Wishnatzki Farms Blog

A new study presented at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society shows that compounds found in berries helps slow down the aging process in the brain.  As we age brain activity tends to naturally decrease because of increases in oxidation and toxic buildup.  The brain has a natural “house keeper” process that identifies toxins and build-up in the brain and works to eliminate them.  The compounds known as polyphenols found in berries works to stimulate these “house keeper” processes keeping the brain prime.

The toxins and buildup in the brain can cause memory loss, cancer, and degenerative brain diseases. Previous studies have shown that the antioxidants found in berries are natural cancer fighters and promote other healthy body function. Further studies done with mouse brain tissue show that aged tissue stopped working properly and when introduced with these polyphenols the “house keepers” became energized.

So, today’s lesson is make sure to make strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and black berries part of your regular diet and your brain will thank you. As a reminder we will start harvesting strawberries in late November!

Here is the link to the original article found on WebMD http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/news/20100823/berries-may-slow-mental-decline-from-aging

This summer while most things agriculture have slowed down in Florida places like North Carolina, Michigan, Jersey, and California are full steam ahead. Wishnatzki Farms is selling product out of Franklin, North Carolina.  Some of the products being grown are bell pepper, Roma tomatoes, vine ripe tomatoes, grape tomatoes, blackberries, and very soon raspberries.

Raspberries are like strawberries in that they are full of health benefits and traditionally a summer fruit. Raspberries are full of Vitamin C and ellagic acid which has been shown to prevent the growth of cancer cells and tumors. Furthermore, when you freeze raspberries they lose none of their health benefits. Fiber is also found in raspberries which regulates the digestive system and can be part of a weight loss plan.

Perhaps the most beneficial property of raspberries are their antioxidant properties.  Raspberries contain 50% more antioxidants than strawberries and an estimated 10x more than tomatoes. Many studies have shown antioxidants to prevent damages to cells and DNA both of which are crucial to your health.

I can’t wait for the first flat of raspberries to make their way down to Plant City. Raspberries pair up quite nicely with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream.

We have all heard the term “locally grown” and there have been deep conversations on what is considered locally grown.  Some say it is product grown within 100 miles of where it is consumed. Others say that within the same state or even the same region of the country is locally grown. Well, it seems there is a new angle into classifying produce called Values-Based Supply Chain model (VSBC).

VSBC looks into focusing on the people or organization behind the product. Consumers want to know who grew their produce and when they can identify with that grower there is a sense of loyalty. The University of California-Irvine performed a study looking into the sourcing of local produce and the price discrepancies comapred to larger producers. A member from FreshPoint stated that sometimes the price difference can be as much as $4 for locally grown produce.  Chainstore buyers look at price is one of the most important factors. Some of the larger cooperatives that have a mixture of large growers and smaller growers across the country are better suited to provide product from a closer proximity.

In a Values Based Supply Chain the grower must be accomodating, the distributor needs to be flexible with price as well as the chain buyer, and the consumer will need to pay a little more.  In a perfect world when all parties conducted business like this the carbon footprint would be minimized and product would be of the highest quality.

The hard freeze that hit Florida this year did not just effect the Florida strawberry crop it is also taking its toll on Florida’s spring crops.  The freeze pushed back the harvest of many crops this spring.  By delaying a crop just a couple weeks can wreak havoc on market prices.  Growers plant their crops to yield within certain “windows”, these windows generally result in a healthy market for the product. The freeze upset these windows and many spring crops were hitting their peak yields when other areas were also peaking i.e. Georgia. This does not just hurt the Florida grower, but also effects the other areas of the country growing the same product.

This happened in a variety of crops this season, but maybe most notably in tomatoes. When tomatoes were a scarce product just a few months ago, restaurants were commonly out or only available upon request.  Now, there is an excess amount of tomatoes and the market price has lowered to a point that has forced many growers to quit. It had gotten to a point where the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) decided it needed to tighten up the inventory with the purchase of $6 million worth of Florida tomatoes. These tomatoes will be used in national food assistance programs and other federal programs.  I am a big fan of true capitalism and letting the market set the prices, and this is just an example of a new buyer entering the market because of an opportunity. Other crops besides tomatoes have been effected by the January freeze to some extent including: bell pepper, cantaloupe, and blueberries.

Wishnatzki Farms is looking forward to a great fall crop and remainder of our Summer/Spring deal.

As I talk with strawberry growers who are third and fourth generation growers, the message is the same.  “I have never seen a season like this”.  It first started when we had an abnormally warm October and November. The strawberry plants are set in early October, and the warm weather really prevented them from being set properly. Cool weather really helps the plants set and we did not get that this year.  Instead we got below freezing weather for ten days straight.  When the temperature gets below freezing growers are forced to turn on the sprinklers which provides a layer of ice that acts like insulation. We had to run water for ten days straight and of course during this time it is very difficult to pick fruit. Furthermore, the fruit that can be picked may be damaged and we have to extensively cull through the fruit. All Florida strawberry growers have seen dramatic decreases in strawberry production anywhere from 40-70%.

However, there could be a silver lining in this strawberry season.  In March we are expected to have an abundance of fruit.  Some strawberry plants in our fields have 30-40 flowers that will bare beautiful berries in mid-March. It will be a challenge to just pick all of the fruit we are going to see in March. Good news for consumers is that the price of berries should be much lower than what it is currently, because the total supply will have increased significantly. There will be no shortage of Plant City strawberries this year at the Florida Strawberry Festival.  I would imagine the consumption of strawberry short cake and strawberry milkshakes to be at an all time high!

If you would like to pictures of some of this year’s strawberries visit our Facebook page by clicking here.

Last night (Sunday) we saw some of the lowest temperatures of the season.  Below you will find a couple of videos.  One of the videos was recorded on Sunday (1-11-10) at one of our growers Billy Simmon’s fields. The other video was shot this morning at Fancy Farms in Plant City, Fl. We have had very minimal plant damage, however the fact that we have had to run water every night for over a week has really hampered our production. We can’t wait to see some warmer weather and see red berries all over our fields.

Sparkman Fields after light freeze

This morning at Fancy Farms located in Plant City, Fl temperatures bottomed out at 26° F. All of our farms chose to run water for most of the night and early morning. Running water provides a thin sheet of ice over the strawberry plants that acts as an ice blanket. Not to get too technical, but the formation of ice actually results in increased energy and heat is a byproduct. Central Florida has had about a week of extremely cold weather, which has actually been good for the plants because they are conditioned for it. You really get damage when you get below freezing temperatures right after warm weather, it tends to shock the plants. Below is a picture from one of fields and a video of our Sparkman locations.