Good Fruit Grower

October 2015

Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/572389

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 45 of 47

46 OCTOBER 2015 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com LAST BITE More Young Growers at goodfruit.com/yg Brett Valicoff grower / Wapato, Washington age / 27 crops / Apples, cherries, peaches, apricots, nectarines, pears business / General manager of Valicoff Fruit Company family background / Fourth-generation grower who returned to the farm after working three years in construction in Seattle, Washington, to help plan and build a modern apple packing line. Son of Rob Valicoff and nephew of Rick Valicoff. " " " What has been your role with the company? I started working around the ranches when I was pretty young, training baby trees, thinning, and I worked at our old soft fruit facility. After college, my family was in the planning stages of bringing in a state-of-the-art packing line into an older building. I focused on improving our food safety and writing up how that program works. How did the program impact the new facility? The new plans eliminated overhead electrical— everything is buried to eliminate a place for dust to accumulate. Another thing is removing as many overhead pipes and wood. We looked for ways to remove places and things where bacteria could grow. We installed hardware made from aluminum and stainless steel to provide surfaces that can be cleaned and sanitized easily. When we decided to purchase the old packing facility, we knew we'd have to make some chang- es. We originally looked to build partnerships with other growers. However we didn't fi nd any one perfect arrangement that worked. So we went back to the drawing board and met with the bank and reworked our business plan so the investment in a new line would pencil out using only our own fruit. What tips do you have for young growers? Learn about data integration. We are making a push with inven- tory tracking from fi eld level to the packing facility. Data can then be used as a historic indicator to monitor how blocks are performing, how your growers are performing and what areas are doing better. It's exciting to be part of a generation of farmers who are looking to work smarter and not harder. " Now that we have new technology and a very clean facility, we've been able to attract additional growers. PLAY goodfruit.com/yg scan to watch the interview by TJ Mullinax More from this interview and other Young Growers at goodfruit.com/yg. www.gslong.com SPONSORED BY 46 OCTOBER 2015 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Good Fruit Grower - October 2015