Author Archives: stef

Vendors: Legacy Advisors

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This week, a brief look at one of our favorite vendors: Legacy Advisors!

Legacy Advisors, located in Plymouth Meeting, PA, has been helping Pine Island with our financial planning for over a decade. From the Legacy website:

We believe helping our clients focus on everything that is important to them and establishing specific objectives which must be accomplished differentiates us from other advisors. The ability to ask the right questions and listen is a lost art today.

Through a series of open, in-depth discussions, we help our clients focus on what’s most important to them, their family and their business. The true art of our business is in asking the right questions to guide and compel our clients to evaluate their priorities. Through thoughtful listening, we get to the core of their beliefs, business goals and personal wishes.

Once objectives have been established, we work with our client’s trusted team of advisors to make certain that every aspect of their plan is implemented, properly communicated and kept up to date.

John Krol and his team do all that for us, and more. He and his team also share Pine Island’s belief in giving back to the community, and their foundation has worked over the past several years to benefit such organizations as the Children’s Scholarship Fund, La Comunidad Hispana, the Garage Community & Youth Center, and many more.

The quality of life in our region is important to everyone who lives and works here. The Legacy Foundation is our way of giving back to the communities we so proudly serve, so that we may do our part to improve the lives of those who need it most.

Established in 2003, The Legacy Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides support for children and adults who, through no cause of their own, are socially, mentally, or physically deprived.

It’s really the personal touch that makes working with Legacy such a wonderful experience, and John’s strong background and familiarity with family businesses make Legacy an excellent choice. He spent many years working with a family-owned manufacturing business as CFO as well as their VP of International Business, which gives him a strong sense of understanding for family and financial issues when designing an optimal financial plan for business owners today.

“I’ve worked with John for almost sixteen years now,” says Pine Island CEO/Owner Bill Haines. “I was concerned with business succession and estate planning, and his advice has been tremendously helpful. I feel much more comfortable with where we are both personally and as a company, thanks to his efforts.” And it’s not just John; the personal commitment to excellence goes from the top down. His whole team is great to work with, at every level that we deal with them; they’re always helpful, always professional, and always get stuff done. “John has become a trusted advisor on more than estate planning and business succession,” Bill says. “He sits on our Board of Advisors and his advice is always insightful, helpful, and welcome. He’s become more than an advisor, he’s a friend.

“If anyone feels they need advice in estate planning, business succession, general finance, or any business issue, I never hesitate to recommend Legacy.”

Improvements in nutrition application

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While the busiest part of the growing season is behind us, our Integrated Crop Management program is still working on our last fertilizer applications before harvest begins next month. The amount of fertilizer to be applied is determined by variety, soil conditions, and past practices, requiring constant evaluation of current conditions, history, and trends. Nutritional needs are also different for young vines as opposed to established plantings.

Additional nutrition is necessary because while cranberries have adapted (and thrive) in their native sandy soil, nutrients are taken from the bog through the harvest of fruit. The three main elements usually added for nutrition are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. According to cranberries.org: “Cranberry plant demand for nitrogen is highest during three stages of the lifecycle critical to cranberry development–early growth, fruit set and bud set. Early growth is when the plant grows vegetatively through vining and root growth and produces a flush of new leaves. Fruit set is when the flower becomes pollinated and fruit begin to form. Soon after fruit set comes bud set when nitrogen is needed for both fruit development and production of the next year’s flower bud.”

“For the established beds, we’re doing a final application to make sure the plants have enough nutrition to stay healthy and set buds for next year’s crop,” says manager Mike Haines. “For the Early Blacks, we’re doing one more application, but the Stevens are getting at least two more. And the young beds will be treated for a little longer than that.” We rely on on stalwart vendors such as Downstown Aero for broad application, but for precision application our team is working with some new equipment!

COO Bryan vonHahmann refers to this machine as the “fertilizer buggy”, and it’s not hard to see why. As so many things in the cranberry industry do, the initial idea came from a chat with a neighboring grower. “It all started from wanting to get more accurate applications,” he says. “Bill Cutts brought his over for us to look at. Kevin Sooy [another neighbor] built the frame for us. His family has one, the Lees have one; all of them have hopper spreaders, and we decided we wanted something even more precise. So we added an air system with individual nozzles. It’s going well! We bought a computer to calibrate different products: liquid, dry, different fertilizers. We have a few tweaks to make yet but over time we’ll probably end up with another one here and one in Chile.”

Team members have been pleased with the results. “I like the area you can cover with it,” says Jeremy Fenstermaker. “Once you get it calibrated you don’t have to mess with it; it’s all computerized. We go by by weight; just enter the numbers for each different product and it’s dispensed at the correct rate. It’s always good to have another option. At first I didn’t think we needed it, but it’s been very useful. Much better than out there with a bucket! That 40 foot boom makes a huge difference. And it shouldn’t be too hard on the plants; you can barely see where it drove through the bog, with those tires.”

And, of course, we’re always looking ahead. “This is going to improve our overall efficiency,” Mike says. “We’ll be able to free up a couple of people to fill in elsewhere but still get a lot of ground covered.”

IPM – Drones

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Last month we spoke with Dr. Peter Oudemans of Rutgers University about how our fairy ring treatment is progressing. This week, he had a team out mapping the selected treatment site with drones.

Using aerial technology to pinpoint treatment is a crucial component in integrated pest management, or IPM. What is IPM? The UC Cooperative Extension says:

“IPM is an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on long-term prevention of pests or their damage through a combination of techniques such as biological control, habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices, and use of resistant varieties. . . . [T]reatments are made with the goal of removing only the target organism.”

Drones can be a tremendous help with this. Per an earlier article from Robohub, “agriculture is a big data problem without the big data.” The article goes on to explain:

“Rather than taking pictures and videos of people, [drones will] be surveying fields, using their high-resolution sensors to improve crop yield and decrease agricultural water and [treatment] use. . . About half of the “inputs” in farming. . . are typically wasted because they’re applied in greater amount than needed or in the wrong place, such as the ground between plants rather than the plants themselves.”

At the Pine Island experimental site “we use two different types, a fixed-wing and a quad copter,” Peter says. “The fixed-wing is good for surveying because it can cover a large area in a short amount of time, while the quad is for more precise work.” The quad is also easier to fly. This week, however, they only flew the fixed-wing. “It took three sets of images, which will hopefully tell us more about how the fairy ring treatments are progressing.”

“They’re going to change the whole way we do things,” says CEO Bill Haines. “It’s moving us toward site specific agriculture, not just treating the whole bog.”

Vendors: Sweeney Construction

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This week at Pine Island, it’s all business as usual: bloom is just about over and the bee boxes are being removed, we continue work on renovation, and of course, being July, it’s hot out there! So instead of an update on our sprinklers, we decided to bring you the first in an occasional series on some of our favorite vendors. And who better to kick this feature off than Sweeney Construction?

Sweeney Construction, started by Tom Sweeney in 1976, has been working with Pine Island for several years now. After forty years in the business, Tom has retired, and his son Mike is now in charge. “Our first project for Pine Island was the big camp, back when you guys were still in the blueberry business,” Mike says. “It worked out that it was completed right before it was time to use it! We’ve since done probably 12 to 15 different projects over here.” Among those projects: rebuilt three employee homes, renovations on the two camps on the main road, apartment renovations, built three garages, and of course, renovated our main office from a private home to to a building suitable for running a large cranberry operation. Most recently, Sweeney finished the roof on the office with an amazing turnaround time. “Not a lot of companies who can supply that manpower,” Mike says. “It’s been a good relationship for us over the years.” He has high praise for the team members he’s worked with, as well. “It’s been nothing but good interactions with Bill [Haines] and Bryan [vonHahmann],” he says. “And a lot of the jobs here are a little easier because Pine Island has so much of their own equipment. Excavation, septic systems…it helps a lot.” He especially singled out our facilities team (particularly Mike Guest and Louis Cantafio) as well as the precision work of Junior Colon on the excavator.

And Sweeney is also looking ahead! In addition to doing repair to work to a historic farmhouse in Eastampton, they’re working on energy-efficient housing. “Our latest project is with Unity Homes in New Hampshire,” Mike says. “It’s a net zero energy usage house: solar panels, post and beam constructions, exposed materials. It’s being built in-factory in New Hampshire and we’re assembling it down here after we finish the foundation work; we’re planning to set the panels in early August.”

As far as Pine Island is concerned, we will of course let CEO Bill Haines have the last word: “Sweeney Construction is one of our favorite vendors. It’s been a pleasure to work with Tom and Mike. They’re always professional, they always do exactly what they say they’re going to do, they always get it right, and they stand behind their work. I can’t say enough good things about them, and I would recommend them to anyone for any project.”

Heat – summer 2016

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It cannot be said enough: the key to growing cranberries is water. Cranberries need about an inch of water each week during the growing season (either via rain or irrigation), preferably early in the morning or at night, in order to avoid losing it to evaporation. We irrigate for two reasons: first, to keep the vines healthy and productive, and second, to protect them from the heat. Keeping them cool helps protect the bloom, the fruit, and the vines themselves. Once the fruit is formed, it’s important to keep them from what we term “scalding”. Scald occurs when the temperature is high but the dew point (humidity) is low; as Dr. Peter Oudemans likes to say, “When people are comfortable, the cranberries are in trouble.”

When humidity is low, applied water will readily evaporate and cool the fruit. During the day, if temperatures get up to around 95 degrees, we will turn on the irrigation in order to cool the bog down to the 80s. We’ll run the pumps for about an hour or two, depending on variables such as wind, temperature, and humidity. There is also a distinct difference between sending water through the root system and keeping the bog cool. The trick is avoiding complications from too much moisture, which can cause conditions that are welcoming to fungi such as phytophthora, which causes root rot. Vines shouldn’t be damp all the time; it’s a balancing act to keep the fruit at optimum growth conditions while avoiding oversaturation. The key to walking the tightrope is constant evaluation and always being aware of bog conditions.

With the use of thermal imaging cameras, our team has been able to use our irrigation systems much more efficiently when cooling down the fruit. “With the camera, we can get a better indication of when we should run the water,” says manager Mike Haines. “Historically, when the temperature got high enough, we would just turn on the sprinklers and let them run for a while. But it wasn’t always necessary. We could get a day that was only in the high 80s but really dry, which means the fruit’s going to get super hot and break down. That can lead to rot. Conversely, it could be 95 out, but the humidity might be high enough to keep fruit cool. Using a thermal camera is helping us pinpoint temperatures precisely so we run the pumps when we need to rather than guessing.”

Regarding the recent heat wave, “I actually think the plants are liking it,” says COO Bryan vonHahmann. “Our reservoirs are lower, and we’ve been irrigating every four days as well as paying closer attention to dry areas, but that’s not indicative of the heat wave.. .that’s just because we haven’t had much rain. As far as the growth is concerned, we’re doing okay.” His main worry in this weather is for our team members. “It certainly impacts our people, but we’re taking precautions and keeping an eye out. We’ve been starting work at 5:30 as opposed to 7:00 and leaving early, and that’s helped a little bit. We’re keeping everyone hydrated and making sure the water coolers are readily available. And as the temperature rises we try to rotate people among tasks that keep them out of the sun and in cooler areas as much as possible.”

Harvest 2016 – Chile

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This week, Pine Island once again hosted the Cranberries Austral Chile (CAC) post-harvest board meeting. CAC, located in Frutillar, Chile, was founded in 1993, and Bill has been president since 2008.

This year, CAC had their best harvest ever. “It’s the biggest crop we’ve ever had in Chile,” Bill says. “We beat our estimate by 30% and were 30% above our last record crop.” He and board member Victor Henriquez attribute the success to a number of things. “I think the weather helped,” Victor says. “With the weather so good, the bee activity was better than usual. But we’ve also made several improvements over the last year that certainly contributed.” Among them, he says, is that this year was CAC’s first use of the Gates Harrow, a machine that we’ve had great success with here at Pine Island. “We’re able to pick fruit faster and more efficiently, and it’s much better for the vines.”

Bill and Victor also attributed this year’s success to the hard work of Javier Ruiz. “Insects were a huge problem last year,” says Bill. “Javier put in a lot of effort improving the timing of fertilizer applications, irrigation, and frost management, as well as monitoring insect problems.”

Handling the pest issue was huge. The insect causing the biggest problem, Copitarsia Decolora, is a nocturnal insect, according to Javier. “We had to do a lot scouting at night to find it. This was found for the first time in November 2014, and we did some applications to control it.” The company then hired an entomologist from University La Frontera in Temuco City: Dr. Ramon Rebolledo. “He made a plan to work with us. We do the same scouting as in New Jersey, and we sent every worm and moth to him to identify them.

“In August 2015, we started to work with the UV lamp to catch the moths, started to scout bogs in September, and found the first worm in October. We also scouted to find eggs, which were found in late November and December. The eggs were kept in a small container to let them hatch, which they did in January, and this coincided with the second generation that was found in the bogs early January 2016. So we controlled those bugs and did not find any moths later. So if I am correct, we should not expect so much this year.”

Javier doesn’t think insect control alone was the sole factor, though he says it helped. “Treating for pests gave the plants good potential for this season. But this potential is not possible by itself. Frost control was very good. The weather was very exceptional during pollination, the nutrition and watering were done more according the weather than according to a calendar. Bogs got more Nitrogen than other years. There was very good weed and insect control. And the company has made very important improvements in irrigation and in drainage in the last few years, as well as better equipment and machinery. So bogs get better conditions and get what they need on time!”

So congratulations to the team at Cranberries Austral Chile for a record year! We’re proud to be affiliated with this hard-working team, and look forward to more reports as their new harvest year progresses!

Quail update! – June 2016

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Curious about the recent progress on the Bobwhite Quail Restoration Initiative? Check out our latest post on our forestry blog!

Huge thanks to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, the University of Delaware, and especially Tall Timbers Research Station & Land Conservancy and New Jersey Audubon for making it happen!

Bees and pollination – Spring 2016

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A good fall harvest depends on a successful growing and pollination season, and cranberry growers, like many fruit growers, rely on honeybees and bumble bees to cross pollinate blossoms. Production and yield is directly tied to good pollination and subsequent fruit set. In addition, pollinators are important to native plants, which provide food and cover for numerous wildlife species, as well as helping stabilize the soil and improve water quality. One of the more important elements in the Pine Island Integrated Crop Management (PIICM) program is ensuring adequate pollination; flowers that are not visited by bees rarely produce fruit. To this end, we work with several New Jersey beekeepers to temporarily install hives during the bloom period, usually at the end of May/beginning of June depending on the weather.

“We start planning for this in the winter,” says manager Mike Haines. “I started calling beekeepers in February and March and telling them we’ll need X number of hives. We usually place two per acre. Some experts think we could get away with one per acre, Dad knows a Wisconsin grower who will do six or seven . . . but we’re sticking with two. We calculated that meant about 2500 colonies, give or take, which is a lot of bees! So we have to ask a few beekeepers; some are comfortable bringing as many as they can, others are more comfortable with a lower number. This way, everyone’s happy.” He also thinks the cooler spring has had some effects. “This is my first year working with this, but it feels a bit later,” he says. “We tend to start right after fairy ring applications are done while the plants are still in the hook stage switching over to bloom.” He tries to give the beekeepers as much lead time as he can, and calls about once or twice a week to let them know when the next hives need to be placed. “They have a lot to coordinate on their end, so I try to make it easier. On our end, we make a map with places to drop hives; we need places to put them that are out of the way of people and trucks. People get annoyed at me when they have to walk down a ramp directly next to a lot of bees!” Placement order is also based on factors such as variety, when the water came off, and location. “Crimson Queen is our earliest variety and we had bees two weeks ago in there. Early Blacks and Stevens are farthest behind, but most of those will begin by the end of next week. Jeremy [Fenstermaker] and I are combing through the whole farm to make sure we know; we’re a week from needing them here, three days from there . . that helps with the planning.”

The work isn’t done after the bees are in place, either. Team member Tim Bourgeois took a beginner beekeeping class in order to learn more about this fascinating aspect of cranberry production. “It was a really interesting class,” Tim says. “I’d been hearing a lot about the colony collapse disorder, and I really wanted to know more. And since I’m the person who works on treatments and applications, I thought it’d be good to have at least one person on the farm familiar with bees in general; bee care, health, maintenance, things like that. The class focused on beginning beekeeper information: anatomy, food source requirements, hive care and maintenance, bee colony care and maintenance, how to establish a colony, and items related to that. It didn’t cover renting hives, since it’s a beginning course, but it was a lot of really good information.” The plan is for Tim to accompany the state apiary inspector the next time he comes by to check the hives: “I’ll ride along with him and he’ll give me some pointers of thing to look for, make sure hives are healthy and the bees are doing what they’re supposed to.”

Fairy ring treatments – 2016

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This week, our team finished our yearly treatment for fairy ring. Fairy ring is a persistent issue for growers, and we work very closely with researchers to find solutions.

“We start treatment at the roughneck stage,” says Matt Giberson, “and stop once we start seeing a lot of flower out there. It can be a little tricky; we don’t put on an application after a long frost night, or heavy rain, because too much water can stress the soil.” Treatments are planned very carefully. “Mike [Haines] and I go over the top producing bogs that aren’t marked for renovation, and set priorities. We start with Ben Lears first, because they bloom the fastest, and then go into the Stevens bogs. Once we’ve made the plan, we give Blondie, Alejandro, Tito, and Albert the maps and send them out. It takes two crews to get everything done, but they’re really hustling.”

A great deal of our knowledge comes from research being conducted by the Rutgers Marucci Center. Dr. Peter Oudemans has ongoing fairy ring experiments on some of Pine Island’s established beds. “What we’re doing with the experiment is looking at different treatments, especially different rates, to see which ones will control the disease best,” Peter says. “So on the one bog, we’re looking at one specific treatment, and we’re looking at different rates for the treatment and different rates of water. Because the fungus is in the organic layers beneath the sand, we need to figure out how much it takes to move the applications to the right position. We did some studies to look at how much water will it take to get to the correct depth, and what we found out is that .2 gallons per square foot is probably the minimum that we can use. Which is kind of what we found from our soil moisture probes as well. We’re starting to see some control at those levels.” The other bog, he says, is being used to test other treatments. However, he says, “we’re looking at two problems. First: how do you measure success? Because those plots are big and hard to evaluate. So we’re using drones to evaluate the progress. We measure once a month, to see if there’s any change in amount. It’s been pretty useful to measure it that way; we can capture data in fifteen minutes, evaluate progress over time, and capture it through the summer.”

“The other problem is, what can we expect from fairy ring control?” he says. “Fairy ring already messes up the canopy. It kills the edge, but then it leaves the center as a scar on the bed and also reduces yield. But talking with Dan [Schiffhauer ]and Joan [Davenport], we came up with some possible treatments for the centers of those rings to help them recover and help with the scarring, such as slow release fertilizers.”

Fairy ring has been a persistent problem in the local cranberry industry for a long time, and it’s been tricky to address, even with all the hard work from researchers. Manager Mike Haines remembers tracking in in 2008 during his summers home from college. “The best thing is not having to deal with it in the first place,” he says. “That’s a huge focus when we assign a bog for renovation. A lot of the time, the beds you’re renovating are the old ones being torn up by fairy ring, so you don’t want that problem to recur. You want to do it all right from the beginning. Attention to detail in renovation and thinking about it thoroughly and critically are important so you can avoid having to do all this stuff later.”