer to capacity
and the backlog of cat-
tle is shrinking as the
industry shifts back into
high gear after temporary
COVID-19-related
clo-
sures knocked it back on its
heels, a marketing expert
says.
Disruptions in meat-
packing and beef demand
due to the pandemic have
thrown cattle markets into
chaos over the last couple
of months, fueling uncer-
tainty about what the “new
normal” might be.
But the industry will
find a road back to nor-
mal and predictable activ-
ity, John Nalivka, presi-
dent and owner of Sterling
Marketing in Vale, Ore.,
told cattle producers at the
Idaho Cattle Association
annual summer conference
on Monday.
In fact, “new normal”
isn’t even in his vocabu-
lary. The industry will get
back to knowing what’s
going on, he said.
On the supply side, the
top topic is the backlog of
cattle due to packing plant
closures and slowdowns
— and he doesn’t think
it’s as big as some have
estimated. Tracing back
through the process, he
thinks the backlog is about
500,000 head, much less
than the 1.0 million to 1.5
million estimated by other
industry analysts.
“We came into the year
with a pretty big number of
cattle on feed,” he said.
But the number of cat-
tle on feed on June 1 was
down slightly from a
year earlier. If the back-
log were so big, that num-
ber would still be large,
he said.
At the lowest point in
the pandemic, processing
was down 50% to 55%.
But for the past two weeks,
it’s been pretty close to a
year ago, he said.
Last week, 516,000 head
of fed cattle were slaugh-
tered. That’s about 90% of
capacity utilization at kill
plants, which is 566,000
head a week. At the same
time last year, slaughter
was at 95% of capacity, he
said.
Average capacity uti-
lization from the first of
2019 through March 2020
was about 88%. Slaughter
last week was unchanged
from the previous week
and only down about 4%
from a year earlier, he said.
“That’s all positive,” he
said.
The real issue is weight.
The industry came into the
year with record heavy
weights on fed cattle, and
they’ve only gotten heavier
since Jan. 1, he said.
“That’s really the issue
for beef production,” he
said.
stronger than supply, Focht said.
“Cherries are good and big.
Retail is scrambling to get prod-
uct for the Fourth of July to fill
shelves,” Focht said. “If we come
out of the Fourth well with retail-
ers wanting more right away, hope-
fully we can avoid deep discounts.”
He said he would like to see
cherries maintain retail prices of
more than $2 per pound this sea-
son rather than go to $1.75 to $1.80
per pound as has happened the last
several years.
Growers need better returns
because lighter per-acre yields this
year increase their costs, he said.
“The way this thing is moving
right now, it feels really good,”
Focht said. “Pricing should remain
strong all season.”
Whether returns are better
than last year (which was good)
“depends on who you talk to, loca-
tion, timing and a lot of other vari-
ables,” he said.
Dan Wheat/For the Capital Press
Washington cherries from Chel-
an Fresh Marketing on sale in the
East Wenatchee, Wash., Safeway
store on June 14. A smaller crop
is generating strong prices.
The industry’s promotional
arm, Northwest Cherry Growers
in Yakima, forecast a 20.2-mil-
lion-box crop in May.
Harvest started 11 days earlier
than normal on May 28 at Finley
south of Pasco. But rain and cool
weather slowed crop progression,
resulting in “the slowest start to
harvest we have seen since 2013,
which was the last time we had
a rain-shortened crop,” said B.J.
Thurlby, president of Northwest
Cherry Growers.
Rain damage to early varieties
in the Yakima Valley reduced the
crop estimate to 18 million boxes,
and Thurlby said it soon may
become 17 million. Focht said he
guesses it will end up between 16
million and 17 million.
A little over 4 million boxes
had been shipped by June 22,
and Thurlby expects approximate
totals of 6.5 million boxes in June,
9 million in July and 1.5 million
in August. Peaks of about 500,000
boxes per day will occur about
June 26 or 27 and the week of July
13, he said.
California’s crop, always ahead
of the Northwest, was mostly done
by June 5 at 6.4 million 18-pound
boxes. California’s record is 9.6
million boxes in 2017.
Brenda
Thomas,
presi-
dent of Orchard View Farms in
The Dalles and Oregon’s larg-
est cherry grower, said multiple
rains caused cullage from crack-
ing and softness but that it would
have been far worse without cool
weather.
Oregon has a more normal size
crop than Washington because it
had less damage from spring frost
and poor pollination, she said.
There’s plenty of good cher-
ries to be harvested through July,
and the company is practicing due
diligence daily in hand washing,
social distancing and face cover-
ings in orchards and the packing
house to guard against COVID-19,
she said.
Focht said orchard and pack-
ing productivity has suffered from
social distancing.
COVID-19 apparently has been
a bigger problem in Yakima County
than elsewhere in Washington.
COVID-19 puts hit on milk production
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
The coronavirus pan-
demic has made for some
wild times in dairy mar-
kets, which in turn have led
to significant downturns in
U.S. milk production.
May milk production
at 18.8 billion pounds was
down 1.1% year over year
from almost 19.1 billion
pounds in 2019, according
to USDA National Agricul-
tural Statistic Service.
“Some of the dairy
co-ops put in base excess
plans, etc. It appears that
has taken effect,” Bob
Cropp, University of Wis-
consin dairy economist,
said in the latest “Dairy
Situation and Outlook”
podcast.
Cow numbers in May
were down 11,000 head
from April and 15,000 head
from March but were still
35,000 head above a year
ago.
“But there was a big drop
University of Wisconsin
Bob Cropp, left, and Mark Stephenson, University of
Wisconsin economists.
in milk production per cow,”
he said.
Per-cow
production
dropped 31 pounds and
1.5% year over year.
“Definitely farmers have
responded, reducing milk
production — which is a
factor we’re seeing in milk
prices changes right now,”
he said.
The Class III milk price,
which was $17.05 a hun-
dredweight in January,
dropped to $12.14 in May.
But the June price is looking
like it’ll be $20 with a record
increase from one month to
the next, he said.
Lower milk produc-
tion, government purchases,
restaurants slowly opening
up and restocking foodser-
vice inventories were all fac-
tors, he said.
“It shows how sensitive
this market is to relatively
small changes, but that tight-
ened things up,” he said.
The cash cheese price for
40-pound blocks went from
$1 a pound two months ago
to $2.50 on Friday, Mark
Stephenson, fellow dairy
economist at the university,
said.
The big question is how
long the higher prices will
stay, Cropp said.
The futures market
jumped, with July Class III
prices above $20. They trail
off to the high $16s by the
end of the year, he said.
There’s a lot of uncer-
tainty as to where prices will
go. Milk production will be
going down seasonally with
the hot summer months.
Restaurants are opening,
and processors will be build-
ing inventory for holiday
demand.
“We could see those
prices at least in the next
quarter holding pretty good,
he said.
The big question is
whether farmers will con-
tinue to hold down milk
production. The other ques-
tion is whether there’ll be
another coronavirus out-
break that slows things
down again, he said.
While 14 of the 24 report-
ing states decreased milk
production year over year
— including a 1.5% decline
in California and a 3.1%
decline in Wisconsin —
milk flowed strong in others.
May milk production was
up in seven states, includ-
ing gains of 4.8% in Idaho,
4.6% in Colorado and 9.7%
in South Dakota.
“Farms are starting to
react to these higher prices,
at least in the West,” Ste-
phenson said.
Values for springers out
there are higher than they’ve
been in many years, he said.
“This is just kind of tell-
ing you that these guys want
to make milk if the prices
are going to be here. That’s
going to kill the golden
goose if they’re going to
start making a lot of milk,”
he said.
Upper Snake irrigation outlook favorable
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
The Upper Snake River reser-
voir system stood at 98% full June
21 as irrigators entered the season
of heavy usage.
Water supplies in the system are
critical to large crop, livestock and
dairy sectors in southeastern and
south-central Idaho. Though sup-
plies are down slightly, irrigators
saved water during the unusually
cool, wet weather through the first
half of June.
The amount of water stored in
the reservoir system peaked early
the week of June 15, said Brian Ste-
vens, water operations manager for
the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s
Upper Snake Field Office in Hey-
burn, Idaho.
All reservoirs filled except Pali-
sades in eastern Idaho and Jackson
Lake in Wyoming. They are now
about 10,000 acre-feet or 8 inches,
and 13,000 or 6 inches, from full-
pool status, respectively, he said.
Systemwide fill rates were 100%
Capital Press File
Palisades Reservoir within Idaho’s Grand Valley has a storage capacity
of 1.2 million acre-feet and is part of the Upper Snake River system.
in 2017 and 2018, 97% last year
and 98% this year, Stevens said.
The current rate is good given that
Reclamation earlier this year per-
formed flood-control operations at
Palisades and Jackson, he said. The
releases pose challenges related to
runoff and irrigation timing.
“We came within 100,000 acre-
feet of filling the system com-
pletely,” he said. The system holds
about 4 million acre-feet.
Reclamation on June 21, 2020,
reported fill percentages at individ-
ual reservoirs including 100% at
Henry’s Lake, Island Park, Grassy
Lake and Ririe; 99% at Palisades;
98% at Jackson and Lake Wolcott;
and 95% at American Falls.
“This is a good runoff year,” Ste-
vens said. “It is good storage alloca-
tion this year.”
Water supplies are at or slightly
below average in the Upper Snake
region, said Tony Olenichak, who
is watermaster with Water District
1 in Idaho Falls and a state Depart-
ment of Water Resources program
manager.
“We have plenty of water,” he
said “We will probably end up with
98 or 99% storage allocation. … No
one is going to run out of water this
year.”
Irrigation diversions in much
of eastern Idaho stopped tempo-
rarily late in the June 15-19 week
on timely rains, he said. More rain
could come near the end of the June
22-26 week.
“We have above-average precip-
itation and below-average demand
at this point,” Olenichak said.
Kamren Koompin, who man-
ages his family’s 7,500-acre farm
near American Falls, said several
good water years recently and the
state’s longtime annual effort to
recharge the large Eastern Snake
Plain Aquifer have benefited pro-
ducers. Recharge “is starting to
be noticeable and pay off a little
bit.”
SpudLove, new farmer-owned potato chip line, partners with Farmers Ending Hunger
By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN
Capital Press
A new farmer-owned
potato chip line is hitting
store shelves this summer.
SpudLove Snacks’ new
potato chip line is made from
organic potatoes grown at
Threemile Canyon Farms in
Boardman, Ore.
The same company that
grows the potatoes owns the
brand — uncommon among
salty snack lines.
According to SpudLove’s
statement, the chips are 100%
“USDA-certified organic,
Non-GMO Project Verified
and certified gluten-free.”
The company’s lead-
ers say they built the brand
to appeal to millennials:
with a clear farm source and
health-conscious focus.
SpudLove’s CEO, Sheila
Stanziale, said the chips
are cooked slowly in small
batches using less oil than
average chips and are sliced
extra-thick so they’ll come
out crunchy and “potato-y.”
The snack company
acres as range land and open
spaces, according to its web-
site. The farm grows organic
potatoes, blueberries, car-
rots, sweet corn, sweet peas,
alfalfa and pasture, field corn
and onions.
Burt said SpudLove’s
CEO, Stanziale, knew she
SpudLove Snacks wanted SpudLove to “give
SpudLove Snacks’ new organic potato chips are made back” in some way, so when
with potatoes grown at Threemile Canyon Farms near Marty Myers, Threemile
Boardman, Ore.
Canyon Farms’ general man-
ager, told her about Farm-
announced
John Burt, executive ers Ending Hunger and
its chip line
director of Farmers Ending introduced her to Burt, she
Hunger, said Threemile Can- seemed eager to donate.
this
June
yon Farms is now donating
“Bless their hearts. It’s
along with
about 800 pounds of pota- a good project,” said Burt.
a
com-
toes each week — enough to “I hope it grows, and as it
mitment
give 160 families each a five- grows, they can perhaps
to donate
Sheila
pound bag.
potatoes
donate even more.”
Stanziale
Burt said Threemile Can-
to
Farm-
The SpudLove brand was
yon Farms has been a donor built by an already-exist-
ers Ending
since 2008, when the farm ing snack company, Luke’s
Hunger every month.
Farmers Ending Hun- starting donating dairy Organic Potato Chips.
ger is an Oregon nonprofit, cows to be processed into
The “SpudLove idea,”
started in Hermiston, that hamburger.
Stanziale said, was spawned
collects donations of farm
The 93,000-acre farm by Myers of Threemile Can-
products like fresh produce operates three conventional yon Farms and the snack
for the Oregon Food Bank, dairies and an organic dairy. It company’s business team.
Threemile Canyon Farms’
which then distributes the has set aside 23,000 acres as
food across the state.
conservation area and 29,000 parent company, North
Dakota-based potato giant
R.D. Offutt Farms, was
“heavily invested” in Luke’s
Organic
Potato
Chips,
according to those familiar
with the history.
In fall 2019, when an
opportunity came to start
SpudLove, R.D. Offcutt
bought the brand so it could
act as both potato chip maker
and marketer.
Although
Threemile
Canyon Farms produces
the most potatoes by vol-
ume for the brand, Spud-
Love will work with two
other organic potato farms
in case bad weather or
other unforeseen circum-
stances disrupt supply from
Threemile Canyon Farms.
Stanziale declined to dis-
close the name or location
of the other two farms.
SpudLove is available for
sale at Whole Foods stores
in the Pacific Northwest and
online through Amazon.
The chips, Stanziale said,
will also be available soon at
Market of Choice, Huckle-
berry’s and other markets.