Safety is one of our ever-present goal at Pine Island Cranberry. We hold regular meetings to keep everyone updated and to issue any necessary equipment.

“Safety is first”, says Equipment/Facilities manager Louis Cantafio. “It’s our number one priority. In addition to having and using the necessary equipment, we always have to pay attention to what we’re doing. Out here, you’re working in a remote area, and it’s always a good thing to have another set of hands.” Our current safety target is to hit a full year without an incident, no matter how small. So when CEO Bill Haines noticed last week that we had hit 200 days (coincidentally, the same day our ICM team finished some safety certifications), he thought we should all celebrate…and the entire team gathered at the shop for some pizza!

“Safety is important for everything we do,” Bill said. “We spend a lot of time talking about our core values, but we’re not going to be the most efficient cranberry grower in the world if we don’t take care of ourselves as well as we take care of everything else on the farm. Beyond that, one of those core values is about giving people opportunity. Not just opportunity to grow and develop and be better, but also to be healthy so that they can actually enjoy what they do. It’s a worthwhile goal. And we’re here right now because everybody in this room has been paying attention, taking care of themselves, and taking care of each other.”

COO Bryan vonHahmann agrees: “In a rapid environment that challenges our team physically and mentally, we need to keep safety top of mind. We want our employees to return to their homes and families in the same condition that they came to the farm in. We truly value their safety and work hard to do the right thing.”