Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/50994
Call now for WINTER SPECIAL on PARTS & SERVICE T4040V T4040F DISCOUNTS! or… Ted Rice heads finance operations for Rice Fruit Company and developed the tracking programs for food safety as well as payment to growers based on the packout of their fruit. it might be. We had feared catastrophic losses. As apples come out of storage this winter, there may be damage we didn't see. We're focusing on internal quality sorting for the next year or two." The plant employs 130 people, almost all who live locally, but most of whom are Spanish-speaking. One goal is to offer them year-round employment. As the packing year wanes, usually about July, workers may work partial weeks and shorter days, David said. Packing apples from the Southern Hemisphere serves both the workers and Rice Fruit customers, who expect year- round fruit supplies. More than counting apples Computing power has made big changes possible at Rice Fruit Co. Treasurer Ted Rice, joined in recent years by his son Daniel, have developed a food safety and trace- ability program as well as a financial accounting system that assures growers get paid based upon the quality of the fruit they sell through the company. "We operate as the growers' agent, and they grant us the authority to do that," Ted said. "Our goal is to maximize the value we get for our fruit." As boxes of packed fruit leave the warehouse, they carry a code that contains all the information accrued over the many steps from orchard to customer. "I wrote the program over the years to do that," Ted said. When a bin of fruit arrives to be unloaded, a tag is applied that identifies the source of the fruit: grower, farm, block, commodity, variety, strain, date. When the bin is unloaded into the water flume for sizing, the data is transferred into the computer and a new tag is generated for the fruit that will go back into bins for storage. "Traceability is becoming more important for growers as well as consumers," Ted said. "Crop insurance is available, and growers can insure individual blocks for either fresh or processing. Yield records by block are very important to growers." Growers are paid according to how well their fruit packs out. "We know all the revenues that come from a bin of apples and what our charges are for what we've done," Ted said. The packing plant uses SQF auditing in its food safety program. Growers use USDA GAP in their orchards, but a transition is under way and growers who are new to Rice Fruit use Primus. • www.goodfruit.com Farmer Proven Since 1938 ON NEW & RENTAL RETURN TRACTORS! 0% "Serving Area Farmers Since 1939" "Serving "Your Ag Area FarmersEquipment Since 1939" Specialist" 1308 East Mead YAKIMA,WA 509-457-8105 YAKIMA,WAburrowstractor.com 509-457-8105 1308 East Mead burrowstractor.com QUALITY SERVICE QUALITY PARTS 800-827-5138 800-827-5138 QUALITY SERVICE • QUALITY PARTS 927 Wenatchee Ave WENATCHEE,WA 509-888-0355 927 Wenatchee Ave WENATCHEE,WA 509-888-0355 "Your Ag Equipment Specialist" INTEREST CASH ™ Royal Hazel Royal Lynn Dave Wilson Nursery 19701 Lake Road Hickman, CA 95323 (209) 874-1821 Fax (209) 874-1920 Toll Free 800-654-5854 www.davewilson.com Royal Ansel For a complete cherry availability call your sales representative, Stacy Anderson, or stop by booth #53 at the 2012 Cherry Institute GOOD FRUIT GROWER JANUARY 1, 2012 13 I saved thousands on my rental return at Burrows Tractor richard lehnert