Tag Archives: continuous improvement

Wisconsin visit

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Last week, Pine Island’s CEO Bill Haines and COO Bryan vonHahmann, along with Cranberry Austral Chile GM Francisco Prado, flew out to Wisconsin to visit various members of the cranberry community in order to learn more about how the industry works in other regions and bring back their experiences to apply to our own operation in both New Jersey and Chile.

They spent two days with Leroy Kummer, a Sr. Agricultural Scientist with Ocean Spray and the Tomah Receiving Station Manager. “Leroy was with us for two days,” Bill says. “He put in a lot of time and effort to accommodate us, and knows the industry inside and out. He’s a valuable asset to both OS and the growers, and we were glad he was able to take us around.”

The group also visited six different operations, all of them “very impressive”, Bill says. Ed Grygleski of Valley Corp, Steve Gephardt of Beltz Cranberry, Bill Hatch and Nicole Hansen at Cranberry Creek, Chris Weidman of City Point Cranberries, Martin Potter at Cutler Cranberry, and Craige I. Scott and Craige P. Scott of Scott Cranberry Marsh were very generous with their time and knowledge, and all run an excellent operation. Francisco was particularly interested in this part of the tour: “We are in the middle of updating our equipment program [at CAC], so it was good to see what they are doing with things like fertilizer sprayers; our farm is growing, so we need to go faster!” It was very helpful to see farms at different sizes, as well, as it gives him a basis for comparison. “It’s a great opportunity,” he says. “There is always room to improve; there is always something to learn from other growers.” Bryan agrees: “Sharing ideas and practices can help us all improve, and it’s given us more energy and renewed focus on our mission.”

Our management team also spent some time at the Tomah plant, touring the Craisin line, and were impressed with the team there as well. “Andrea Gavette [Plant Manager at Tomah] gave us a really in-depth tour; Tomah is a well-run facility, and it was great to see her team so enthusiastic about what they do,” says Bill.

And, of course, Bill, Bryan, and Francisco always have an eye out for our own continuous improvement. As Bill says: “These growers are clearly the gold standard for the cranberry industry, and now we see what we have to do to be one of the best.”

*photos courtesy of Francisco Prado

Rutgers extension

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Last week, one of Pine Island’s closest collaborators, Dr. Peter Oudemans, was promoted by Rutgers University to the rank of full Professor. His research with the Philip E. Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research has been tremendously beneficial to the cranberry industry.

A great deal of his work with Pine Island and other growers includes the persistent problem of fairy ring. “We’re starting to get more answers,” Peter says, “and we also have better technology to get the answers. We also have Tim’s, and now Josh’s, research on the floral component and how to better control disease.”

PIICM manager Cristina Tassone has high praise for all of the researchers who work with the industry. “Working with the scientists and researchers at the Rutgers Research Extension is invaluable to us,” she says. “We have a unique opportunity, due to our proximity and our size, to work closely with them and provide areas on our farm for larger experiments. Being able to collaborate in this way, and share resources, helps not only us, but the cranberry industry as well. Peter’s experiment with Fairy Ring treatment is making progress, and he has started using a drone to monitor the experiment area. He also has a graduate student working on one of our bogs gathering data on footprinting (which is another issue for all growers, specifically in the Stevens variety). Cesar Rodriguez-Saona and Dan Schiffhauer are also helpful with any and all pest questions we may have, and Dan comes to the farm every Friday to walk the bogs with us to help with fertilizer decisions and to check up on the findings of our scouting program.”

The relationship goes both ways: “I’ve learned a large number of life lessons from growers,” says Peter. “Working with the people in this area has been phenomenal.”

Crowning dams – new equipment

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We’ve posted before about the new scraper we commissioned over the winter. Over the past couple of weeks, our team finally got a chance to put it to work.

While our team had tested it after arrival, last week they put the new land leveling blade attachment to work on the renovations at 11 Acre and Benny’s. “The land leveler we already have is great, but it’s getting worn out,” explains Facilities/Equipment manager Louis Cantafio. “We like the model we have, but it’s been discontinued. So when we commissioned the new machine, we decided to make it multifunctional and did some re-purposing. We made the new blade straight and a fixed width, as opposed to the crowning blade, which is curved and able to be expanded if necessary. We also made it wider than the old leveler.”

“As part of the project we put a laser receiver and electronically driven valve on the tractor to make leveling easier,” Louis says. “The tractor had one before, but it was just the indicator. Now the operator can just pay attention to driving while the laser and the controller communicate and make necessary corrections. Plus, the wider blade helped us get the edges of the bog, which previously had to be done after the main leveling was finished. Speed and communication have helped us get the leveling done forty percent faster, which is huge.”

So far the team has had to change the blades twice: once to put on the new leveling blade and once to put the crowning blade back on. In both instances it took the team about 45 minutes to make the conversion. “It was a little bit of work, but we’ll get better at it,” Louis says. “The time we spent is a worthwhile investment. And as it turns out, it works very well. We had to do some custom modifications to make it work and they turned out fine.”

Team member Junior Colon, who is scraping dams this week, agrees. “The wider blade on the crowner makes things a lot easier,” he says. “There were some new controls to learn, but once you pick it up everything’s great. The whole thing tilts, which makes it easier to smooth things out, and having the ability to expand or retract the blade is a huge help. Once you know which dam you’re on and what it needs, it works out perfectly.”

Facilities Update – June

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One of the goals of our Equipment and Facilities program is to have all facilities and equipment ready when needed and to develop maintenance plans that will prevent costly downtime. The team is always looking for ways to improve upon their efficiency.

One of the current projects is re-tooling the new scraper for use in bog renovation. Originally commissioned for crowning dams, it was designed for maximum project flexibility. As we are about to move into the next stage of our latest bog renovation project, it was the perfect time to build a wider fixed blade for this machine in order to help with the land leveling at 11 Acre and Benny’s.

The other ongoing project is improving the driveway and parking area at the shop and ICM building. “We never did finish grading when we took the floater building down,” says Facilities/Equipment Manager Louis Cantafio. “We just made sure it was high enough to get through the winter. But part of our capital improvements projects this year includes adding gutters to our new buildings: the buildings housing the the pickups and the dump trucks as well as the one by the packing house. Part of that will also include running the downspouts under the surface in order to direct water flow toward the ditches.” In order for that to happen, the finished grade needs to be perfect. “Once the truck traffic starts coming through, you don’t want to find out the hard way that the drainage is too close to the surface,” Louis explains.

“Adding gutters and new downspouts as well as regrading the parking area are some of the ways we make our work area nicer,” says Louis. “It looks nice, and it will decrease the need for maintenance in the future, keeping our driveways in more professional condition so they don’t require as much work.” While there are no plans to pave the parking area, we will likely be paving some of our more highly trafficked roadway entrances.

Finally, we improved the airstrip that we maintain for our fertilizer applications. This will kick up a lot less dust, making things easier for everyone involved!

Downstown fertilizer trials

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This week some Pine Island team members went to Downstown Aero Crop Service for an application clinic. This clinic is recommended for aviation crop services in order to give the operators and their pilots the opportunity to test their equipment with a trained analyst to help interpret the information and to recommend changes to improve performance.

The main intent of this program, which was sponsored in part by the National Agricultural Aviation Association, is to improve “economy of operation and application, as well as an increase in safety and reduced health and environmental concerns.” As we are in the middle of our growing season and thus concerned with applying the correct amount of nutrients via fertilizer application, this is highly beneficial to Pine Island’s Integrated Crop Management program: one of the keys to our PIICM program is giving vines the nutrients they need, when they need it. 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, and we are always searching for ways to become even better.

The morning was spent testing calibration for both accuracy and drift. “The control of the droplet size is the best thing we have to combat drift,” says Dennis Gardisser of WRK Services of Arkansas. “In the workshops, we show applicators how to configure aircrafts so they develop precise droplet sizes.” Droplets that are too fine can drift or evaporate, and droplets that are too large may reduce the coverage, in turn reducing crop yields by a significant amount.

Downstown is a great outfit to work with, and our team was impressed by their willingness to basically audit themselves in front of an audience mainly composed of their clients. “They put themselves under review to show us how they can do things even better,” says COO Bryan vonHahmann. “It’s ultimately about efficiency. When they’re more efficient, we’re more efficient, and ultimately that helps us to become better growers.”

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Boxes

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This week at Pine Island Cranberry we’re about ready for winter’s end, pretty as it is.

While our team continues to work on sanding when the weather permits, we have started another project as well: making boxes. As Facilities supervisor Mike Guest explains: “As we grow, our needs grow. As more berries come in, we’re going to need more boxes.” We have two hundred now, and our team is building another fifty. While we try to keep them in constant rotation, it helps to have a sizable reserve in order to keep moving as efficiently as possible, especially at the Sim Place platform.

“A few years back, we built those first two hundred boxes and we built them bigger; they hold fifty percent more than the ones we used to use,” says GM Fred Torres. “But we’re always looking for ways to get better. Now, with the renovations we’ve been doing at Sim Place and at the Oswego section, we’re looking to improve even more.” We’re doing that by starting to widen more dams at Panama and on parts of the home farm (mainly toward the southern end) in order to bring more tractor trailers in for hauling.

“It’s all in the name of efficiency,” says Fred. “Two tractor trailers together can carry eighteen boxes; that’s nine dump truck loads. It saves wear and tear on the dump trucks, it frees up some of the guys whose skills we can use elsewhere, and it helps us haul berries a lot more quickly.” So the plan is to get at least two more tractor trailers, eliminating the need for so many small trucks, and try to strike a balance. In order to make the hauling easier for the trailer drivers, we will be widening dams and turns at Red Road and several of the bogs by the Jonathan Wright reservoir. “That way we can haul and load right from the corners of those bogs,” says Fred. “It’ll be a sight, all those big trucks coming out of the woods!”

But before that, the boxes need to be finished, and various members of our team are doing whatever it takes to help get them done!

Sandbox

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The ongoing project at Pine Island Cranberry this week continues to be sanding, and the winter weather has continued to give our sanding team some challenges. While there hasn’t been much snow, the cold can still cause problems.

GM Fred Torres explains: “It was less than 25 degrees the other morning; that’s cold! When we started digging, there was a crust on the mound of sand; as you dig, you have to try to get that off and then start digging into the mound itself. It mostly works, but some of those clumps inevitably roll down and it’s so cold they don’t break up. Some go into the bucket, some get into truck, and from there some get into the sander. We try to take them out as we see them, but it’s inefficient for everyone.” Team member Jorge Morales tried out the GoPro this week to help demonstrate the issue. (Left unanswered is why he feels the need to wear Dallas Cowboys gear in Eagles country, but perhaps that’s better for all concerned.)

GoPro – Jorge from Pine Island Cranberry on Vimeo.

Things improved after lunch as the temperature went up into the thirties, but as Fred says, “You have to sand when it’s time to sand; you can’t wait for perfect weather to do what needs to be done.”

One thing that’s been a tremendous help to our team is the new sandbox. Built by our equipment team, the sandbox was designed to improve efficiency and reduce waste. In previous years, trucks would back up to the location and just drop sand directly onto the dam. “We figured out that dropping sand directly causes us to lose at least ten percent of it,” says Fred. “That means for every ten truckloads you lose at least one. That’s a lot. But with the box, we don’t lose anything and we’re able to use our time more efficiently; we can get a lot more done. The box keeps everything contained; we don’t lose anything and it’s easier to clean up.”

You can see from Joel DeJesus’ point of view how much easier it is, as well:

GoPro – Excavator from Pine Island Cranberry on Vimeo.

With both teamwork and technology, our team continues to be highly efficient no matter what the weather!

ACGA Winter Meeting 2014

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This week the American Cranberry Growers Association once again held its annual winter meeting. The ACGA winter meeting is always a good opportunity for growers to listen to research findings from experiments during the previous growing season and the researchers’ recommendations for the 2014 growing season. In addition, it’s a great chance for the local cranberry community to catch up to each other after the busy harvest season.

For their part, the Marucci Center researchers like the chance to get together, as well. Dr. Cesar Rodriguez-Saona always puts together an informative program, with a wealth of information covering a range of topics from disease management, breeding, frost protection, heat stress, weed control, insect pest management, among others. “The ACGA meetings are important because they provide cranberry growers an update on current research being conducted at Rutgers University and other universities,” Cesar says. “And it’s always helpful for us to get feedback from growers.”

CEO Bill Haines has always maintained that it’s a wonderful chance to have all the growers and key researchers together in one place to have a discussion. Local growers Shawn Cutts and Joe Darlington are on the same page. “I’ve been to grower meetings in other regions and it’s a lot more about regulations and the political end,” Joe says. “Here, we get much more grower info, which is what it’s about, as far as I’m concerned. It’s a chance to get together with the rest of the industry, because we really don’t get to do that very often.” Shawn agrees: “It’s valuable to hear the latest research from the people who are working to help us grow more berries and do it even better. There’s a lot of good practical info that’s helpful in many ways.”

New Pine Island COO Bryan vonHahmann was pleased to attend. “All of this is new to me, so I really got a lot from it. You really do get a lot of great information, and it was a fantastic opportunity to meet with other growers and industry people. It gives everyone a chance to share knowledge and experience in a non-competitive environment.” It’s even given him some ideas for community interaction based on his past experiences with the equipment industry, and he’s looking forward to working more with our neighboring growers.

GM Fred Torres and PIICM manager Cristina Tassone especially like the collaboration with the scientific community. “It’s great seeing all of these individual projects working together,” Cristina says. “It’s really everything we’re dealing with in the field. Nobody is working in a vacuum; everyone has real hands-on experience and can see how the research directly affects the growers. It’s especially good to see the grad students getting involved; the presentation on the window for fruit rot control was particularly interesting and is going to end up being really useful for the cranberry industry as a whole.” Cristina also enjoys the opportunity to hear from researchers in other regions. “They’re not just bringing in people from New Jersey,” she says. “We get to hear from the people working in Massachusetts and Wisconsin, too.”

From Bill’s Desk: “Continuous Improvement”

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One in an occasional series of entries by CEO Bill Haines.

Pine Island Cranberry is pleased to announce the creation of the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO). We are also pleased to announce Bryan vonHahmann has agreed to accept those responsibilities. Over the last several years, Pine Island Cranberry has grown in size, productivity and professionalism. As we have grown the business has become much more complex. With the purchase of control of Cranberries Austral Chile, the development of our Forestry business and the pursuit of additional opportunities for growth, we need additional talent and skills to pursue our mission to “continue our tradition of excellence”. After much discussion over several months, the Board of Advisors and I decided to create the position of COO. To help us select the best person to fill that role, we chose the search firm of Heidrick & Struggles. This is a major step forward for Pine Island as it fulfills our core values of continuous growth and continuous improvement.

Bryan has 25 years of multiple work experiences. He began his career as an aerospace engineer and then returned to his family business, Empire Tractor, Inc. Through his leadership, the company achieved significant growth, becoming one of the largest agricultural equipment dealerships in the state of New York. Since 2006 he has been a senior executive at Dairy Farmers of America, a national dairy cooperative. His experiences of leading and growing a family business as well as creating a culture of continuous improvement will bring significant value to Pine Island.

Bryan will be officially starting January 1, 2014. I am very excited that we have found such a highly qualified person and I am excited that he has agreed to join the team. All of the Pine Island team looks forward to working with Bryan as we continue to grow high quality, nutritious cranberries for a healthier world.

2013 Fall Planting

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Our fall planting at the Boricua bogs is almost done, which will complete the Oswego renovation. Our team started last Monday, and the weather has been mostly cooperative.

The planting team has been moving faster than ever before, and has even set a new record with over 3.5 acres planted in one day. Team member Casey Koehler attributes this to each team member knowing what their assigned task is in addition to good communication by New Production foreman Kelvin Colon. “We start at 6:30 in the morning and everyone just works,” she says. “Everybody has their job but if they’re needed elsewhere, they’ll step up, no questions asked. We switch off a lot, too; it can be hard on your back sitting on the planter. So people will exchange jobs so there are fresh hands and a fresh back on the planter.” In addition, Casey says, “The guys doing the hand planting are fast and they’re good. If everyone’s doing their jobs, then Kelvin can make sure everything’s getting done that needs to be done.”

Every team member is keeping busy. Casey was tracking the daily averages: daily acres planted, number of trays, and the number of plants per acre, as well as the running total acres, while Waldemar Blanco is in charge of making sure both planters are always fully loaded, the plants are delivered, and all trays are sorted and counted according to planter and/or hand planting in order to make accurate measurements.

Communication has become much more efficient with new technology, as updates in the field can be viewed on the office database. The team is also able to track the plant totals: how many carts ordered per day, how many trays used on both planters, how many carts are left at the end of the day, and how many cuttings are planted per acre. Our target is 60,000/acre. “We leave at least one for the following day,” Casey says. “Once we come in at 6:30, we’re moving. So the night before we’ll leave one ready to go, with a tarp over it to keep the heat in.”

Every day a team member measures the acreage to see if they’ve hit their targets, which started at 2.5 acres/day then changed to 3 acres/day. Some bogs are tougher than others, depending on layout: Boricua #5 has some unusual angles due to topography, which made more hand planting necessary and added to the overall time. But the team has been doing very well and are actually ahead of schedule, expecting to be finished by this afternoon.

All that remains to be done is watering the new acreage. While the mostly sunny and dry weather has been good for getting the planting finished, it does mean that the sprinklers need to be run every day for the new plants. It does serve a dual purpose: in addition to sealing the sil around the plants, the team can check for damaged sprinklers.

Thirty acres in ten days is a fantastic achievement, and our team should be proud of the work they have done. It is this willingness to do what needs to be done that helps Pine Island grow more acres and more fruit per acre, year after year.