We may not have the restaurant closures and skyrocketing retail demand of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic or the shipping delays and intense labor shortages of the second year.
“And yet each year has its own challenges,” New Jersey Agriculture Secretary Douglas Fisher told attendees at the May 24th Eastern Produce Council barbecue at Demarest Farms, Hillsdale, N.J.
“This year, as we’re working through COVID, we still have all these challenges that we have to face, whether it’s the supply chain, rising inflation,” and other threats to growers, shippers and marketers of fresh produce, as well as the public that needs this nutrition,” he said.
Fisher and other New Jersey produce leaders gathered with more than 100 other produce professionals and their families at the annual barbecue and meeting, sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.
“If there ever was a year that farmers need your support, this is the year, and I say that with all sincerity,” Fisher told the crowd.
New Jersey Vegetable Growers Association President John Banscher agreed when he spoke to the crows.
“This year, farmers are going to have a tough year ahead,” he said.
The produce volume and quality look good so far so offered prices could be fair. But — and this is big — other input costs have skyrocketed:
- Fertilizer has risen 300% to 400%;
- Packaging supplies has risen 37%;
- Plastic covers for row crops have risen; and
- Forklift rental rates have soared.
“But we still carry on,” Banscher said. “Please try to give the farmers a price this year, because we’re going to need it, big time.”
Bonnie Lundblad gave reports on the New Jersey blueberry and peach crops.
Cold weather didn’t damage the blueberry crop, pollination went well, sizing looks good and volume seems similar to last season. Promotable amounts will be available by mid-June and can be on ads by June 19, she said.
“We can start your ads before Fourth of July and be part of the red, white and blue,” Lundblad said.
Blueberries should be available through July 25.
Peaches had a challenging spring with cold weather, but South Jersey did fine, which is where most of the commercial orchards are, she said. Peach volume will start July 4 and really ramp up by July 15 and be available for ads through Sept. 15.
The Jersey Fresh brand of local produce is doing well, after 38 years of the program, said Joe Atchison, the state’s assistant secretary of agriculture.
There will be billboards on major highways, a sky banner across the Jersey Shore, social media campaigns, giveaways of blueberries, peaches and cherry tomatoes at the beach and radio spots next to the traffic and weather segments.
“That’s when everybody turns up the volume dial,” he said.
Molly Bender, daughter of council member Derrick Bender of Fowler Packing, won the James and Theresa Nolan Family Foundation Scholarship, which asks students to share about an ethical dilemma and how they overcame it.
Challenges abound in any year, just different ones, Fisher said.
“I know this year and last year, each year, there are amazing challenges, and it’s really a tribute to all of you, as front-line folks during COVID, that people in our country were able to eat and have supply, and somehow this industry didn’t miss a beat and figured out a way to make sure people were served and had an opportunity to eat fresh fruits and vegetables,” Fisher said. “We’ve done survey after survey after survey, and people want what’s grown in this state.”