While he is only at Pine Island Cranberry for a short time this summer, valued Cranberries Austral Chile team member Javier Ruiz has truly made some fantastic contributions to our ICM program during his stay. “Several months ago, we discussed the idea of Javier spending time at Pine Island,” says COO Bryan vonHahmann. “During those discussions we quickly identified that an extended visit would benefit both operations.”

“I’ve been spending a lot of time on water management,” Javier says. “Irrigation here is a lot different than in Chile, but water is just as critical for us, if not more so. Here, I see water in the ditches every single day. At home, the soil is different. If we dig a hole here, we can find water very easily. In Chile during the summer, we have to dig pretty deep to find it. If we don’t have good water management, if we don’t have good frost control…we lose everything.”

In addition to irrigation, Javier has been working with PIICM manager Cristina Tassone and soil consultant Dr. Joan Davenport on soil tests and plant nutrition. “Now we have some data and are working on the percentage of water the soil can support,” Javier says. “And I’m training Eric [Gonzalez-Perez] how to do this in the future.”

He is also able to bring some knowledge back with him. “I’ve been doing a lot of fertilizer recommendations,” he says. “There are some things, though, that are done differently here. I’ve been taking a lot of notes and snapping a lot of pictures. If I can bring any of that knowledge back with me, it can help increase our efficiency [at CAC].” Supervisor Jeremy Fenstermaker agrees: “Javier’s a smart guy. A really smart guy. Some of the things we’ve been talking about here are things that he’s worked on at CAC, and he’s been teaching me a lot about how to deal with different situations. He’ll tell me what results he got, and then I can use that information to go forward.”

Javier’s stay with us has been all too brief. “It is hard to believe that he will be heading back to Chile in a week,” says Bryan. “Javier has a great understanding of cranberry production and a very positive attitude. It’s been a pleasure working with him, as well as watching both Pine Island and CAC share experiences and knowledge that will benefit both operations on their journey of continuous improvement.”