Equipment – Spring 2017

Posted on March 24, 2017 by stef

A coyple of weeks ago we outlined Pine Island’s spring targets. This week, we spoke with some members of the equipment team for a little more detail on their particular projects!

“We have the sand screener in this week for preventative maintenance,” says team member Coco Mercado. “We’re checking the bearings and greasing everything, putting in a new screen in because there were holes in the old one…we’re fixing anything major so in the field they don’t have problems with it.” This is important, because the sand we use for this project needs to be as pure as possible in order to prevent soil compaction (which can restrict water and limit growth) so we screen it before using it on the barge to take out any clay, stones, or other debris which could cause problems. “Since they got a little ahead with the screening, now’s the perfect time to bring it in,” Coco says. “If we work on it now, when they need it again they don’t have to wait, they can just get moving. We’re just waiting for a few parts to come in and it’ll be back out there!”

Other ongoing shop projects include a revamp of the debris trucks that we use in conjunction with our bog side cleaners.

“We had some issues during the last harvest season because the trucks were getting a little top heavy,” says team member Fred Henschel. “We’re going to knock a foot off to help with that. I’m cutting the original ones apart and making them more like the newer ones with the exposed sides and and painting them all to match. Very similar to the original trucks, but a foot shorter in hopes of them being easier to control; there was so much weight hanging off the back that it grew really difficult for the drivers to steer once the trucks filled up. We’re modifying a couple other little things such as changing the way doors are hinged so if something gets stuck, it’ll be easier to access. Whatever we can do to make it easier, better. And in addition to fixing the original four, we’re building three more brand new ones!”

The next phase in our automation program is also underway just in time for the upcoming frost season! Pump automation has been a boon to our operation. Field data is sent wirelessly to a master controller, which continuously communicates with the network of devices, sending commands to turn on engines and pumps when needed. It gives our team a lot more control: the computer actually handles a lot of the start-up and shut-down process, which is what usually takes up a big chunk of the time an operator is out there running water, either during frost or heat. It also helps us reduce our fuel cost and wear and tear on vehicles as well as protecting that most crucial resource for a cranberry operation: water!

Blog anniversary 2017

Posted on March 17, 2017 by stef

Five years ago this week, we launched the Pine Island Cranberry website! While the harvest updates have been by far the most popular (to no one’s surprise!), we are periodically amazed by how many people enjoy the little snapshots of our year, and are always touched by those of you who take the time to tell us so. We are, as always, glad to share with so many people the things we do, how and why we do them, and how much we love it.

Longtime readers of the website are very familiar with Pine Island’s core values, particularly our dedication to continuous improvement: doing everything we do better every day. Among the things we’ve focused on in the past year include working on the next phase of our automation program, improving upon our harvest equipment, working with field experts on our plant nutrition program, and, of course, our ongoing bog renovation! Our team is also exploring new ways to combat the issue of swans in our established beds.

We even added a couple of new features to the blog! A couple of new occasional features we’ve added cover some of the Haines family history as well as a quick look at some of Pine Island’s favorite vendors. We’re proud of our history and our community, and are glad to work with some wonderful companies that have similar goals.

We also did a couple of fun posts around the holidays that will probably become a regular yearly feature: if you missed them, check out what some Pine Island team members were thankful for this year as well as what they wanted for Christmas! (We’re still working on that pink Hydrema.)

And, of course, harvest has both its challenges and triumphs this year, culminating in our second biggest crop ever, and third biggest in terms of barrels per acre! While we remain unavailable for public tours, we did enjoy visits from the agriculture community, as both Ocean Spray and NJ Young Farmers & Ranchers stopped by. We also received some news coverage from Action News, as well as some delicious recipes after a visit from The Rachael Ray Show!

It’s been an enormous pleasure to tell you our story for the past five years, and we are looking forward to another year of achieving our targets, growing our crop, and remaining part of a fantastic ag community! Thank you for following along, and we’ll see you again next week!

Spring Targets – 2017

Posted on March 10, 2017 by stef

The weather today is perfect for a blog update on our targets for this spring!

. . . Well, it’s giving us something to look forward to, anyway. Our team is currently finishing up their winter tasks and preparing for the growing season, and so far, things are going well.

“We’ve already taken the water off the beds that are in either their first or second growing season,” says CEO Bill Haines. “We’ve also made good progress this winter on renovation thanks to mild weather, and are hoping to be ahead of schedule so we can begin work on the new renovation project. Sanding is on track; we’ll finish within a week, then start taking water off the established beds as well as start getting irrigation set up and removing swan strings. We’re going to continue to get the dams ready for use of the semis.”

As always, fruit rot is an ongoing concern. “Mike and his team are thinking hard and talking with the scientists at Rutgers and Ocean Spray to see what we can do to better control rot,” Bill says. “We’ve had increased rot for past couple years while standards from the market are higher and higher, so that’s important for us to work on. We’re also looking into improving our equipment; we want to prevent rot altogether, but with either additional equipment or improved equipment we can also try removing rot before delivering to Ocean Spray.” And, of course, our renovation program is expected to assist with this. “We have an entirely new system that we upgraded last year; we’re trying a different layout as well as different sprinkler heads to see if we can improve coverage. We’re also going to work on modifying one of our buggies as a prototype for doing ground coverage as part of rot control.”

“Mainly I’ve been doing a lot of prepwork,” says ICM manager Mike Haines. “Once it gets busier I’d rather not make decisions on the fly; it’s much to have stuff planned out beforehand. So I’ve been spending time with Peter [Oudemans], Dan [Schiffhauer] and Cesar [Rodriguez-Saona] as well as emailing with Joan [Davenport]. We’re mainly thinking about early season applications and putting micronutrients on, specifically copper and zinc. We’re also planning our roughneck fertilizer, which is our first application after micronutrients, basing our decisions on tissue samples, and last year’s yield. For example, everything that got sanded won’t get nitrogen; that sand layer of sand helps decomposition, which in turn increases nitrogen. One interesting thing, looking at tissue samples at Sim Place: the nitrogen levels are higher there, so we’re not making any applications during the roughneck stage. What’s neat about is that we know that the soil is different than at the home farm–it’s much sandier at the home farm–but it’s pretty cool to see that actually reflected in the numbers.”

He’s also working a plan to “culturally” attack the fruit rot issue. “This year we’re gong back to pruning some beds. The hope is that opening up the canopy will lead to a drier canopy and less fruit rot,” Mike says. “We haven’t done it in a few years, though other growers have, so we’re going back to it to see what we can find out.” Other things Mike’s team is working on: Tim Bourgeois is working on getting bees, as well as making sure we’re compliant on safety regulations; Matt Stiles is already working on young beds, replacing some plants that popped out during winter flood; Vanessa DeJesus is going through ICM supplies and making sure we have everything we needed before we kick into high gear.

And, of course, our team is doing the usual ongoing equipment maintenance as well as designing some improvements. “We experimented last year with the dry fertilizer applications on the new buggy,” says COO Bryan vonHahmann. “We learned a lot from that; we discovered it was under-powered, as well as having a few other small issues, so we’re remedying that. We’re also going to be experimenting with using it for liquid applications; it may not be the final unit that we use, but it’s going to teach us a lot. Mike’s working on the criteria for this; we’ll pick one or two systems that will use it exclusively for the entire season and see how we do.” We’re also moving ahead with the next stage of pump automation as well as thinking ahead to harvest. “There are quite a few things we need to do there,” Bryan says. “We’re going to build two more blower tractors, and we’re getting a third bog side cleaner. We’re also going to have some folks come in and talk to us about how to tweak our machinery at the loading platform to try and eliminate rot before sending fruit up to Chatsworth.”

That’s quite a list, but our team, as always, is prepared to work hard and do everything we do better every day!

Pest control: birds

Posted on March 3, 2017 by stef

Recently our team has begun looking into some new tech to solve an old problem: swans. Tundra swans migrate to the area every year from Alaska and northwestern Canada and are particularly fond of red root, a weed that competes with cranberry vines for nutrients. When they fly in to feed, they not only tear out the red root, they also tear out vines and leave enormous holes that damage the beds themselves.

Since the swans are a protected species, growers have had to come up with a solution to keep them away from the crop. At Pine Island our PIICM team has been installing swan string for several years. The strings help keep the swans out of the bog by limiting the space available. “Swans are like a commercial airliner,” CEO Bill Haines says. “Having the strings up disrupts their attempt to both land and take off again.” Not all of the bogs are strung; our team maps them out where we have found red root and where the swans have been spotted. Just three acres of swan damage can give us a loss of 200 barrels per acre, or even more, depending on the variety. That takes three years to come back.

Pine Island spends a lot of money and time putting up string every year, and we wanted to find a better solution. “The main issue is getting rid of red root, and renovation helps with that, but that’s not the fastest solution,” says Matt Giberson. So they began to do some research. “We found a laser by Agrilaser that we thought might work, so we contacted them to see if we could demo a unit and they said yes.”

Once it arrived, Louis and Mike helped with the set-up, with Louis working on the power sourcing and Mike working on a plywood stand for the truck. “It’s all set up so we can just put it in the back of a truck and go,” Matt says. “Our first run was Tuesday around 10 A.M. and didn’t see any effect, so I went back to Red Road at dusk.” There weren’t any swans out there, but plenty of geese, and conditions were perfect. “I was surprised how far it goes; from Red Road I could hit the tree line at Ben Haines. I moved it all the way across the reservoir within 100 yards of the geese and they ll took off.” Matt then planned a follow-up evening out at Sim Place, but is feeling pretty confident. “If we can keep them out at night time, this thing could really save us a lot of time that we spend every year setting up and taking down string.”

There are still several tests to run, but so far things are looking great; if all goes well, our swan issue should be greatly reduced!

Bon voyage, Rick!

Posted on December 30, 2016 by stef

After forty-two years at Pine Island Cranberry, Rick Zapata is taking a well-earned retirement!

During his time here, Rick has done a little bit of everything, and he’s always done it well. He started out as a seasonal employee but quickly moved up to full-time, and he’s been crucial to our operation ever since. “Rick’s like the utility player of the farm,” says Manager of Operations Matt Giberson. “There’s nothing he can’t do, and he always does a good job with whatever it is. After 42 years on the farm, you just pick up everything.” Ever since Matt came on board, he’s made sure to seek out advice from Rick, as well. “I always make it a point to go to Rick, and the other guys who have been here forever, and ask them how they would go about things, because they’ve done it all . . .and it’s always good to have those guys to back you up!”

Rick was a long-time picking crew leader and our very first operator trained on the Gates Harrow. He’s always embraced new technology, right down to wearing a GoPro to demonstrate how the new machinery worked.

GoPro Gates Harrow from Pine Island Cranberry on Vimeo.

“I’ve worked with Rick since we were both about 18 or 19 years old,” says CEO Bill Haines. “He’s always been an important member of the Pine Island team: he’s smart, he’s reliable, he’s an excellent operator. He was a key part of the blueberry operation when we were in the blueberry business. He’s a guy you can plug in anywhere and he would get the job done, and we’re going to miss him.”

Thanks, Rick, for everything you’ve done for us. We’re so glad you were here, and wish you the best for a happy, relaxing retirement!

Post harvest clean-up 2016

Posted on November 18, 2016 by stef

All of our harvest teams had a strong finish, and now we’re on to cleaning!

“Cleaning ditches, cleaning excess leaves from bogs, cleaning up everything from harvest. Grass, weeds, debris: all of it,” says COO Byran vonHahmann. “Then once that’s done, we’ll have a crew installing swan string.” Under the direction of Matt Giberson, our foremen are trying out some new equipment to help with some of debris cleanup.

“We’re trying out some new-to-us equipment that municipalities use for leaf and brush pick-up,” Bryan says. “When we harvest and gather off the same corner of the bog every year, all the leaves come to that corner and settle there. Those are hard to rake out of the vines, and then year after year they settle to the ground. Which means that eventually they’ll choke the vines out and kill them. With some bogs, especially the bigger ones, you end up with a lot and that space becomes significant. So the plan is to vacuum those areas right out. We tested it a couple of weeks ago and it worked really, really well to help us reclaim those corners and keep them healthy.”

At the same time, the crew is cleaning out the ditches inside the older bogs.

As far as our other post-harvest project, however: “There’s nothing new with swan string,” Bryan says. “We just have to get it done.”

Tundra swans are a tremendous annoyance to local growers due to their feeding habits. They are particularly fond of red root, a weed that competes with cranberry vines for nutrients. You might think that swans are a natural solution to the problem; unfortunately, when the swans fly in to feed, they not only tear out the red root, they also tear out vines and leave enormous holes that damage the beds themselves.

Since the swans are a protected species, growers have had to come up with a solution to keep them away from the crop. At Pine Island our team installs swan string. To start, the team places rebar in the ground along the longer sides of a bog, about every 75 feet. On the ends of the bog, the team walks it out and determines how many lines they’ll need to run lengthwise though the center.

Once the rods are laid out on the dam, a team of three to five people gets into the bog and walks the string across. Once the entire bog is strung, the team goes back in and puts up poles, which are used to keep the strings out of the water so that they don’t freeze. They’re placed in a checkered pattern, not necessarily on every line. The poles can either be cedar posts or recycled irrigation pipe. In addition to the recycling/environmental aspect, reusing the irrigation line is lighter and easier to handle.

The strings help keep the swans out of the bog by limiting the space available. “Swans are like a commercial airliner,” CEO Bill Haines says. “Having the strings up disrupts their attempt to both land and take off again.” Not all of the bogs are strung; our team maps them out where we have found red root and where the swans have been spotted.

Once all of this is done, our team will be ready for our next targets: sanding and the winter flood!

Harvest’s end – 2016

Posted on November 11, 2016 by stef

Harvest finished this week with a bang at Pine Island Cranberry, and we are all proud at what we’ve been able to accomplish this year: 32.6 million pounds of cranberries, with 1,278 acres harvested at an average of 255 barrels per acre!

“We started slow because we were chasing the color,” says manager Matt Giberson, “but by the end, we had all three teams going seven days a week and we brought in a lot of fruit. On our final three days we were sending over 1.5 million pounds of clean fruit per day to the receiving station, which is a record.” He says the three harvest teams did an incredible job. “It was a safe harvest, too; nobody got hurt. And Matt Stiles did great for his first year as a harvest team leader. His crew started the earliest, and it’s tough to be the guys who are going from early September all the way to the end when the berries just keep coming at you. Long hours, lack of sleep; it all gets to you after a while. But he did a fantastic job.”

CFO Joann Martin agrees: “24 bogs set records this year! Nadine #3 produced 523 barrels per acre this year, which is amazing.” She also credits the team for this year’s numbers as well as their meticulous attention to detail. “Mike [Guest] always does a great job with tracking the numbers at the packing house, and this year with the two bog side cleaners things are a little different. This was Vanessa’s second year working on the new equipment, and she did a phenomenal job keeping everything straight. Running the trucks out there isn’t always the easiest job but her attention to detail made all the difference.”

COO Bryan vonHahmann is already looking ahead: “Now that we have the yield results as well as the less fun numbers for things like rot and debris, we can start to build our analysis. We’ll look at what we did bed by bed, comparing it to our application records: what we applied, when, how much. We’ll also look at other activities like weeding, bees, and pollination, then try to determine improvements. For example, if we had one bed that was good but the one immediately next to it was weak, why? How do we improve the weaker bed? It’s a question of taking the large amount of data we have and turning it into something we can manage from, then systematically applying what we’ve learned on bog-by-bog basis.”

“Obviously we were really happy with the crop,” says CEO Bill Haines. “It was our second biggest crop ever, and third biggest in terms of barrels per acre, so I was really pleased with that. We’re pleased that our strategy of accelerating the renovation of our bogs is working; I think that’s the biggest impact we’ve had. The team worked really hard this year as always, and I’m really proud of the job that they did. And they deserve all of the credit for this crop. We have stuff to work on, and we have to continue to renovate; we had problems with quality and we’re not sure why. It’s probably weather related, but we’re going to work this winter to have a plan to improve on that. But the team did a great job.”

*Photos courtesy Nadine Haines.

Harvest challenges

Posted on October 7, 2016 by stef

Water was a big concern going into the autumn this year, as we hadn’t had any rain and were running the wells off and on every day. But our team remained optimistic, and in fact, the weather ended up cooperating for a bit!

“It’s been a very challenging year for water,” says CEO Bill Haines. “We had a very dry August and not much rain in July either. We were short on water and running wells constantly when the season started. Fortunately, we got four inches of rain on the first day of harvest, so that’s given us some relief, but we still don’t have a lot. So we’ve had to be very inventive about how we get the water, but conservative in its use. And because we’ve been waiting on color and the color’s been slow coming, we’ve had to be flexible about which bogs to start picking. Often they’re not the most logical place/sequence for flooding, so we had to get creative by moving water mechanically instead of by gravity, and just using our imagination to get stuff done. Jeremy [Fenstermaker], Matt [Giberson] and Gerardo [Ortiz] have all done a good job with it. They’ve been flexible and willing to try new stuff. So far it’s worked.”

Some varieties color earlier than others, and that is a factor we consider when planning our picking strategy. Ocean Spray likes a consistent color, so we will take samples to the receiving station to check the TAcy number (an acronym for “total anthocyanin concentration” and is a unit of color measurement used in a cranberry) before harvesting. Unfortunately, we haven’t really been getting cooler evenings until recently, but things are finally cooling down and the past couple nights have helped a lot with color.

“With the TAcy considerations, we don’t want to go into high production beds and have low TAcy,” says Matt Giberson. “We’d rather go into the Early Black beds and get those out of the way first. We also worry about rot; we don’t want fruit to get bad, so we have to get it out of there. We’re taking our time with the later varieties until we get the required color level. Cooler days and the cloudiness last week were pretty good for the fruit. We could use another one to two inches of rain, but we’re better off than we were a month ago.”

“In past years, we’ve been done by November 7th,” Matt says, “which means we have about one month left now with over 900 acres left to go. But we’re about to kick things into high gear, acreage-wise. Today we started all three crews at once for the first time this season, and once we get that color where we want it, we’re going to really start rolling!”

Harvest prep 2016: Part 2

Posted on September 9, 2016 by stef

When we talked about pre-harvest prep a couple of weeks ago, COO Bryan vonHahmann discussed how everything now becomes more critical as we enter the pre-harvest interval, in particular the final fertilizer application that helps the plants through the winter.

Team members Tim Bourgeois and Juan Carlos Gonzalez-Perez started those applications this week, and it’s going well. “This type is usually applied via fertigation,” Tim says. Fertigation, a process where plant nutrients are applied through irrigation systems, has many benefits, such as increased nutrient absorption by plants and reduced water consumption due to the plant’s increased root mass’s ability to trap and hold water. “We’re taking the truck around from pump to pump, starting each system, looking for any leaks. We’ll fix any, if we find them, then repair any clogged sprinkler nozzles before we start so each area gets the coverage it should.” Typically, a bog should be done two to three weeks prior to harvest, so Tim and Juan Carlos are mirroring the harvest schedule order as they start the applications. Weather can also be a concern: “The wind will blow falling water away from where it needs to be,” Tim says. “If the breeze is under 7 to 8 mph we’re in good shape; otherwise it’ll go on top of the dam, which is a waste. Yesterday we could go till noon, but the day before we had to quit by 9:30 because the wind was picking up.”

The rest of our team is working hard to get the farm ready, as well. “We’ve been mowing like crazy,” says Matt Giberson. “We’re running six mowers, including two on loan from Rutgers. It was really generous of them to do that, and it means we’ve been able to cover a lot more ground.” Mowing is necessary to finish prior to harvest because the grass can get really thick on the edge of the dam, which makes it harder to get the berries out.

In addition to all of the grounds maintenance, the second bog side cleaner arrives today. “We have to unload that and put everything together, which can get a little involved,” Matt says, “and then we need to get it ready for a practice run on Wednesday or Thursday to make sure it’s good to go.” For the practice run, the team will be at the young beds at Old 11. “It’s a second year bed, so there’s not much fruit,” Matt explains. “We’re not expecting great fruit from that, because it’s not really ready, which makes it ideal for a trial equipment run.” Additional ongoing maintenance includes clearing the weeds, especially by the pump houses, crowning dams, and working on the wider turnarounds. “Now that we have a second bog side cleaner, we’re going to need more room, so Steve [Manning] is out there with a crew widening the dams at Red Road and Bishop’s Mill as well as the top of the property at Rancocas, including gate extensions to make sure we can make the turn with no problems. It’ll help with sanding in the wintertime, too.”

Water is a big concern going into the autumn. “We haven’t had any rain,” Matt says. “We’ve been running the wells off and on every day, and with the irrigation you lose some on the reservoirs. The home farm is okay, though we’re hoping for a good rain. Sim Place is lower because that big reservoir is so huge it takes a while to fill up. And the weather between here and there can vary a lot; we can get a shower on the home farm while Sim Place doesn’t get anything. All the boards have been in for weeks, but haven’t taken any out so we can maintain everything. We’re trying to save water where we can, but we’d love to see a good rain before we start, especially at Sim Place.” So far, though, he’s optimistic: “The fruit’s looking good! Some of the numbers I’m seeing look good, and I can’t wait to see how a few of our newer bogs do this year.”

Another year!

Posted on March 18, 2016 by stef

This week, Pine Island Cranberry celebrates the fourth anniversary of our website launch! It’s been another busy year, and our team has definitely been taking our core values to heart!

Whatever It Takes
We do what we have to do when it’s time to do it. We say what we have to say when it’s time to say it.

The best example from the past six months is probably how our team dealt with the extended power outage this past summer, as well as dealing with the massive January blizzard!

Continuous Improvement
We do everything we do better every day.

The best examples of this are the most recent: team member Matt Stiles’ creation of periodic lunchtime learning seassions, where team members get together to brainstorm on various topics, and our work with local members of the NJ Fire Service to learn more about control burning.

Protect the Environment
We care for the place we live, work, and grow.

This past year also saw the launch of our forestry website, which so far has mainly been used to chronicle the adventures of our translocated bobwhite quail. Look forward to updates soon with this ongoing collaboration with New Jersey Audubon!

Continuous Growth
We grow more acres and more fruit per acre.

Once again, our crop management team welcomed experts such as Dr. Joan Davenport to help us achieve our mission and our vision. Our team also shipped equipment to our affiliate operation in Chile, which in turn will help them increase their efficiency in reaching their targets. We also continued an ambitious bog renovation plan that now includes trying the new Haines variety from Rutgers.

We are Growers
We grow stuff. . .It’s what we do and who we are.

We also have not forgotten that first and foremost, we grow cranberries. Our team spent time with other growers at various meetings, as well as celebrating 125 years and five generations, still “growing” strong!

Provide Opportunity
We provide opportunities for people who have the drive to learn, develop skills, and achieve a better future.

Last but not least, this past year also saw us expanding our internship program as well as welcoming some fantastic new team members on board.

It’s been a great year for us at Pine Island Cranberry, and we hope you continue to enjoy following our operation as much as we do living it!

Pine Island Cranberry Co., Inc.

Haines & Haines, Inc.

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