Category Archives: General

ACGA Summer Field Day – 2015

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Yesterday several Pine Island Cranberry team members once again attended the annual American Cranberry Growers Association (ACGA) summer field day at the Rutgers extension center. While several topics are similar to those discussed at the winter meeting, the field day is a chance to go out and explore the researchers’ valuable work first hand.

All in attendance found the demonstrations highly useful! Some took particular notice of Dr. Peter Oudemans’ talk on his work on the heat stress factor in disease management. “Peter’s talk on understanding the factors that lead to heat damage was a hot topic for us…no pun intended,” says PIICM manager Cristina Tassone. “This year we have been trying to monitor the weather with our thermometer–both automated and analog–our new weather stations, our new thermal camera, and we started testing internal heat this season with meat thermometers. We have been going back and forth with Peter trying to find the best threshold for when we should turn on the sprinklers, and his talk yesterday provided the analysis of the data he collected along with a threshold that will help us make better decisions.” GM Fred Torres agrees: “You never have all the answers; there are always what-ifs, but we’re feeling better about what to do and what to try. Peter’s work is really narrowing it down, and it’s getting better and easier.”

The other speakers were also quite well-received. “It’s always good to hear about the new varieties, what they’re coming up with,” Fred says. Cristina was very interested in Dr. Jim Polashock’s talk on virus symptoms and detection. “It helped me make a connection with what we are seeing in the bogs,” she says. “We have seen scarring on the fruit in the past, and weren’t always sure what to attribute it to. Seeing the fruit samples with the viruses yesterday will help us identify what we are seeing in the bogs better. I am also anxious to see what they find out about the ‘footprint’ disease in the near future.”

Yesterday the ACGA also distributed the “Identification Guide for Weeds in Cranberries”. Hilary Sandler, weed specialist at UMass, had Quebec’s cranberry weed identification guide translated to English for growers on the east coast. This weed guide is of very high quality: 200+ pages with color photos of each weed’s stages of growth, in addition to a lot of information on the weeds. In addition to translating this guide, Hilary added new weeds and information to be sure that it covers all the weeds present in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and the other east coast Canadian growing areas. “I was very excited to receive this,” Cristina says. “I know it will be very helpful when we create our 2016 Weed Control Plan.”

As always, Dr. Cesar Rodriguez-Saona and his team did a spectacular job planning the program; it was well-organized, informative, and somehow or other, he found a way to control the weather! Many thanks to Cesar, Peter, Jim, and all of the fantastic scientists at the Marucci Center, whose work with all of us makes the NJ cranberry industry increasingly better, year after year.

Getting ready!

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Autumn will be here quicker than we think, and to that end, our team is working hard preparing for the upcoming harvest!

Bog Renovations Manager Steve Manning is getting ready to start planting next week. “I have the guys out there right just touching up some stuff,” he says. “We’re land-leveling at the Warehouse reno and we’re fixing all the ditches. We also still have some sprinklers to install, which has to be finished before we put the plants in.” He has also followed up with his research into erosion control. “There’s a team at Black Rock putting in coconut mat all along the edges to act as erosion control, so hopefully it doesn’t wash out. Even if it only works about seventy percent of the time it should make a huge difference. There’s nothing more disheartening than getting something fixed just before a storm comes along and tears things up.”

Our much-missed seasonal team is also beginning to arrive, and have started performing other prep tasks such as weed control, while our equipment team is making sure all of the harvest equipment is in good shape! “A lot of minor repairs, mainly,” says Louis [Cantafio]. “Most of what we’re doing is preventative maintenance. During the season we’re always running hard, so everything gets oil changes, new plugs, and anything else they need for a standard tune-up. And we’re ordering parts in because things are going to break and we need to have them back up and running right away.”

Heat stress

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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, the 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. Historically, our team would run the pumps for about an hour or two, depending on variables such as wind, temperature, and humidity. We are also using some new technology to help fine-tune the process.

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 New Production 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.” This is important, because too much moisture 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!

Joan Davenport – July 2015 visit

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We had Dr. Joan Davenport back again this week for her annual summer visit! Joan comes to see us in the spring during the bloom period and again in the height of summer to discuss fertilizer needs for bud set.

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. “This late in the growing season, we are assessing the new plantings for nutritional needs but also for when to stop fertilizing, so that the plants will enter dormancy,” Joan says. “For established beds, we are evaluating the plants for how much crop they are holding and the bud potential for next year to develop recommendations for applications for the remainder of the growing season, including post-harvest and some guidance for roughneck in the spring of next year.” To do this, Joan and the PIICM team look at the amount and size of fruit, the length and color of both new and upright growth, and the amount of buds already set.

This season Joan sat down with our ICM team to discuss crop needs for fertigation, a process where plant nutrition is distributed via the irrigation system, and the extra care we’re going to need to take with our hardware and equipment, particularly with the sprinkler heads. Her recommendation for certain beds under review was to continue for another year. “One season doesn’t tell me how things will continue to respond,” she says. “Realistically, we start seeing results after a two year cycle when the same beds are being run on the same program in terms of hybrid versus strict fertigation.” She also had some recommendations for spacing.

250 days!

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Wednesday, our Pine Island team celebrated 250 days accident-free with a pizza lunch at the shop!

“We wanted to get together now in order to congratulate everyone,” said CEO Bill Haines to the assembled team. “It’s been 250 days since someone was hurt and needed to go get attention, and you should all be proud of yourselves. But this is also a reminder to keep thinking about safety and pay attention to what you’re doing all the time. If you’re running a piece of equipment, shut it down before you mess with it. Wear your safety gear. And remember to keep taking care of each other! You’re responsible for yourself and for the people you work with. If you’re two team members working side by side, remind each other to use your helmets, use your gloves…whatever equipment you’ve been issued.”

Our previous record was 365 days; when we pass that, Bill says, we’ll have another get-together; at 500 days, we’ll do something bigger. And as always, Pine Island has full faith in our team to keep doing whatever it takes, to take care of our crop as well as each other!

Working with the weather

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Careful water management is the key to cranberries, but weather is always the most unpredictable factor. Rain can be a blessing, but a heavy downpour can lead to bog flooding and have an adverse effect on fruit quality; the longer the flood, the greater the possibility that newly formed fruit can suffocate.

Heavy storms earlier in the week were certainly less intense than the Labor Day storm back in 2012, but Pine Island nonetheless had to spring into action on Wednesday to handle the three inches that came down in a relatively brief amount of time! “It came fast, so we had to react fast,” says COO Bryan vonHahmann. “But everyone pulled together and we got out there quickly.” It was, however, a learning moment for a couple of things. “We sent out a lot of people for whom this was a newer task,” he says. “So we know now to have tools set aside so we can issue them and get everyone on location as fast as possible. But we pulled together and got everything adjusted! The team really did a great job.”

Management is also making some plans for moving forward. One of the problems the team had to deal with was washouts. These can often be an issue with the newest bogs. Fixing dams is routine maintenance that a team (Jorge, Joel, and Waldy) had been working on prior to the storm, and while some of it held up, some of it didn’t. Bog Renovations Manager Steve Manning is considering several routes for erosion control, among them adopting the use of erosion control mats, similar to what highway departments use for roadwork. This may hopefully save us both time and money going forward by fixing the cause rather than repairing damages.

Pine Island Team Profiles: Steve Manning

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Pine Island said farewell to Bog Reno manager extraordinaire Joe Colon back in December, and in February, Steve Manning came on board! Steve comes to us from over twenty years in the construction business, and has stepped right up to the challenge of renovating dozens of acres for 2015 and beginning the process for our 2016 phase.

“It’s been a busy season,” Steve says. “We’re just about finished at Turf and we’re in the process of installing the suction lines at Black Rock. We’re installing some additional drainage so we can widen the dams for tractor trailers, and large portions have already been land levelled. I’m expecting to flood Black Rock so we can settle everything and assist dirt compaction, and we’ll be land levelling at Warehouse next week.” He expects to be planting in about five to six weeks so we can have it all finished before harvest.

“I’m enjoying it a lot,” he says. “My previous job was construction, and I did a lot of what I’m actually doing here: clearing land, putting in roads, installing water mains. The difference is that now I’m always at the same job site, which makes things a little easier. I like working outside, and I have a good team.” He also sometimes forgets to eat lunch, which he says means he’s really liking the work. “I’m glad I made a move.”

GM Fred Torres is pleased with Steve’s work. “Steve works hard, and he plans ahead,” Fred says. “He plans for equipment, he plans for labor, all of it. He’s all about improvement, and is always looking for ways to make things better.” He’s also proven to be flexible when necessary. “It’s a big farm, and a lot goes on. Sometimes we need to change direction pretty quickly. If I have to move guys to another job temporarily, Stev will make do with who he’s got and change direction if he has to. He’s a team player all the way through.”

Look for more from Steve as our renovation progresses!

“Powering” through adversity

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The storms that blew through southern New Jersey this week left a lot of the area without electric, and Pine Island was no exception. But our Facilities/Equipment team came through for everyone!

Facilities/Equipment Manager Louis Cantafio says, “When the power went out Tuesday night, we figured it’d be back up sooner rather than later, so we spent Wednesday working on things we could do without electric. By the end of the day, though, we realized we were in it for the long haul; estimates were for power being restored as late as Saturday. So Bill [Haines] called me on his way home and said, we need to put together a plan and make sure everyone has water.” Bill told Louis to assume he’d have whatever resources he needed and to let him know if there were any roadblocks, and the team was off and running.

“The biggest challenge was getting enough generators,” Louis says. “I hit five places and found ten generators. I’d back up, unload, and the guys started unpacking, putting in oil and fuel, staging them at the locations we’d identified along with additional fuel cans, and Mike [Guest] and Emmanuel [Colon] would follow shortly afterward to make sure the wells got powered. It was amazing.” Facilities Supervisor Mike Guest agrees: “This was definitely a team effort, no question. Louis did a great job finding everything we needed, then the shop got them up and running…it couldn’t have been done and done that fast without excellent communication.”

“We did good!” says Equipment Supervisor Carlos Baez. “The generators would arrive, Fred [Henschel] and I started building them, and then Ernie and I started to deliver them while Fred and Coco [Mercado] started filling 5 gallon cans and set them up with every generator. You can do without a lot and keep going, but you can’t do it without water.” Fred adds, “It was a production! But now we’re going to disassemble everything, label it, and then store it in a secured area and add them to the maintenance plan, so we’re ready if it ever happens again.”

For his part, CEO Bill Haines is impressed. “Everyone did a hell of a job,” he says.

Last but not least, of course, some of our intrepid office staff made the rounds Thursday in a Gator, bringing water to everyone who was out working so hard!

So a huge thank you to our Facilities and Equipment team members Louis Cantafio, Mike Guest, Emmanuel Colon, Carlos Baez, Ernie Waskiewicz, Coco Mercado, and Fred Henschel; to our office team members Debra Signorelli and Stacey DeLaurentis, for keeping our hard-working team hydrated; to Matt Giberson and PIICM Manager Cristina Tassone, for keeping the planes moving; and to our neighbors at Lee Brothers, for allowing us to use their wells to fill our own tanks. Our team is second to none in the industry, and that is in no small part due to their willingness to do whatever it takes for both our land and our people.

Cranberry Twilight Meeting 2015

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This week, some Pine Island team members attended the Cranberry Growers Twilight Meeting, run by Ray Samulis, the Burlington County agent for the Rutgers University Agricultural Extension Service. In contrast to the American Cranberry Grower Association’s Winter Meeting, the focus here is less research-oriented and uses a more hands-on approach to addressing timely topics of importance to cranberry growers.

This was new Bog Renovation Manager Steve Manning’s first twilight meeting, and he found it especially useful for “putting names to faces. It’s good to meet everybody and get to know the other growers face-to-face,” he says.

Supervisor Matt Giberson also attended: “We work with Peter and Cesar and everyone [from Rutgers] all the time, but it’s good to be able to sit down with other growers and find out if they’re having some of the same problems with pests, or fairy ring, or whatever else,” he says. “It helps us troubleshoot our own applications.”

Being able to chat with other growers is a consistent theme among attendees. PIICM Manager Cristina Tassone says, “The best part of any meeting with all the growers is the chance to sit down and talk to everyone about what they’re seeing on their own operations. I’m always able to learn something.”

Last but definitely not least, it was wonderful to get a closer look at Integrity Propagation, the fine operation run by Abbott Lee. Abbott, Barbara, and Maryann were fantastic hosts, making everyone feel welcome and serving a delicious meal on the site of the best nursery in the state. We’re grateful to have such welcoming neighbors, and as always, it was a pleasure to see them!

June tasks

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This week, work continues on bog renovation, the bees have arrived and are working hard, and sunny days and warmer weather have brought bloom to the bogs at last!

But we have even more exciting news over at our forestry site, and we look forward to even bigger news in about a month!