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Archives for April 2001

Press release: 4/30/01  Cliffstar adds CFO to BOD

Decas blasts Ocean Spray, may withdraw support for marketing order

Sunkist issues press release critical of Argentina

Cranberry Market Loss Assistance Payment Program

Weather.com offers highly detailed hour-by-hour overnight forecasts

Clements Citrus in China, and more on Clement Citrus

Jones Juice steps into Ocean Spray trademark territory

Falling in Love, An essay by Monika S. Weldon

Northland financial difficulties detailed in SEC report and NL negotiating with lenders

Article and Editorial on Nantucket Nectars new cranberry juice, and related cartoon

Copy of letter from John Swendrowski to Ann Veneman

"Does America want to keep agriculture?" Ag attorney Gary Baise speaks out

Administration proposes elimination of conservation programs
for agriculture

 

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Decas blasts Ocean 

Spray, may withdraw support for marketing order

4/30/01 A month ago it appeared that John Decas had come to an agreement with Ocean Spray and signed onto the Ocean Spray endorsed plan for a 4.7 million barrel marketing order. Now, in a letter to his growers he attacks Ocean Spray for, among other things, "refusing to make present sales or meaningful future commitments to sell to us from their surplus." Decas goes on to say that he "cannot support an order which allows Ocean Spray to use its surplus as a competitive weapon against independents, or as Ocean Spray sometimes has called us, 'the enemy.' If a proposed order will put our company and our loyal growers at a disadvantage for the coming year and into the future, we will have no choice but to oppose it." Read letter here.
Did you know?
  • Last year, more than half of the net U.S. farm income came from government support.
  • five leading food chains account for an estimated 42 percent of grocery sales last year with some projections of 60 percent soon.
  • why the Bush administration has indicated that it wants to defer any decision on emergency bailout money for distressed farmers, while Congress wants billions of dollars in emergency aid?

See interview, "Converging Forces Afflict Farms," with Neil E. Harl,  40 year veteran professor of agriculture at Iowa State University, in the New York Times, HERE.

International

Sunkist issues press release critical of Argentina

4/28/01 As the United States negotiates the Free Trade Area of the Americas and the World Trade Organization, cranberry growers need to keep an eye on the experiences of other farmers. Argentina now sends citrus to the U.S. almost duty free, but they just doubled the tariff on citrus imported from the U.S. Sunkist  poses the question "why should American-grown fruit face this increased tariff disadvantage in the Argentine marketplace while at the same time Argentine-grown citrus is enjoying improved access to the U.S. marketplace?" Read press release.


Cranberry Market Loss Assistance Payment Program

4/26/01 Written checks were mailed today.  Growers who  requested electronic funds transfer should have their payment posted to their bank accounts on Friday 4/27.


 

Related story on
Clement Citrus:

4/25/01 An article, "Citrus firm dismisses its namesake," in the 4/20/01 edition of the Port St. Lucie News * describes the problems that Clements Citrus has been having. This is also the subject of a press release that Stressline missed, but became aware of after following up on a Forum posting by Jon Gottschalk. You can read the press release here.

* This article may be not be available online tomorrow, so you should copy and save it if you want to reference it in the future.

Press release:

Clements Citrus in China

4/24/01 Last year Clement Citrus teamed up, through its subsidiary Golden Phoenix Enterprises, with Wisconsin's Bassuener Cranberry Co. (11/21/00 Bassuener article) to provide cranberry products to be sold in China. Clements now reports on its plan "to be the world's foremost distributor of Florida Citrus and fresh fruit products into the Chinese market" in an optimistic press release issued today. Read here.

OpEd

Falling in Love
An essay by

Monika S. Weldon

I'm still here because of this very unique and interesting crop and because of the people who have spent their lives cultivating it and applying knowledge handed down over multiple generations. In many ways cranberry farmers represent the epitome of the New England Farmer. It's because of them; these absorbing, kind, and wonderful people in this enterprise. It is because of those who care so much about the land, about the crop, about their families, and just as importantly about each other, that I stay.

Click here.


Frost-watch

Weather.com offers highly detailed hour-by-hour overnight forecasts

How to make a weather compass

4/26/01 The Weather Channel's online version, www.weather.com, has a feature that you may have missed. You can see a detailed hourly forecast through the evening. From the Weather Channel link (above) fill in your zip code and click "Go." Then click "Today" and from that page click "Hour by Hour Forecast more details...." That will bring up an hour-by-hour report for the next 8 hours. On the bottom of that report click "Show Next 8 hours" until you come to the period you want to view. 

Click here for a sample overnight chart for Middleboro.

www.weather.com 


More on Clement Citrus

4/25/01 Correction: We erroneously reported that the Clements Citrus web site was off-line. In fact, it never was listed as a .com, and is online at www.floj.net. Their web site has a great deal of information about the company in addition to product promotion. For more information about their China initiative, scroll down to the bottom of the Welcome page, click "Investor Relations;" on the next page you'll find five links to pages about the Chinese sales program. The site also links to the companies SEC filings.


Jones Juice steps into Ocean Spray trademark territory

4/19/01 Jones Juice has introduced a product called Fu Cran Fu, which may infringe on Ocean Sprays trademarked "Cran" designation for its blended products. The juice is supposed to be a blend of cranberry and fufu berry. BevNet, in their review rates the taste at a dismal D. What's a fu fu? Since in addition to pear juice (the first juice in the ingredient list) and cranberry (the second) the only other juice is strawberry, plus grapeseed extract, this mix must be what they call fu fu.


N.J. 4/24/01 local story; International  farm news: 4/20/01 Protesting Chinese farmers killed by police 4/20/01  Ocean Spray victim of N.J. cargo theft

 


 

Northland financial difficulties detailed in SEC report

4/18/01 Northland filed its 10Q quarterly report form with the SEC on Friday. It notes that they remained in default of several covenants of their revolving credit agreement, other long-term debt agreements and their forbearance agreements. You can read the entire report here.

Northland negotiating with lenders

4/18/01 Northland Cranberries is working to refinance its bank debt. This story is covered in the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune here.

Mites killing bees in Plymouth County

4/18/01 Read Patriot Ledger article.

Copy of letter from John Swendrowski to Ann Veneman Editorial

Will the authentic cranberry company step forward

Editorial Cartoon

The Cranberry Juice Pyramid

 


 

Ocean Spray  launches chilled juice line through Nantucket Nectars

4/11/01 According to the Nantucket Nectars web site, this "subsidiary" (see web site page here for explanation of ownership) of Ocean Spray is introducing a line of refrigerated 64 oz. cartons this month in the New England area. Three of the four flavors, orange - mango, squeezed lemonade and squeezed half and half are the same as the single serve product. The cranberry is not the same as its single serve counter-part. It was renamed "authentic cranberry" and uses cranberry puree "for a thicker, fresher taste." The cranberry product is said to have particles and a cloudy coloration.

The image on the web site features a carton of the authentic cranberry fully visible in the foreground, with the other three juices partially obscured in the background.

The new Nantucket Nectars line will compete for supermarket cooler space, and customers, with Tropicana, Minute Maid and Dole. Ocean Spray does not currently market a refrigerated 64 oz. carton cranberry juice product under its own brand name. Shelf life is 70 days. Coupons are due to be circulated in May. With images


Press Releases

4/10/01 Grape Seed Extract Positioned as Next Powerful Antioxidant to Grow Nutraceutical Category

4/10/01 Washington State Department of Agriculture Hearing Notice Hearings Slated for Enhanced Chemigation and Fertigation Standards

4/6/01 - SOURCE: Graham Packaging Company, L.P. Ocean Spray Goes National With `Flagship' PET Grip Bottle Developed With Graham Packaging

4/5/01 Cliffstar appoints Bailen as Executive Vice President of Operations and Technology


"Does America want to keep agriculture?"

Ag attorney speaks out

4/4/01 Gary Baise is representing several Massachusetts cranberry growers, including Charles Johnson, of Carver, in their efforts to defeat the Cranberry Marketing Order for 2001. He also represents Johnson Cranberries in actions involving the EPA.  There is an interview of Baise in this month's print edition of Progressive Farmer entitled "Does America want to keep agriculture." In it he addresses the impact that environmental groups and certain grant-writing foundations are having on the practice of agriculture. He contends that many environmental groups overstate their case: "They create such a straw man that they take advantage of their position in society to needlessly scare people." Read article.

4/12/01 Putting aside the internal workings of Ocean Spray and Nantucket Nectars, as far as the cranberry industry is concerned, the introduction of a new product which will have a high cranberry content in the important cooler section of the supermarket is good news as long as consumers buy more cranberry juice overall. (The exact content of cranberry in the new Nantucket Nectars juice is unknown, but entire juice content is listed as only 15%, see ingredients.) Putting a cranberry juice that is formulated to have a texture and palate sensation more like orange juice right next to the refrigerated orange juices could very well lure some O.J. consumers into buying cranberry juice as well. Even if 10% of all regular orange juice drinkers picked up a 64 oz. carton of cranberry juice occasionally, the numbers would probably be significant. If it will sell more juice, this is a rationale for using the Ocean Spray logo, if not the brand itself.

The so-far unheralded introduction of a radically new cranberry juice, even in a test market, under the Nantucket Nectar's label raises some interesting questions about Ocean Spray. CONTINUED


* Press release:

Administration proposes elimination of conservation programs
for agriculture

4/11/01 (American Farmland Trust - Released  April 9, 2001 Washington, DC)  Farmers and ranchers nationwide got a nasty shock in today's release of the federal budget for 2002: The Bush administration proposes to drastically cut funding for agriculture conservation and farmland protection efforts. Programs to be zeroed out include those that offer farmers incentives to protect water supplies, create wildlife habitat on farmland, and permanently protect their farmland from sprawling development. CONTINUED

* Press releases, like OpEds, do not necessarily reflect Stressline editorial opinion.


In the
news:

4/10/01 Florida Orange Growers Having Worst Economic Year Since 1970s - A.P.

4/9/01 Pinelands: Commissioner Steven V. Lee III of Tabernacle said those farmers now have much more of a financial incentive to participate in the farmland preservation program. "Now we have a program that comes close to giving fair value for the price of these farms in the Pinelands," he said. Article

4/8/01 New Jersey: Bound for China

4/7/01 Boston.com: Even the industry that gave the town its nickname — Cranberry Capital of the World — is undergoing changes as overproduction slices demand. "We have listed some growers' properties for sale," (realtor Debbie) Blais said. "Prior to this downturn in the market, most didn't want to sell any land around them. They wanted a buffer for pesticides and to protect the bogs. Now Makepeace has sold off a lot of lots, and we've done some for minor growers. "I think the cranberry industry can find a way to bring it around," she added. "I can't believe it's going to go out." Middleboro town profile 

4/6/01 Layoffs at Ocean Spray Bordentown plant, Burlington County News. "The company sales' volume overall for many products is doing fine... As a whole, things are fine. (But for) some of the products we manufacture here, those volumes are off." Dave Granholm, human resources manager at the plant.

4/6/01 Canadians frustrated with Bush admin. trade policies, A.P.

4/5/01 Veneman names undersecretary for research, education, economics

4/4/01 Cool-off over, US, Canada rekindle battle over exports, Boston Globe

4/4/01 Moseley, Hawks named to USDA posts, AgLaw

4/3/01 Amid Doubts, W.T.O. Plans Agriculture Talks, NY Times

4/2/01 Makepeace development news

3/31/01 Cranberry growers surveyed on market orders in Wisc. Rapids Daily Tribune

Previous edition

OpEds by John Swendrowski and John Decas

Three part series on doing business with China

A Market Analysis for New Opportunities in the Cranberry Industry, by Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D.

New survey to go directly to USDA

 

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