Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/89919
Food Facility Engineering, Inc. "We provide solutions, not excuses" Processing Plants Distribution Centers Cold Storage Facilities Growers delight in using the new DBR during a demonstration in Michigan. Its strong vacuum system and apple handling process impressed the group of 50. That's Paul Byl, from a neighboring farm, picking and grinning in the Jonagolds in Dave Rennhack's orchard. 509.972.3800 Planning • Logistics • Design • Construction For sloping ground, the eastern version will have a platform-leveling device that keeps the entire machine horizontal. Not only does that make it easier for pickers, it keeps the bin level so that it fills properly. Another change in the machine was shifting from a trailer to a wagon platform. The two-wheel axle up front changes the turning radius and how the machine steers compared to having tandem wheels toward the rear. The machine is not noisy. A factory-developed muffler system reduces the noise of the vacuum generator to about 75 decibels; the idling 60-horsepower Kubota M8540 Narrow tractor pulling the harvester, working at 1,400 rpms, was actually louder than the harvester. The machine works best in 12- and 13-foot-wide rows of trees grown in fruiting walls thin enough for a worker to reach to the trellis wire in the center. The platforms do move in and out, as well as up and down, and can do 14-foot rows, Rasch said. Workers work two rows at a time, two on platforms and two walking and picking the low fruit. Tractor The tractor was equipped with a creeper gear kit that cut its speed to about 0.5 miles per hour, still a bit too fast in heavy fruit conditions, Rasch said. But it seemed really slow during the demonstration, since the crop was light and there was no shortage of volunteer labor. A hydrostatic-drive tractor would likely be better, he said. The tractor was driverless, controlled by small motors attached to the steering wheel, which were controlled by one of the pickers on the platform. There appeared to be no problem keeping it moving straight ahead. A fifth worker is needed to monitor the bin as it fills, Dietrich said, and to change bins. Rasch estimates that four workers can fill a bin in six to eight minutes in good picking conditions, and it takes about a minute to swap bins. The demonstration orchard at Rennhack's was a third-leaf block of tall spindle trees on Bud. 9 rootstocks on a north slope. It had a light crop of large apples. Where Rasch thinks it will really shine is in taller orchards, where ladders will not be needed. Pickers won't have to climb, hold on with one hand, reach for apples, transfer them from hand to hand, climb back down, and walk to dump a 40-pound picking bucket. "They'll be picking two hands, steady," Rasch said. Because the machine makes picking easier, it should expand the potential labor force. "We think growers will be able to tap a local labor pool of older people and women since the work is not as strenuous and fatiguing," Rasch said. He said there's a safety factor as well. "Ladder injuries are a serious problem," he said. "It takes just one bad set or a rung breaking. Growers who get rid of ladders should pay lower insurance rates." Rasch also observed the growers' attitudes as they tried their hand at the machine. "They were giggling like school kids," he said. "At every demonstration, they loved running it. They just love this thing. It is fun." • www.goodfruit.com Don't wait to order for spring planting! Our fruit trees are looking good, and ready for digging. Many varieties are still available—including a large increase in apples and peaches produced for spring 2013. Call 800-435-8733 today for best selection from our crop. Stark Bro's Nurseries & Orchards Co. GOOD FRUIT GROWER NOVEMBER 2012 15 A Growing Legacy Since 1816 Photos by RichaRd LehneRt