The Food System: A System of Benefits?
Fresh produce imports from Mexico are expected to reach over $53 billion in economic value by 2030, according to a recent report from the Center for North American Studies (CNAS) at Texas A&M University.
U.S. fresh produce imports from Mexico will increase by 29.2 percent over 2022 levels. Using economic multipliers for each sector of the U.S. economy, these fresh produce imports from Mexico will increase business activity & provide a total economic impact of over $53 billion by 2030.
According to the report, U.S. fresh produce imports from Mexico by truck will increase to 763,416 truckloads by 2030, or 29.2 percent above 2022 levels. A majority of this growth will occur through Texas ports, with imports expected to grow by 32.4 percent to 430,772 truckloads.
This will impact US grown produce with downward sales at the grocer's level putting pressure on US producers. We will likely see lower pricing on the imports at stores & in food service packs
In the above photo, notice the current line of trucks waiting for clearance across the border. That is a large carbon impact of idling trucks. It is hard to imagine 763,000 trucks crossing in.
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Worried About Produce Prices?
There is future uncertainty. The enormous rains & snow in California this winter & into spring caused incredible damage.
The field & farm workers in the town of Watsonville & the Pajaro Valley lost much of their personal property when levees broke & flooded the low lying community. In addition, roads, fields & packing houses were damaged & in need of rebuilding infrastructure. This impacted workers even more with unanticipated unemployment.
As you can see from pictures in this issue, farming in the valleys of California requires a ridiculous amount of engineering simply to prep, level & cover thousands of acres. Despite the incredible mastering of synchronizing growing regions in Arizona & southern California expect gaps in production field crops including iceberg, romaine & strawberries. Watch the strawberry harvesting video in the recent dismal conditions.
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It's happening!
Wouldn't it be amazing for New England to feed New England? Well, that is what we are doing supporting distributors, stores, producers & farmers through the work of Farm to Plate. But how well are we doing across NE? That is what a six-state consortium is tasked with figuring out. A team of researchers & analysts will be collecting sales numbers on the dollars of NE produced products traveling through distribution & sales channels.
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Migrant workers & their families often live in geographic, linguistic & cultural isolation, which can create barriers to education, wellness & public services. UVM Extension aides with a focus on improving access to healthcare, education, food access, security, & overall social wellbeing. VT food system partners work together to support the community of workers from many countries. A Community Health Workers video features “Bridges to Health" an outreach program for migrant farmworkers in Vermont.
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OPO Vertical & molecular Strawberry Fields? ?
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Pre-Floods From Above: California Strawberry Fields
This is how field berries are grown in California as seen before the recent floods. That great pricing available to build out huge displays with BOGO & other promotional pricing, requires producers devise engineering feats to reduce interaction with nature.
Heavy equipment & survey tools are used to create "efficiency" in growing, picking, & packing fruit to eliminate contact with the soil except at the root level. Prior to the laying down of the plastic, fields are fumigated to reduce insect & bacteria infestation.
California industrial, large-scale grown strawberries hit our markets as contaminated products. An acre has about 300 pounds of chemicals applied including 9 known carcinogens, 11 neurotoxins, 12 developmental toxins & 19 honey bee toxins. Agriculture is an intense industry which prides itself on innovation. Plastic, primarily made from petrochemicals has become ubiquitous in the farm production, not only in California but across the world with its multiplier effect on the environment (as well as production efficiency). Looking at the whole picture from 30,000 feet, agricultural systems can contribute enormously to environmental degradation & can directly harm worker health.
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Growth Necessitates Capital
Food production requires enormous capital. Currently, the integration of controlled environment production, harvesting efficiency, packing & shipping technology is a hot market for equity investors. Financing can make, and/or break operations.
In 2022 Little Leaf of Massachusetts, producers of greens harvested without ever touching human hands & never treated with chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides raised $300 million for expansion. Their system is seen as the forefront of regional production utilizing captured rainwater, natural sunlight that shines through high transmission glass, & solar-powered energy in their precise, soil-less hydroponic farming. Sales in the NE are strong with high consumer demand. Meanwhile Bright Farms secured $100M in debt to expand & acquire controlled-environment growing operations across the country.
Also in the east, last week Upward Farm with a production facility in Brooklyn announced it will cease its high-tech vertical farming operations. It had received $141M funding from six primary investors for growth & expansion. It has pulled out of construction in PA of what was to be "the world's largest facility of its kind combining modern vertical farming with the ancient farming practice of aquaponics.” (company statement made in September 2022)
"Vertical or indoor controlled-environment farming is capital intensive, requiring external funds to finance the technology and running costs, including artificial lighting in some cases to supplement daylight. Most, if not all, companies involved in the sector are unprofitable in what is still a relatively nascent industry requiring scale and investment to remain viable and compete with traditionally grown crops." -Just Food
In the west, the future is now. Silicon Valley startup OnePointOne currently located in Arizona, secured later-stage venture capital of $12M. The goal: to fund the world's most advanced AI technology & automated, indoor vertical farming system to increase product yields & improve quality. Future locations will enable crops to be grown closer to the end consumer.
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"OnePointOne's patented automated seed to harvest system, combined with plant analytics & AI differentiates them greatly. We look forward to farming for the future with this alternative growing model."
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Vermont: Emerging Businesses!
VSJF Business Coaches just launched Business Sense, a six-module training series providing essential tools & information resources for entrepreneurs & small business owners. The series aims to help businesses thrive & grow in Vermont & is designed to accelerate growth while expanding the leadership capacity of entrepreneurs.
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Weights & Measures hosts scale inspection events in April for anyone who uses scales at farmers’ markets or farm stands to sell produce or other commodities. This testing is required by law. Attend one of the inspection sites listed here. Bring your legal for trade scale & any accessories that you use with it for weighing items for sale.
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