Milling & Baking News - June 11, 2013 - 8

Late News 

WEEK OF JUNE 11

ConAgra expands
Oakland ﬂour mill

As the 2012-13 crop year
drew to a close, exports
and undelivered sales
of soft red winter wheat
(through May 30) totaled
198 million bus, up
21% from a year earlier
and above the U.S.D.A.
forecast at 195 million
bus. All-wheat exports
were down 3% from
2011-12 and shy of the
U.S.D.A. forecast.

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8 / June 11, 2013 Milling & Baking News

Senate nears vote
on farm bill

OAKLAND,
CALIF.
—
ConAgra Mills hosted a celebration at its mill in Oakland
on June 6 after the facility recently underwent $21.7 million
in operational and sustainable
upgrades. Originally built as a
grain storage elevator in 1927
and converted to a flour mill
in 1965, the 100,000-squarefoot Oakland facility was upgraded to double its original
daily flour production, to 1.4
million lbs. The facility mills
both white and whole wheat
flours. Other plant improvements include wireless mobile
technology and sustainability
upgrades such as LED lighting. ConAgra also unveiled
a new polybag packer at the
plant, a feature that replaces
the standard three-ply paper
packaging. The company said
it’s a first of its kind in the U.S.
flour milling industry — a recyclable and more durable
shipping bag.

WASHINGTON — The U.S.
Senate by a vote of 75 to 22 on
June 6 invoked cloture on S.
954, the Agriculture Reform,
Food and Jobs Act of 2013, the
Senate’s farm bill. The vote
ended debate on the legislation
and opened the way for a final
vote, which was expected soon.
The bill was similar to the farm
legislation passed by the full
Senate last year, and the current measure was expected to
pass as well. The bill’s reforms
include ending direct payments
to producers and lowering the
acreage cap on the Conservation Reserve Program. The bill
also would trim spending on
the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program by ending “fraud and abuse.” The
House of Representatives was
expected to debate the farm bill
passed by the House Committee on Agriculture this summer.
It was hoped a final bill would
be presented to the president
before the August recess.

Largest gluten-free
bakery coming to U.S.
LANCASTER, S.C. — Fancy
Pokket, a Canadian-based
baking company that makes
pita bread, bagels, pizza
crusts, hot dog and hamburger buns, flat bread and tortilla
wraps, held a ground-breaking ceremony in Lancaster
on June 6 for a $13 million
gluten-free bakery, its first
bakery in the United States.
According to Fancy Pokket,
the 57,000-square-foot facility
will employ 68 people and be
the largest gluten-free bakery
in the United
States.
Fancy Pokket said the
bakery will
distribute
products all along the East
coast, and it is expected to be
up and running by next year.
The company’s main facility
in Moncton, N.B., produces
a range of baked foods and is
not a gluten-free facility.

Smucker earnings, sales
climb in ﬁscal 2013
ORRVILLE, OHIO — Strength
in coffee, peanut butter and
fruit spreads as well as higher
margins contributed to an 18%
increase in income at The J.M.
Smucker Co. during fiscal 2013.
For the year ended April 30, the
company had income of $544.2
million, equal to $5 per share
on the common stock, which
compared with $459.7 million,
or $4.06 per share, during fiscal 2012. Sales for the year were
$5,897.7 million, up 7% from
$5,525.8 million. The U.S. Retail
Consumer Foods segment had
a profit of $415.3 million, up 6%
from $393.3 million during the
previous year. The segment had
sales of $2,214.8 million, up 6%
from $2,094.5 million. Smucker
said the segment received a
boost from Uncrustables frozen
sandwiches, which experienced
a 20% increase in sales and
22% gain in volume during the
fourth quarter. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com
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Milling & Baking News - June 11, 2013

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