Strawberries

Specialty Crops Suffered Staggering Economic Losses in 2025, Will Relief Come in Time?

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 14:35:01 GMT

Economic losses to specialty crops last year were on a level that can put farming operations out of business.

The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates $3.6 billion in economic losses for almonds, $1.4 billion for apples, $763 million for lettuce, and $717 million for potatoes alone.

Specialty crop leaders this week renewed their calls for urgent economic support for U.S. growers and shared their disappointment after the U.S. House released final spending bills Jan. 20 that did not include aid for American specialty crop producers.

While the Specialty Crops Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA) says specialty crops, including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, nursery, greenhouse and floriculture products, generate more than $75 billion annually in U.S. agricultural cash receipts, account for more than one-third of all U.S. crop sales and support rural economies nationwide, under the current USDA Farmer Bridge Assistance program, $11 billion is allocated to row crops, and only $1 billion is reserved for specialty crops and other commodities, with key details on eligibility, payment and timing still unresolved.

“It’s a challenge with specialty crops to come up with aggregated data across all the more than 300 different commodities, but the American Farm Bureau Federation has done good analysis related to specialty crops,” says Kam Quarles, CEO of the National Potato Council and SCFBA co-chair.

“Effectively Farm Bureau is saying that if you’re going to have a relief plan rollout, specialty crops should be about a third of whatever Congress spits out,” he says.

Word on Capitol Hill is Congress is contemplating a total of $15 billion in assistance, SCFBA says.

“We agree with the one-third of whatever Congress comes up with, but also the package has to be large enough to make a material impact,” Quarles says. “The specialty crop industry has told Congress that we need no less than $5 billion in economic relief for specialty crops in order to positively move the needle for growers.

With food affordability still a top focus for many consumers, what happens to the cost of fruits, vegetables and other grocery staples if specialty crops don’t receive the aid they desperately need?

“We’re facing an unprecedented economic crisis in the U.S. right now for agriculture, and it’s not just specialty crops, it’s broader than that,” Quarles says. “If you have growers that are going out of business due to this economic crisis, that’s going to further impact supplies of commodities. It’s going to impact prices, and it will add to the affordability issue.”

Last week SCFBA joined American Farm Bureau Federation and ag organizations across the U.S. in penning a letter to Congress highlighting record-high input costs, labor shortages, weather challenges and historically low market prices that have caused farmers to face negative margins and nearly $100 billion in losses nationwide.

Reasons for Optimism

Quarles says feedback from both the House and Senate appropriations committees on the specialty crop crisis has been encouraging.

“They absolutely understand where we’re coming from,” he says. “The other thing to remember is that there have been fundamental changes in tax policy that were put into law last summer, and they’ve already started to come online. And when some of the trade agreements that have been discussed are finalized, they also could create a more competitive environment, along with the tax policy.”

But could this be a case of too little, too late?

“These policy recommendations could create a much better environment in the future, but if you’re out of business before you ever get to that better environment, it just doesn’t matter,” Quarles says. “So that’s the imperative of this economic relief; we need a short-term safety net or a bridge, whatever you want to call it, to get producers from this crisis into an area where they can start to take advantage of some of these changes.”

Another bright spot, he says, is how effectively the industry, along with he and his SCFBA co-chairs, including Cathy Burns, CEO of the International Fresh Produce Association; Mike Joyner, president of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association; and Dave Puglia, president and CEO of Western Growers, are working together.

“The industry has really rallied together under the umbrella of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance,” Quarles says. “Twenty years ago, this was not the way the industry worked, but the alliance has created a kind of muscle memory, where we know how to all get around the table. We know how to look at a particular situation, develop a strategy, and then everybody disperses out to where they have strengths across the United States.”

“It has really been the best of the fresh produce industry rallying together to try to get some relief for our grower members,” he continues. “I’m very hopeful that we’re going to get something positive done here.”

Plenty restructuring to support focus on premium strawberry market

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 21:21:44 GMT

Plenty Unlimited Inc. says it has filed voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, in accordance with its board-approved plan to restructure its liabilities, streamline operations and focus its go-forward operations.

The company posted on social media in December 2024 that it closed its Compton, Calif., leafy greens farm as part of a strategic decision to focus on strawberries . Plenty will continue to operate its Richmond, Va., vertical strawberry farm and its Laramie, Wyo., plant science research and development facility throughout the restructuring process, according to a news release.

The company said it has also received a commitment for debtor-in-possession financing of $20.7 million. Plenty has filed a motion seeking approval of the DIP financing and, upon approval, the DIP financing is expected to provide the company with the necessary liquidity to support its operations throughout the planned process, the release said.

“Plenty’s advanced technology is transforming indoor farming, removing the unpredictability of Mother Nature and making it possible to create a stable supply of fresh produce with peak-season flavor year-round almost anywhere in the world,” said Dan Malech, interim CEO for Plenty. “However, our company is not immune from larger market dynamics and the fundraising challenges facing our industry. After evaluating all of our strategic alternatives, we have determined that pursuing this restructuring process is in the best interests of all of the company’s stakeholders.

“We are fortunate to have stakeholders who support and believe in our mission to make fresh food accessible to everyone, everywhere,” Malech continued. “The restructuring will position us to continue working toward that mission by expanding our production of premium strawberries with industry-leading partners and filling a supply gap in the market to meet consumer demand for locally grown, high-quality strawberries year-round.”

In addition to seeking approval of the DIP financing, Plenty has filed a number of customary motions seeking authorization to support its operations during the court-supervised process, including authority to pay wages and provide health and other employee benefits, the release said.

Additional information regarding the process can be found at cases.stretto.com/PlentyUnlimited , a website administered by Plenty’s claims agent, Stretto Inc. Information is also available by calling 855-994-4202 (toll-free) and 847-610-7823 (international).

Sidley Austin LLP and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati are serving as the company’s legal counsel, the release said. Jefferies LLC and Uzzi & Lall LLC are serving as financial advisers. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Sullivan and Cromwell LLP are representing certain providers of the DIP financing.

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Some Growers Plow Under Fields As Fruit, Vegetable Demand Disappears

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 19:22:06 GMT

From fresh produce being plowed under to unharvested crops sitting untouched in fields, fruit and vegetable growers are the latest agriculture sector facing fallout from COVID-19 .

“The losses due to the shutdown of first the food service sector and now the slowdown in retail have just been swift, staggering and devastating,” says Lisa Lochridge, of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, during an interview with The Packer’s Tom Karst.

Lochridge says produce growers are grappling with fresh produce left without a home. As costs aren’t budging and demand dwindles, it’s now so dire that some are forced to destroy their crops in the field.

“There’s nowhere for the product to go, and so some growers are having to make very difficult decisions to plow their crops under, others are doing direct to consumer sales, just anything they can do to find an outlet for their crops,” she says.

The Difficult Decision

Growers say while they can walk away from some fields, a lot of the produce is already picked, meaning the cost of labor is already there, leaving fewer choices of what to do when demand disappears.

“We’re in that situation with asparagus right now,” Shay Myers of Oregon-based Owyhee Produce told The Packer. “We just started picking late last week, but we started packing today, and that’s one of those crops that if we don’t have a market, we can kind of walk away from that field. The difference between onions and potatoes and storage crops is they’re already harvested. Those were harvested months ago and put in storage. The investment was already completely made. So, the only option at that point is to pack it or dump it. You can’t just walk away from that field. It’s a little bit different.”

Disappearing Demand

Wish Farms grows berries in both Florida and California. They berry grower says the oller-coaster ride in demand started in March.

“Particularly on strawberries, we were towards the end of our strawberry season, but we saw a massive surge in volume in mid-March when there was a lot of panic buying going on, followed by a complete dropping off the cliff of any demand at all,” explains Gary Wishnatzki, president of Wish Farms .

As a result, harvest at some of Wish’s farms was shut down, as they were losing more and more orders.

“The berry sector has been impacted overall in a negative way, and that’s because, in my view, it’s a little bit of an impulse item for shoppers,” he says.

Plea for Help

Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association says while some growers are setting up roadside stands and doing whatever it takes to get nutritious crops to consumers, the Association is making a plea to USDA for help.

“We as an association have joined other associations across the country in asking USDA to use its Section 32 purchasing power to buy this produce and distribute it through its feeding programs,” says Lochridge. “But as we know, that takes some time and the clock is ticking.”

USDA did unveil a coronavirus aid package for agriculture, which includes $2.7 billion targeted to the fruit and vegetable industry . But as demand for fresh produce wanes and the unemployment rate grows A merican Farm Bureau Federation teamed up with Feeding America . The two groups asked USDA to help get the orphaned produce into the hands of those who need it most.

“We called Feeding America and asked them to join us on a letter that we sent to Secretary Perdue and USDA suggesting that they create some type of voucher program that might help a farmer be able to cover the cost of harvesting that crop and packaging it, that then might be able to be used at Food Banks and given to the people in need across our country,” says Zippy Duvall, President of American Farm Bureau Federation.

While fruit and vegetable growers search for a solution to the overflowing produce, some say one fix would be to stop produce from coming in.

“It’s going to be a bloodbath,” says Sam Accursio, a farmer in Homestead, Fl. “We need to have consumers demand Florida produce. And then as it moves up the chain, they have to demand American produce from Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, all the way up to the Northeast. Right now, we are still dumping squash in the field and our competitors from south of the border and Mexico are continuing to ship across the border. I think it needs to stop immediately and protect our food source.”

Greenhouse Growers Forced to Close

It’s not just fresh produce left in fields proving to be a challenge for growers, but fresh plants that can be sold.

“It’s just devastating on a fact of uncertainty,” say Chad Christians of Christians Farms. “We have no idea what’s going to happen and in May, that’s 70% of our business, maybe 80% even. So, it’s quite catastrophic.”

The Christians family owns and operates Christians Greenhouse , a family business with roots in Michigan that started in 1972. They say there’s only a short window to sell flowers and plants. That’s because after June, demand for their products drops by 90%.

“We’re different than a lot of retailers because we’re not just losing four weeks or six weeks of income, or whatever they’re doing the stimulus based on; we’re losing a whole year potentially,” says Jeremy Christians. “The repercussions of this could be catastrophic.”

The Christians hope to open up in May, but with the Executive Order in place by the Michigan Governor, the state’s garden centers and plant nurseries are not deemed essential.

Michigan Farm Bureau and other ag groups have an ongoing action request, asking the Governor to allow garden cents to open back up, saying the economic benefit of those businesses is huge.

“It’s estimated that this industry, the retail value of it is 580 to $700 million in Michigan and employs over 9000 people,” says Audrey Sebolt, horticulture specialist with Michigan Farm Bureau.

From greenhouses growing plants, to growers raising fresh produce, it’s a plea for help; help they say is needed now.

“We know that they’ve heard us and we’re just hoping that the money starts coming sooner rather than later,” says Lochridge. “There’s a lot of need out there, not just from the produce sector, but all sectors of agriculture. So, it’s going to be a matter of figuring out how to allocate those funds. And we’ve certainly made our requests known as to what we feel like we need just in the short term to cover some of the losses and this is going to go on for quite some time.”

Helping recover some for the financial loss is an immediate need to help recover demand that continues to disappear.

“It would certainly help some, but truly, we just need people to start eating more fruits and vegetables and get those things back on their menus,” says Wishnatzki.

Kubota and Yamaha Motor invest in U.S. startup developing robots to automate strawberry harvesting

Tue, 05 Oct 2021 19:05:12 GMT

Kubota Corporation and Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. have invested in U.S. startup Advanced Farm Technologies.

AFT is a U.S. - based startup seeking to raise efficiency in the agriculture field by developing and manufacturing robots for strawberry harvesting.

Their TX robotic strawberry harvester combines an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) together with image sensors and artificial intelligence (AI). Those image recognition technology instantly distinguishes ripe and ready strawberries and the grippers at the end of the robot arms gently pick each one. In addition, these automation technologies allow to significantly reduce conventional manned fruit & vegetable processes and maximize operational efficiency.

With this investment, Kubota and Yamaha Motor will utilize the technologies of both companies to accelerate technological development and business expansion aimed at implementing automated farming solutions which is promoted by AFT for ground crops and tree crops.

This collaborated initiative was realized from the process of open innovation support promoted by each company’s “new division”. Kubota established “Innovation Center” in 2019, as divisions to promote open innovation through partnerships with external organizations. Those activities allow Kubota to deepen its knowledge of advanced agritech and its business models, thus accelerating the development of its solution business. The Yamaha Motor Group is also using its group company Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley (YMVSV) established in 2015 to gain a foothold in corporate venture capital activities through this investment.

Working together with external partners, both companies will advance open innovation for proactive engagement with advanced technologies in the broad agricultural field and will work for the purpose of accelerating the creation of new businesses, products, and services to address various global social issues.

#FarmOn: Despite Pandemic, Agriculture Persists

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 06:24:08 GMT

With businesses around the world shutting their doors to prevent further spread of COVID-19, one industry that persists despite risk is agriculture. It’s essential—and for obvious reasons—without agriculture the world as we know it couldn’t exist.

We’d have no meat. No veggies. No dairy products. No cotton (which is now being used to make masks). No sugars. Without ag you don’t eat and you’re naked. Farmers and ranchers will continue putting in 8+ hour days, like they always have, despite coronavirus.

“A lot of folks have been calling us, asking if we’re going to even have a strawberry season this year,” says Jake Carter, operator at Southern Belle Farm in McDonough, Ga. “Our plants are to have a strawberry season this year. We’re still waking up every morning and we’re putting on our boots and we’re going to work. We’re still farming.”

Unlike corn and soybeans, strawberries are extremely perishable, so they can’t store in a field or bin. Each day they’re scouting fields, managing harvest and making sure American citizens have the fresh produce they need.

“We are following the guidelines set forth by the CDC, the Georgia Department of Agriculture, among others because the safety of our guests and our staff is of utmost importance,” he adds. “Please know, we’re here. We’re not going anywhere. Like I said, we’re going to continue farming every day.”

While much of the world has been silenced by quarantine, American agriculture farms on. This season, the crops will still get planted, the livestock will be fed, and food will continue to be grown, just like it’s been for generations.

Share how you #FarmON by texting FarmON to 31313 to submit your photos or video.