" I heard it through the AgLine"

December 7, 2009

 

 

·        Maine farmers harvest crop from the ocean floor

·        So far, so good in America’s winter salad bowl

·        John Deere reports biggest one-year sales decline

·        Eurofresh agrees to pay workers back wages

·        World economy has outgrown WTO trade  talks

 

 

Maine farmers harvest crop from the ocean floor

 

(LATimes.com) – Paul Dobbins and Tollef Olson admit they still have a kink in their scheme to use seaweed to revolutionize American eating habits, clean the environment, lower the federal trade deficit and make themselves fabulously rich.

 

Call it the yuck factor.

 

"It tastes better than it looks," said Olson, holding a shimmering frond of brown horsetail kelp he had just plucked from the cold gray waters of Casco Bay. "Really."

 

Dobbins and Olson run what is believed to be America's only commercial kelp farm. Inspired by mega-aquaculture sites in Asia, and a $7-billion global seaweed industry, the two entrepreneurs started cultivating kelp here last year and have begun marketing it as an exotic frozen vegetable.

 

"It's a giant brown algae in the water, but it turns bright green when it's cooked," Olson said. "Think kelp noodles. And kelp salad. And kelp slaw."

 

The aqua-farmers go to work each day in a 41-year-old lobster boat, chugging between rugged islands and rocky outcrops. They usually wear wet suits and scuba gear to tend their underwater crop by hand. On wintry days, they light a wood-burning stove below deck to keep warm.

 

As the boat bobbed off Bangs Island one recent morning, they tied three species of kelp seedlings into long mesh sleeves. They lowered each sleeve about 25 feet into the tidal current on ropes tied to a large raft that was anchored to the bottom near the last few lobster traps of the season.

 

By spring, each frond should be 6 to 8 feet long. The kelp will be cut by hand, briefly boiled to kill bacteria, sliced into spaghetti- or fettuccine-like strips, and frozen in plastic bags.

 

The company, Ocean Approved, sold the first year's crop to half a dozen Whole Foods Markets and other high-end natural food stores in Boston, Los Angeles and Portland, Maine, where it goes for up to $4.60 for 4 ounces.

 

Mixed with coleslaw, the kelp tastes tangy and crunchy, less pungent than dried seaweed. It does not taste fishy.

 

Ocean Approved plans to expand production tenfold next year using underwater acreage it has leased from Maine's Department of Marine Resources. It will start a nursery for kelp seedlings that can be transplanted to long lines on the seafloor, and then hauled up and harvested on barges, rather than in the water.

 

"It's a great stride forward," said Robert Morse, owner of North American Kelp, which collects kelp the old-fashioned way -- from rocks in tidal inlets along the central Maine coast -- for animal feed and fertilizer. "Let's hope it takes off. It will create a lot of jobs."

 

"What's unique is they are producing convenience food, American food, like fish sticks," agreed David Myslabodski, who runs Great SeaVegetables, a consulting firm in Rockland, Maine. "It's a novelty. It doesn't exist anywhere else."

 

Scientists who study marine algae, called phycologists, also are watching closely.

 

"I'm absolutely persuaded it has huge potential," said John Forster, an aquaculture consultant based in Port Angeles, Wash. "Certainly it's a niche right now. But the idea that human beings won't eat more marine vegetables in the future seems very improbable."

 

The oceans contain more than 9,000 species of seaweed, including about 300 of kelp. Most are not edible.

 

Seaweed doesn't require arable land, fresh water or fertilizer. Kelp grows swiftly -- 2 feet a day in some species -- and produces no runoff or erosion. It cleanses the water of excess nutrients and absorbs carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

 

"This isn't rocket science," said professor Charles Yarish, a marine biologist at the University of Connecticut and an unpaid advisor to the new company.

 

"Seaweed performs a very important ecological function. Farming does it in a more sustainable way."

 

The idea is hardly new. In 1966, Time magazine predicted that by the year 2000, "huge fields of kelp and other kinds of seaweed will be tended by undersea 'farmers' -- frogmen who will live for months at a time in submerged bunkhouses." The seaweed probably would be "regenerated chemically to taste like anything from steak to bourbon."

 

Seaweed is a booming global business even if it still tastes like seaweed. About 15 million metric tons were harvested in about 35 countries in 2007, nearly double the total of a decade earlier, according to the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization.

 

China is the largest producer and exporter, and nearly all its crop is farmed in operations that fill entire bays and estuaries. Various species are added to noodles in the Philippines, mixed with oats to bake bread in Wales, added to nutmeg and milk for a beverage in Belize, and consumed in soups, garnishes, snacks and with sushi in Japan.

 

Kelp is processed to extract food gums -- texturizing agents called agars, alginates and carrageenans. The additives make toothpaste thick, yogurt creamy, beer foamy and skin moisturizers moist, among countless other uses.

 

"Most Americans don't know it, but they already consume seaweed products every day," said Robert Vadas, professor of marine sciences at the University of Maine. "Most of it is imported."

 

America once had a major kelp industry based in Southern California.

 

During World War I, some 1,500 companies harvested towers of giant kelp, the world's largest seaweed, from coastal beds between San Diego and Eureka to provide potash for gunpowder. Most shut down when their contracts expired after the war.

 

Soon after, the nation's largest kelp company, known as Kelco, began operating ocean-going barges that cut and collected hundreds of tons of giant kelp each day off San Diego. A factory in the city's Barrio Logan neighborhood processed it for food additives, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and other industries.

 

Others saw even greater possibilities.

 

Energy activists pushed seaweed as a renewable source of biofuel to ease America's reliance on imported oil. The idea was to ferment kelp to generate methane, or process it to produce ethanol, as is done with corn and sugar cane.

 

But the marine biofuel industry never proved viable. Nor did proposals to create vast mid-ocean rafts of floating kelp to soak up greenhouse gases. ISP Alginates closed its Kelco plant in San Diego in 2005 and moved the operation to Scotland, rather than meet California's environmental regulations.

 

Today, only a handful of smaller U.S. companies harvest seaweed. Those in California chiefly provide feed for abalone farms. Those in Maine mostly supply fertilizer, livestock feed and dietary supplements.

 

"People who eat dried seaweed are pretty dedicated to it," said Ellen Andrews, marketing manager for Maine Coast Sea Vegetables, which sells powdered seaweed and Kelp Krunch Bars to natural food stores and health clinics. "It's very healthy."

 

Some fans extol kelp's supposed ability to combat everything from cancer and HIV infections to radiation poisoning and high blood pressure. Scientists say those claims are unproven at best.

 

"It's a mineral supplement, not a miracle food," said John Pease, professor emeritus of biology at UC Santa Cruz.

 

Olson, 53, founded his kelp farm after working as a treasure hunter, commercial fisherman and mussel grower. Dobbins, 45, was general manager of a bio-tech company before he heard Olson pitch kelp at a local supermarket.

 

"I see this as a potential way to create a whole new fishery in Maine," said Dobbins.

 

He said they have invested about $300,000 so far. "We're still losing our shirts," he added.

 

Whether Americans will buy frozen kelp from the grocer as readily as frozen spinach remains to be seen. Rebranding may be the key.

 

"When you hear the term seaweed, you don't have a positive reaction," Yarish said. "You think about all that slimy crap on the beach and say, 'Get it away from me.' That's why I like to say sea vegetable. It sounds much nicer."

 

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So far, so good in America’s winter salad bowl

 

(YumaSun.com) – Yuma County's title as the salad bowl of the nation remains secure.

 

Three weeks into this year's winter vegetable season, area fields are teeming with crews planting, thinning and harvesting lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, celery and other vegetables destined for markets across the nation and around the world.

 

And so far, it's been a good season, welcome news after several years of poor markets and declining demand, said Kurt Nolte, director of the Yuma County Cooperative Extension.

 

"We've not seen a market like this since the winter of 2002 when lettuce prices skyrocketed," he said.

 

The current price of iceberg lettuce produced in the Yuma area ranges from $30 to $32 per carton, he said. "I hope it sticks."

 

There have been years when growers were lucky to recover their production costs, he said.

 

Current market conditions "are like a perfect storm for Yuma," Nolte said. Supply is down because adverse weather in California shortened the fall season there. Meanwhile, demand is up because of warmer than usual weather on the East Coast with no blizzards in New York which has people there still hitting salad bars.

 

Because of the good market, Nolte said, some growers are even considering increasing their acreage after cutting back the last few years.

 

"This is all very good news for growers and the economy," he said. "If agriculture does well, Yuma's economy tends to follow. Increased acreage means more jobs and more purchases of fertilizer and services. Growers may buy more trucks. Families will be able to go shopping and eat out."

 

Another economic impact comes from the thousands of semi-trucks that pass through Yuma during the winter to distribute the crops to markets around the U.S. and Canada, he said, estimating that "roughly" 1,000 trucks leave Yuma every day during the produce season.

 

"They buy diesel and food," he said of the truckers. "They may need tires or repairs. They may rent a hotel room."

 

Nolte noted that agriculture accounts for more than 50 percent of the Yuma-area economy. Value of the crops is estimated to be worth about $960 million, with two-thirds of that for vegetables.

 

But that number doesn't include value added. Therefore, he said, a truer value to the local economy is $3 billion.

 

Not only is agriculture - and in particular the produce industry - good for Yuma County, it's also good for the state, Nolte said.

 

One-third of the economic impact of agriculture for the state comes from Yuma County, he said. Arizona is the second leading producer of lettuce in the U.S. and the bulk of that is in the Yuma area.

 

"This time of year, we are No. 1," he said. "Yuma and Imperial remain the winter capital for winter vegetables."

 

Of the crops, iceberg lettuce remains the leader with about 50,000 acres, Nolte said. But romaine lettuce is quickly closing the gap with a current 45,000 acres. He attributes romaine's increasing popularity to its greater nutritional value and better flavor and texture.

 

"Twenty years ago, iceberg would have been far higher," he said. "Now they're almost equal."

 

Broccoli is still a strong crop, Nolte said, with about 30,000 acres last winter while there was approximately 15,000 acres of cauliflower. Leaf lettuces account for about 10,000 acres while baby leaf production occupies approximately 20,000 acres. Spinach takes another 7,000 to 10,000 acres.

 

A growing crop here is celery as land on the coast of California becomes less available and more pricey, Nolte said. He estimated that currently there's about 4,000 acres of celery here in comparison to five years ago when it was hard to find a field of the crop.

 

Organic production also is up a little from five years ago, he said. "We have 5,000 to 6,000 acres now. We could produce more, but the market doesn't demand it."

 

Other vegetable crops include bok choy, cabbage and other specialty crops, he said.

 

"What is grown is driven by demand," he said. "If the demand is there, the growers will grow it."

 

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John Deere reports biggest one-year sales decline

 

(Iowa Farmer Today) MOLINE, Ill. --- Deere & Co. announced the single largest one-year sales decline — $5 billion — in company history, but the Waterloo operation provided one of the bright spots with the company’s new 8R Series tractors.

 

The Moline, Ill.-based company announced Nov. 25 a worldwide net loss of $222.8 million, or 53 cents per share, for the fourth quarter that ended Oct. 31, compared with net income of $345 million, or 81 cents per share, for the same period last year.

 

Affecting fourth-quarter 2009 results were charges of $364.8 million pretax and $321.8 million after-tax, or 76 cents per share, due to the previously announced impairment of goodwill related to the John Deere Landscapes reporting unit and voluntary employee-separation expenses associated with the formation of the new agriculture and turf division, of which the Waterloo operation is a part.

 

Without those items, earnings for the quarter would have been $99 million, company spokes-man Ken Golden said.

 

DEERE’S LAST quarterly earnings loss came in the first quarter of 2002.

 

For the full year, net income was $873.5 million, or $2.06 per share, compared with $2.053 billion, or $4.70 per share, last year.

 

Worldwide net sales and revenues declined 28 percent, to $5.334 billion, for the fourth quarter.

 

“In the face of intense global economic pressure, John Deere has completed a solidly profitable year and maintained its strong financial condition,” Samuel Allen, Deere’s new president and chief executive officer, said in a news release.

 

Worldwide net sales and revenues were down 19 percent, to $23.112 billion, for the full year.

 

Net sales of the equipment operations were $4.726 billion for the quarter and $20.756 billion for the year, compared with $6.734 billion and $25.803 billion last year.

 

“Worldwide production was down 38 percent in the quarter, and that’s slightly better than we had projected in August,” Golden said today.

 

BUT, THE 8R Series, built in Waterloo, was a success for the company, Golden said.

 

“The single biggest factor was the successful startup and better-than-expected demand for the new 8R Series,” he said.

 

“That’s important. For the kinds of tractors we make in Waterloo, we’re outperforming the industry in October, which is sort of our barometer for what might be happening as we go forward.”

 

Waterloo also manufactures Deere’s 8000 and 9000 series tractors.

 

Deere endured a number of layoffs during the year and finalized a new six-year labor agreement with the United Auto Workers.

 

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Eurofresh agrees to pay workers back wages

 

(azcentral.com) – Eurofresh Inc., a tomato and cucumber grower based in Willcox, has agreed to pay $937,460 in back wages to 587 workers to settle a U.S. Labor Department investigation into its hiring practices.

 

Federal investigators determined that the company violated the H-2A temporary-worker program, which is designed to protect the jobs of American workers, when it fired 527 U.S. workers and replaced them with foreign agricultural workers.

 

The company also underpaid workers, did not provide required housing and made illegal paycheck deductions, according to the Labor Department.

 

In April, Eurofresh filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing more than $300 million in debt. Officials said they had run up too much debt when they expanded several years ago and were also plagued by crop diseases and problems attracting and retaining workers.

 

As part of a plan to emerge from bankruptcy, the company already has paid $550,000, and the balance will be paid over the next two years. The back wages will then be distributed.

 

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World economy has outgrown WTO trade talks

 

(Reuters) – The Doha Round, begun eight years ago and still mired in negotiation, was criticised this week as inadequate to address the world's current challenges ranging from market failures to global warming.

 

A report released on the second day of the World Trade Organisation's ministerial meeting in Geneva also said poor countries stand to gain little from the global free trade pact which was meant to help them find new markets for their exports.

 

"World trade and the world economy have changed profoundly since 2001," the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute found, noting in particular the emergence of Brazil, India and China as economic and trading powers.

 

Sharp swings in commodities and staple food markets were not factored in to the original Doha agenda, and climate change is treated only on the margins of the talks, which focus on cutting tariffs and subsidies on traded goods like cars and meat.

 

The IFPRI study calculated that the proposals on the table in Geneva would have a negligeable impact on the state of the global economy, improving world real income by only 0.09 percent -- about $70 billion -- as an annual gain.

 

"Overall, global exports will increase by 2 percent," it said, warning that the poorer countries who have suffered most in the financial crisis and downturn would gain little from a global deal that WTO chief Pascal Lamy wants to wrap up in 2010.

 

"The Doha agreement...has an ambivalent impact on developing countries and does not offer enough to the poorest countries," the IFPRI said. "It has to offer more in terms of market access and reduced trade costs."

 

Economist estimates of the benefits of a Doha deal vary widely, ranging from negligible to hundreds of billions of dollars.  A full calculation is impossible until a deal is signed and it is clear what goods will remain shielded from external competition.

 

The WTO ministerial in Geneva, on the eve of a climate change summit in Copenhagen, was not meant to be a negotiating session for the Doha Round but officials stressed the need to turn that deal into an economy booster.

 

Brazilian envoy Flavio Damico said the lack of agreement about the shape of a global trade accord, despite years of discussions among diplomats and ministers, could cast a shadow over efforts to clinch a Kyoto Protocol successor.

 

"There is a huge stress on the multilateral system. We are being asked to do a number of things simultaneously, and we don't have a good political environment to take up all those challenges," he said.

 

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