Posted on 02/11/2011 11:11:43 AM PST by Errant
Here's an announcement to its customers that I'm told came directly from Sysco Foods.
ALL OF OUR GROWERS HAVE INVOKED THE ACT OF GOD CLAUSE ON OUR CONTRACTS (Force majuere) DUE TO THE FOLLOWING RELEASE. WE WILL BE CONTACTING YOU PERSONALLY TO REVIEW HOW THIS WILL AFFECT OUR CONTRACTED ITEMS WITH YOU GOING FORWARD.
THE DEVASTATING FREEZE IN MEXICO IS WORST FREEZE IN OVER 50 YEARS...
THE EXTREME FREEZING TEMPERATURES HIT A VERY BROAD SECTION OF MAJOR GROWING REGIONS IN MEXICO, FROM HERMOSILLO IN THE NORTH ALL THE WAY SOUTH TO LOS MOCHIS AND EVEN SOUTH OF CULIACAN. THE EARLY REPORTS ARE STILL COMING IN BUT MOST ARE SHOWING LOSSES OF CROPS IN THE RANGE OF 80 TO 100%.
EVEN SHADE HOUSE PRODUCT WAS HIT BY THE EXTREMELY COLD TEMPS. IT WILL TAKE 7-10 DAYS TO HAVE A CLEARER PICTURE FROM GROWERS AND FIELD SUPERVISORS, BUT THESE GROWING REGIONS HAVEN'T HAD COLD LIKE THIS IN OVER A HALF CENTURY.
THIS TIME OF YEAR, MEXICO SUPPLIES A SIGNIFICANT PERCENT OF NORTH AMERICA'S ROW CROP VEGETABLES SUCH AS: GREEN BEANS, EGGPLANT, CUCUMBERS, SQUASH, PEPPERS, ASPARAGUS, AND ROUND AND ROMA TOMATOES.
FLORIDA NORMALLY IS A MAJOR SUPPLIER FOR THESE ITEMS AS WELL BUT THEY HAVE ALREADY BEEN STRUCK WITH SEVERE FREEZE DAMAGE IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY AND UP UNTIL NOW HAVE HAD TO PURCHASE PRODUCT OUT OF MEXICO TO FILL THEIR COMMITMENTS, THAT IS NO LONGER AND OPTION.
WITH THE SERIES OF WEATHER DISASTERS THAT HAS OCCURRED IN BOTH OF THESE MAJOR GROWING AREAS WE WILL EXPERIENCE IMMEDIATE VOLATILE PRICES, EXPECTED LIMITED AVAILABILITY, AND MEDIOCRE QUALITY AT BEST.
THIS WILL NOT ONLY HAVE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON SUPPLIES, BUT BECAUSE OF VERY STRONG BLOSSOM DROPS, THIS WILL ALSO IMPACT SUPPLIES 30 – 60 DAYS FROM NOW...
(Excerpt) Read more at iceagenow.com ...
...the plants will recuperate and we will see harvests...
I am assuming that, given Mexico’s climate, much of their crops are grown on a “staggered” basis, i.e., the plants which suffered from the freeze, were only a part of their yearly output. Figure 90 days from seed to table for say a Bell Pepper, but the pepper plants are planted a week apart so that maturation occurs almost on a continuous basis.
“Hot House” crops, though more expensive, can make up the short-fall.
I am one of those who's on what's euphemistically called a ‘fixed income’, and, as such, I'm intensely aware of food costs and fuel costs, and the interactions....
(And I, as are so many others, am most decidedly NOT happy with the way things are proceeding....)
Normally it’s an annual but about 30 years ago I knew a guy who had a five year old plant. It looked like a little Bonsai pot plant.
Imho, San Marzano tomatoes are the best.
A -31 for Oklahoma is really hard to comprehend and next winter is suppose to be even colder! Maybe the cold weather will at least help to rid us of our fire ant curse.
Just think how much worse it would have been if we hadn’t had all this global warming.
Thanks, RD.
I’m told they make for some good ham and bacon.
” I’m told they make for some good ham and bacon. “
The omniscient, omnipotent New Mexico Fish and Game Commission has decreed that we can only kill the d@mned pigs during a season which does not coincide with their garden-molesting season....
So instead of investing a couple of bucks on deer slugs for my 12ga, I’ll be investing a couple of hundred (which I’m gonna have to figure out how to afford, somehow) in stouter fencing....
And not just Mexico, but many countries from which we import food use pesticides that were banned in the US decades ago. China is a major offender. Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) should allow all of us to buy food made in the US in most cases. Check the label and buy smart or grow your own.
Ease up on the make believe internet etiquette over caps lock. It is just letters on a computer. Way, way back in the day on local bulletin boards folks used to use all caps.
So who the hell dreamed up the caps rule and made themselves the “dictator of caps”??
My favorite of yours is Al Gore’s head sticking up out of the snow.
I'd say your information is probably the most accurate knowing how competitive the transporation industry is.
My favorite of yours is Al Gore’s head sticking up out of the snow.
Yikes! Sorry to hear that!
In WI the DNR has declared open season year-round on all feral pigs. I haven’t been out hunting in a few years (health problems) but I hear stories of wild pigs chasing deer hunters up trees sometimes.
A big corporation like Sysco doesn’t know how to use Caps Lock?
THEY GOT THEIR KEYBOARD LIKE ME FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SURPLUS STORE.
Try Very Demotivational: http://verydemotivational.memebase.com/
Be warned: not all of the posters are rated PG.
Any time, my FRiend!
I have a rice cooker so it’s always light and fluffy.
I will have to send you photos my new hydro grow shed, securable and completely out of sight and no I don’t grow pot...LOL.
I have converted all my citrus to hydro as well...been an interesting journey.
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