East Coast growers aim to capture a $100-million share of California's broccoli market in five to 10-years. They've already received a $3-million dollar grant from the Department of Agriculture to create a broccoli corridor from Northern Florida to Maine.
Rising fuel costs are making it more expensive to ship broccoli from California fields to East Coast grocery coolers.
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Farmers are making more money.
Western Farm Press reports net farm income is forecast at $94.7-billion this year. That's up $5.7-billion from 2010, even though there's been a $20-billion jump in production expenses.
The U.S.D.A.'s Economic Research Service says it's the second highest inflation-adjusted value for net farm income recorded in the past 35-years. Cash receipts are expected to increase nine-percent, with cotton, soybean, wheat, and corn receipts showing the largest gains.
