Thursday, December 6, 2012

World Demand Grows for American Pecans

In 2011 the Wall Street Journal wrote about a booming pecan economy that's long-term:

Shell Shock: Chinese Demand Reshapes U.S. Pecan Industry

Pecan trees are rather tricky to graft and they don't do very well as transplants.  I've grown seedlings out of the shell.  They do best in the hot and humid climate found in the southeastern USA.


Saturday, December 1, 2012

Hawaiian Pineapples Making a Come Back with Family Farm

I've been frustrated and disappointed with declining food quality at the supermarket.  Hormone-treated meat-products literally stink.  They aren't even legal in  Europe.  We no longer buy "fresh meat" at the grocery.   It tastes bad and it's overpriced too.

The fruits and vegetables aren't much better and produce-giants have become an easy target for small family farmers.  Quality was sacrificed for economies-of-scale and outsourced-labor, leaving great opportunities for local farmers to fill the demand vacuum.

There are several opportunities for quality fruits and vegetables with "value-added" marketing -- where you can take a product with superior quality and offer it to the public in a different venue and form.  In other words it isn't the same product -- it's more like the product you could buy 50 years ago.  By-products are sold to help lower the cost of the premium product so it can compete head-to-head with the big-producers.   You'll pay a little more, but the quality is so much better.

The pineapple industry in Hawaii shows how one innovative family farmer can make a big difference: