Category Archives: General

Gate installation

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Renovation on some of the bogs in the Black Rock system is going well! Last week we spoke briefly again about Pine Island’s #1 question: “where is the water coming from, and where do we want it to go?” This week, our team addressed that question by starting the removal of wooden floodgates and replacing them with our newer PVC gate design.

Longtime team member Wilfredo Pagan (35 years!) is in charge of this operation, which is going very smoothly considering the unexpected weather. “Pipe gates are better,” he says. “They’re easier to install, and they last longer, too.” First, though, he has to set up the laser level in order to make sure the gate is set up correctly. The team will be able to put the new gate in at the same depth as the old one. This is where they have to be careful; if it’s not even the two parts of the new gate can shift over time since they’re not one solid piece of pipe. “Once you put them together, the only thing holding them is dirt and pressure,” Wilfredo says. “If you have a situation where the canal is deeper than the ditch, you have to measure at the top of the dam and set it so the uprights are level with it. If the canal is lower than bog and you don’t adjust for it, it can wash out underneath.”

In the meantime, Junior Colon has been on the excavator making sure the water’s been blocked off in both the canal and the ditches. “Once that’s blocked off, we can start digging,” he says.

After the water is stopped, it’s time to start digging up the dam. “We go right down to the top of the boards on the old gate,” says Junior, “and then we have to continue to dig behind it to get the turf out and make sure the water’s all gone.”

Once the excavator clears out the dirt around the old gate, it’s time to lift each side one at a time to put the chains on for easier lifting.

The old gate then gets lifted onto a waiting tractor and hauled away.

Once the new gate is installed, the team will fill the dirt back and then haul in turf to patch the sides before crowning the dam and moving on to the next gate!

Turf renovation

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Winter is here, and our team is staying on task: the water is on, sanding has begun, and bog renovation continues!

CEO Bill Haines said earlier this year: “We’ve known that the Early Blacks are our weakest variety and eventually need to be entirely replaced, and decided to become more aggressive about it. By 2022, we’ve targeted 769 acres of Early Blacks to be replaced with hybrid varieties.” He also pointed out some results already taking place at Panama, finished in 2012. “We’ve already had a lot of great fruit after only two growing seasons,” he said. And Panama #6 had a record crop this year.

One of the more involved renovation projects this year is at Turf bog, across the street from our main office. First, we built a new end dam roadside in order to keep water from creeping near the road at harvest time. Our team has also removed a center dam, are moving gates, and will be relocating a pump house, all in order to improve our water management. Remember, the key to this business is where the water is coming from, and where we want it to go! And since the team is there digging already, they’re taking advantage of the opportunity to remove the main line in preparation for upgrading the irrigation system.

GM Fred Torres says: “Bryan [COO Bryan vonHahmann] sat down and calculated how much of the center dam we needed to take out to make the bogs at Turf one bog, and now we’re using that to build the base for the pump house. Relocating the pump house is going to improve efficiency a lot. Building it this way also has the advantage of killing two birds with one stone: since we decided to get rid of the dam in the middle, we can reuse it elsewhere and save ourselves some hauling time.” We are also able to use some of it at the Black Rock renovation, where we will also be enlarging the pump house bases. “The pump houses are going to be be replaced, with new fuel tanks on the outside,” Fred says. “”So they’re going to need more support.”

Another time-saver has been the addition of two more Hydremas: “They are going where other dump trucks can’t, as well as doing it twice as fast,” says Bryan. The Hydremas can carry twice as much, which means our already highly skilled drivers (Rick Zapata, Blondie Cruz-Rodriguez, and Caesar Colon) can get the job done in short order!

When it’s ready for planting, we’ll be using Mullica Queen again, which is one of the new Rutgers varieties (a later variety that gets picked toward the end of the season) and has a very high yield potential. But we’ll be checking back on how the team is progressing before then!

Rick Zapata

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The Saturday after Christmas, another team member hit a huge milestone; Rick Zapata has now been working full-time with Pine Island Cranberry for forty years! During his time here, Rick has done a little bit of everything, and he’s always done it well.

“He was here for seasonal work at first,” says GM Fred Torres, who is also Rick’s brother-in-law. “I saw him when we were both down in Puerto Rico; I stayed longer than I was supposed to, and when I came back, Rick was here full-time and he’s been here ever since!” CEO Bill Haines has also worked with Rick since they were both teenagers: “Our first job together was spraying for dodder. He’s always been a bright guy; he’s very smart, very dedicated, and he always tries to do the job right, no matter what it is.” Both Bill and Fred also had high praise for his work during blueberry season back when Pine Island harvested those, as well. “He was our key guy in the field, in terms of managing the folks doing the harvesting,” Bill says.

Rick Zapata

“When you give him a job, he’s going to figure out the best way to do it,” Fred says. An excellent operator, Rick knows how to run every piece of equipment on the place, and what he doesn’t know, he’ll learn. “He’s always thinking,” Bill says. “And he’s never afraid to ask ‘why?'” When you challenge Rick, he will rise to the challenge. He also won’t shy away from new technology: when we started to run the new Gates Harrow, Rick quickly became the primary driver and was excited to wear the GoPro to show how the machine worked:

GoPro Gates Harrow from Pine Island Cranberry on Vimeo.

“He’s a pretty quiet guy, Rick is,” Fred says. “But he’s proud of his work; he’s proud of the farm and loves what he does. He’ll go home and tell his wife everything that goes on, how new equipment works, all of it.” And that goes both ways: “He’s a great employee, and we’re proud to have him,” Bill says. “I can’t believe it’s been forty years.”

Thanks, Rick, for everything you have done and for everything you continue to do. We say it a lot around here, but Rick genuinely embodies our core values of doing whatever it takes to help make this place better every day, and we’re glad he’s here!

Improving equipment

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Last month, we talked with Assistant Manager Mike Haines about drainage repair and the opportunities it gave us for collaboration with our fellow growers. “The cranberry community isn’t so huge that businesses will make equipment especially marketed to us,” Mike said at the time. “A lot of what we do is done by working together to improve what we have.”

While we’d been borrowing the current set-up from fellow grower (and fantastic neighbor) Bill Cutts, our equipment team started working on building one of our own, making improvements based on team recommendations. This week, equipment team member Fred Henschel is nearly finished!

“This machine does everything,” Fred says. “It holds the rolls of 2-inch underdrain, it works with either a skid steer or a tractor with a three-point hitch…it’s been designed to fit just about everything we have on the property. Whatever is available.” He also designed it with some flexibility in mind. “It was designed based on input from the guys who will be using it, but if for some reason they really don’t like it, the entire center implement can be unbolted and I can place it on a different frame. It’s a prototype; nothing like this had been built before, as far as I know, so I can remake it until everyone’s happy with it.”

The entire machine was designed to be as efficient as possible. Fred looked at how the machine was cutting vines and decided he wanted as sharp an angle as he could get so it wouldn’t push the vines out as far; at that point, the roller would be able to pack the dirt right back down again. Having the spools right on the machine should also increase the speed. “What they can do is tow the trailer with all the rolls, put two on the machine, and keep going. Probably be able to go at three or four times the speed.” He’s also made some modifications for tools. “The basket here is for their tape and their knives, in case they need to add more pipe. This way they can take care of it right there and keep going.” As for changing out the rolls, he attached spinner handles for everything so nothing needs a tool to unfasten.

While the water is on the bogs for the winter, our equipment team is looking forward to seeing how the new machine works in the spring; we’ll be checking back then!

Learning through experience

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One of the late Bill Sr.’s favorite maxims about just about everything involving cranberries was, “Where is the water coming from, and where do you want it to go?” That can be one of the most challenging things to pick up when you are learning about Pine Island’s irrigation system. GM Fred Torres tells newer team members all the time: “You’re not going to learn how to do this overnight.” In practice, this means constant awareness and monitoring of where the water is coming from, where it is going, and how much stream is coming down.

Assistant Manager Mike Haines is beginning to learn all about this. “Jeremy [Fenstermaker] has been showing me the different ways you can direct the water,” Mike says. “There’s no one right way; there’s just figuring out the optimal way to get them flooded quickly so they’re not damaged by the cold.” Under normal conditions, the temperature steadily drops post-harvest; it is important to wait until the vines go dormant before starting to put the water on. Once they freeze and aren’t covered with water, the roots can become exposed, and we need to cover them as fast as possible.

Flooding starts by letting in streams from the reservoirs to canals and bogs. Strategic board placement (more boards in the southernmost bogs to catch the water) will get the ditches high and running down to start flooding from the bottom up. As the water level in the bogs begins to rise, our team begins adjusting the water level in the bogs by adding boards where they are needed. Once the vines are covered and the stream has settled, we adjust the level of the reservoirs to maintain the stream and keep the bogs flooded for the winter. Wells are shut down once bogs are flooded, and only turned on again if it is dry and reservoir levels are dropping.

“I worked very closely with Gerard at the beginning of the year to learn about the water system overall,” says Mike, “but that was just the beginning. I learned about where it was coming from, but am still learning where and how each system is connected.” The flooding is just about done, but he’s also working closely with Jeremy on adjustments: “Now he’s tinkering here and there so that we have the flow we need all winter but aren’t wasting water, which also helps us work more efficiently. It’s a lot of problem solving and math, but I’m really beginning to understand.”

A fond farewell

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Sometimes, the best thing about maintaining our blog is being able to talk to all the fantastic people who make up one of the best teams in the business. We have an entry up every week, but in the end, those entries are just words: it’s really our team who tells our story. And this week, we bid farewell to one of our greatest characters with the retirement of Bog Renovations Manager Joe Colon.

At a surprise lunch (beautifully planned by our fantastic admin Debra Signorelli), CEO Bill Haines thanked Joe for his 43 years of hard work. “There’s no job here that Joe hasn’t done,” he said. “I remember working with him in the packing house as shed boys; getting hollered at by the lady running it, getting hollered at by my dad. He’s improved a lot as a driver since then! And in the late 80s, when Howard Sprague [a long-time contractor] stopped building bogs, Joe started working on renovations, and by 1992 he was in charge of the team. It became his show. So many bogs that started out as blueberry fields were transformed on his watch, and then in 2005 we bought Sim Place. Everyone here knows the work we’ve been doing there.” Bill then continued with some mind-boggling numbers: “Since 1992, Joe has built or renovated 528 acres of bogs, installed 130 miles of irrigation pipe, moved over a million cubic yards of dirt, and installed about 10,000 sprinklers. He’s also installed about 550 gates; in fact, the first year we had Sim Place, we installed 117 gates in one year. Pretty impressive. All of that work is the model for what we’re going to do next: better bogs and better varieties, setting us up for the future. Joe has had a heck of a lot to do with all of that.”

GM Fred Torres then made a presentation, giving Joe a watch from the entire team. Joe was also presented with a framed photo, taken at Panama #1, and two first-class round-trip tickets to Puerto Rico. There were some great stories, a few tears, and a heartfelt thank you from the guest of honor, whom we are all going to miss enormously. Thank you, Joe, for everything you’ve done for Pine Island Cranberry. Bill Sr. thought the world of you, and so do we.

Big numbers!

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This week, Pine Island Cranberry is thankful for our hard-working team, who made it 400 days accident-free! Last week, at our annual post-harvest lunch, CEO Bill Haines announced that to celebrate this milestone, our team would celebrate with a pizza lunch the day before Thanksgiving, and finish our day at noon.

Safety requires constant effort, says Facilities/Equipment Manager Louis Cantafio, who is tasked with making sure our facilities are maintained with the proper safety equipment. “You don’t just decide one day to do it and that’s that; it’s a weekly, daily, hourly effort. The guys have to look out for each other. You can’t guarantee there won’t be an accident, but the next best thing is to set up the facilities to have what we need. Our team is not readily replaceable, so we need to keep them safe and keep them healthy, and I think we’re doing a pretty good job.”

GM Fred Torres thinks so, as well. “400 days is a long time if you think about it. As many things as we do here, as many pieces of equipment and as many moving parts, that’s pretty impressive. I think it’s quite an accomplishment.”

“We’re here today because we made 400 days without an accident and that’s something to celebrate,” Bill said when addressing the team today. “One of our core values is opportunity, and part of that opportunity is paying attention to what we’re doing; using the equipment we have and looking out for each other. There’s no point to this if we’re not careful. It’s no good bringing in 316,000 barrels if we get hurt. We’re starting over now, but our new goal is 500 days; to hit 500, and then keep going. Enjoy the holiday: we have a lot to be grateful for. We got a lot of work done in November, and we’re out there working on the future right now. It’s only the beginning. I’m grateful to have the opportunity, and grateful to work with you guys. Thank you for everything…and take care of each other.”

Until next year!

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Work on the renovation continues, but our team took a break in the middle of the week to celebrate a successful harvest and bid farewell to our seasonal team members until next year. The harvest lunch is always a good time, and this year CEO Bill Haines was especially pleased. “We learned a lot this year. We tried new tech and brought in the second biggest crop we’ve ever had: 316,000 barrels. And when you add up our working days, we did it on only 32 days. No one else can do that anywhere. And we also saw what the future looks like. Panama #6, our best renovated bed, is only four years old and had 493 barrels per acre. When you’re looking at the bogs we’re renovating now, you’re looking at our future. And our future is a great one, because we’re getting better at everything we do.”

He also had high praise for our team members in general. “Some of you leaving this week have been here since March, helping out with frost and everything else. You all did a great job with the harvest; you come back year after year to do whatever it takes, and we’re looking forward to seeing you next year. It’s been great to have you. And for our regular team: you all did a great job as well. Now we get to spend our winter building new bogs so we’re ready when these guys come back. We all learned how to do new things, and we’re going to keep doing that, because I know you’re up to it. I’m proud of our team: we have the best team in the industry, hands down, and it’s only the beginning.”

GM Fred Torres also had nothing but good things to say: “We really appreciate the help. Sometimes we ask these guys to come up last minute; we do try to give advance notice, but sometimes we need someone now, and they always show up. There are long hours during harvest, but we get through it and we appreciate their hard work and their time here. And we got a lot of work done after harvest in a very short time this fall, and we’re especially grateful for that.”

All three harvest team leaders, when asked about their crews, immediately answered that theirs was “the best”. Orange Team supervisor Gerardo Ortiz says: “They know what they have to do, and they do it. I trust them to do their job, and they trust me to be there if they need assistance.” Jeremy Fenstermaker agrees: “There is a strong element of trust, and these guys always have each other’s back. They’re hard workers.” Blue Team supervisor Matt Giberson: “We come together as a team, and we work hard as a team, and we do what needs to be done.” (And with Alberto Torres assigned to the Blue Team, Matt also thinks they have the edge on good food.)

With the help of such a fantastic team, Pine Island Cranberry continues to do everything we do better every day!

Drainage repair

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The harvest is in, and our winter projects have begun! This week, team members have started installing new underdrain in preparation for the winter flood. As we have discussed here before, drainage is a key element in Pine Island Cranberry’s water management program. In addition to having irrigation systems that reduce water usage, well-drained soil is necessary to keep a bog’s root system functional. Beds should be designed for adequate drainage, which is essential for good root development and aeration as well as prevention of conditions that can lead to the presence of Phytophthora, which causes fruit rot and root rot. Previous underdrain repairs have used 4-inch pipe, but thanks to grower-neighbor Bill Cutts, we are working with 2-inch pipe instead.

“Bill talked about this at the ACGA summer field day a little bit,” says Assistant Manager Mike Haines. “The smaller size should make it easier for repairs, and installing it isn’t nearly as hard on the vines, which is great.” However, there was a bit of prep to take care of first. “There were several patches with just weeds growing; rushes like swampy areas, Dad says. If you see rushes growing in a bog, it’s too wet for berries. So Kelvin had a crew out here hoeing all the weeds, and then they added sand to make the spots level with rest of bog. One reason for standing water could be that the bog’s out of level, acting like a bowl, and the water just collects. So taking out those weeds and leveling things off might help.”

Our team worked a little with Bill over the summer to try things out, but this is the first big project installing the new underdrain. “According to Bill, this should all be filled in by the summer, and we wont even be able to see where we’ve added it,” says Mike. “We have the laser here so when Caesar is on the tractor he can make sure everything stays level. It’s been a learning experience, figuring out how deep it needs to go. The original underdrain is 16 inches below the surface, but the water can’t go that far and we end up with it standing on top. That’s why we’re redoing Panama 1 through 4, in fact. Every 13 feet 4 inches we’re putting in the new stuff; it’s better to err on the side of too much!”

It’s also an excellent opportunity to collaborate with fellow growers. “Bill said it’s been working well for him,” Mike says. “But he keeps checking back to see how we’ve been doing and if we’ve had any ideas for alterations or improvements.” Our team is constantly evaluating conditions and practices in ways that ensure both better decision making and optimal production. To that end, while we’ve been borrowing this tractor from Bill, the equipment team is working on building one of our own, making improvements based on team recommendations. “The cranberry community isn’t so huge that businesses will make equipment especially marketed to us,” Mike says. “A lot of what we do is done by working together to improve what we have.”