Too Many Berries: Florida Grower Discusses Early End to Season Amid Low Market Prices

Clint ThompsonFlorida, Strawberry

By Clint Thompson Supply overwhelmed demand in the strawberry industry in March. As a result, the subsequent market did not respond favorably for Florida growers. Matt Parke, farm manager of Parkesdale Farms in Plant City, Florida, stopped harvesting his crop on March 17, because he was going to lose more money harvesting the crop than if he had just stopped. …

Florida Strawberry Farmer: High Market Prices Needed to Keep Heads Above Water

Web AdminStrawberry

By Clint Thompson Strawberry prices are high right now for Florida growers. But they need to be for producers to keep their collective heads above water. In an agricultural era marred by soaring input expenses, growers yearn for high market prices to offset historical highs for expenses like diesel and labor. “Market prices have been higher, but with that being …

Florida Watermelon Producer Discusses Inputs, Looming Market Prices

Web AdminAgri-business, Trade, Watermelon

By Clint Thompson Florida Watermelon harvests are about to commence. One producer has done all he can to keep his crop clean this season, even if input costs rose to new heights. “I’ve got no disease pressure, no bug pressure. We spray them every seven days. You sit back and wonder if we’re wasting money because there’s nothing wrong with …

Pecan Interest Slows Amid Rising Input Costs, Deflated Market Prices

Web AdminAlabama, Georgia, Pecan, Top Posts

By Clint Thompson Pecan interest has finally slowed amid rising input costs and a deflated market. Need proof? Just look at the attendance at Tuesday’s Pecan Beginner’s School at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center. “The planting of nursery trees over the past year did drop. The number of trees planted, people are still planting, but I think …

Not So Sweet Prices: January Freeze Event Impacting Watermelon Market

Web AdminAgri-business, Exports/Imports, Watermelon

By Clint Thompson The freeze event in late January is having an impact on the watermelon market more than three months later. What were ‘outrageously’ high prices just a few weeks ago have dropped substantially since. It is mostly due to an abundance of supply overwhelming demand. Carr Hussey, a watermelon farmer in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, calls it a …

Market Improvement: Pecan Prices Should Increase Amid Improved Demand

Web AdminAlabama, Georgia, Pecan, Top Posts

By Clint Thompson Good news may be on the horizon for pecan producers in Georgia and Alabama. Market prices may be improving in the near future. According to Lenny Wells, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension pecan specialist, various factors are pointing to an increase in prices for farmers. “It’s looking like all the nuts we held in cold storage, that …

Vegetable Prices Drop in 2023, Rebound in Early 2024

Clint ThompsonVegetables

Vegetable producers experienced a drop in market prices in 2023, though they rebounded during the early months of 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service Situation and Outlook Report. The domestic annual vegetable price index, computed by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, dropped 11% from the highs of 2022. The decrease was attributed to …

Low Pecan Prices Don’t Figure to Increase Anytime Soon

Clint ThompsonGeorgia, Pecan

By Clint Thompson The five-year average price for pecans, from 2019 to 2023 was $1.69 a pound, which was the market price growers received last year. It does not appear to be going up any time soon, explains Lenny Wells, University of Georgia Extension pecan specialist. “Average price last year across all varieties season long was $1.69. That’s a lot …

UGA Marketing Professor: Demand Still Strong for Fruits, Vegetables

Clint ThompsonGeorgia

By Clint Thompson Demand remains strong for Georgia’s fruits and vegetables. That’s the good news, believes Gopinath (Gopi) Munisamy, Distinguished Professor of Agricultural Marketing at the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The challenge is determining how growers can capitalize amid rising labor expenses and increasing imports from other countries. He highlighted the specialty crop sector …