Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/117824
T photos by geraldine warner o see the equipment in action, go to the Good Fruit Grower home page at www.goodfruit.com and look for the video ���Multipurpose platform.��� Lower costs While lowering costs is part of the objective, reducing the number of workers needed is critical, Driscoll said. ���At certain times of year, we have plenty of people,��� he said. ���But like everyone else, you run into labor shortages multiple times a year. It���s only going to get harder to find labor. ���If we can use this for harvest, it eliminates our use of ladders,��� he added. ���Then, it comes down to how many machines can you buy. These machines, with our system, probably would have eight people on them. I haven���t done the math to figure out how many machines we would need to pick this orchard.��� The Quincy orchard has Honeycrisp, SweeTango, Gala, and Fuji apples. Much of the fruit matures at about the same time, and the orchard typically requires 200 to 300 pickers. One big advantage Driscoll foresees is the ability to use the machine with lights at night or in the early morning and run two shifts of pickers, so it can operate 16 hours a day or more. ���We all have to figure out how to be more efficient,��� Driscoll said. ���In the apple industry, the market���s been really good for a couple of years so we haven���t had much to worry about, but it���s going to change. It���s cyclical.��� Pittsinger said the manufacturers are in the process of Bret Pittsinger is president of trying to make the platform slightly narrower so it fits betVan Doren Sales, which is ter into mature plantings with bigger trees. ���We���re trying to partnering with Littau Harvester narrow the profile by a few inches,��� he said. to manufacture and sell the The next generation of the machine is likely to be multipurpose orchard machine. remotely controlled so that the operator can be working also. Making that employee productive would greatly improve the cost effectiveness, Driscoll said. Another change being considered for harvesting is the addition of a cull bin, so that culls wouldn���t need to be dumped in the orchard if the processing price justified selling them. ���A lot of people��� within the first ten minutes��� love it.��� Modifications While the versatility of the machine helps spread the cost, it does mean that it is relatively large for certain jobs. The platform is 26 feet long and almost 8 feet wide because it has space between the wheels to move bins through during harvest. Driscoll said the pruning crew was cutting back the lower branches more than they would otherwise because of the width of the platform, and would compensate for the lost fruiting potential by leaving more buds in the tops of the trees. ���I think that this system, if it was seven feet wide, would be perfect,��� Driscoll said. ���We could play with hanging a few more apples.��� www.goodfruit.com For pruning, the motorized platform has a compressor and hydraulic tools. For harvest, it is fitted with fruit-handling equipment including conveyor belts and a rotating bin filler. Rent or buy Pittsinger said customers can choose whether to buy or rent the machines. Some growers prefer to rent because the ���Scott Driscoll design is still evolving and the rental machines will be updated as changes are made. Those buying machines will be able to purchase improvements. ���We think over the next five years, there will be considerable subtle changes that will make it better,��� he said. When Van Doren and Auvil began to develop the machine, the primary objective was not to build a machine that was high-tech, but one that would be ���bullet-proof��� enough to make it through the season, Pittsinger said. ���That���s what we���ve been focusing on���lower tech and good functionality and durability. We���ve been moving, from other people���s perspectives, at a snail���s pace because we want to do it right.��� ��� GOOD FRUIT GROWER April 1, 2013 35