Panel Encourages More Machine Harvest for Fresh, with a Caveat

Increasing wages combined with downward pressure on blueberry pricing is putting a premium on machine harvesting for the fresh market, according to TJ Hafner, Research Coordinator for the Oregon Blueberry Commission.

“Growers have been doing more machine harvesting for fresh market to drive down harvest costs,” Hafner said during introductory remarks for a panel discussion on the topic at the 2023 Oregon Blueberry Conference. “It is important that as the Pacific Northwest continues to shift more towards machine harvesting for fresh that our reputation for delivering a great consumer experience doesn’t slip.”

From left, Caylan Gingerich of AgriCare, Anne Krahmer-Steinkamp of Berries Northwest and Steve Erickson of Pan American Blueberry Growers discuss the benefits and drawbacks of machine harvesting for fresh at the 2023 Oregon Blueberry Conference.

In general, growers lose about 10 to 15 percent with machine versus handpick with respect to reduced pack-out for the fresh market, said Caylan Gingerich, harvest coordinator for AgriCare, who was one of the three panelists.

“We are picking more clusters when we are picking with machines, so we lose quite a bit of weight doing that, and you have a lot more green fruit and 100 percent red fruit you have to kick out, as well,” she said.

But Gingerich encouraged growers to proceed with trying machine harvest.

“I know in our market we are faced with declining pricing,” she said. “It feels like every season we have a lot of obstacles, and I know labor is not always available or affordable. So, I would encourage you to proceed with trying machine harvest for fresh with the caveat that you have to keep on top of your field QC (quality control) and you have to communicate with your packer and your marketer.

“If any of those communications are breaking down, whether it’s hand pick or machine pick, we are probably going to have a failure somewhere and the consumer won’t have a good experience,” she said.

Anne Krahmer-Steinkamp, harvest operations manager for Berries Northwest, another of the panelists, also stressed the importance of quality control.

“One of the things we did was really pay attention to the temperature,” said Krahmer-Steinkamp, who noted that Berries Northwest dramatically scaled up their machine harvest for fresh picking last summer. “We didn’t start harvesting until usually one to three in the morning and then when the temperatures started getting over 70 degrees, we would shut down.”

Krahmer-Steinkamp also said the farm worked closely with its packer. “One of the main things I would really encourage people that want to do machine pick for fresh is really work with your packer on what it is you’re bringing in, because what you think you’re bringing in may be different than what they think you’re bringing in. So, really work with your packer to make sure what you’re bringing in is what they want.

“That was one of the really key things we did,” she said. “Our packer worked really well with us last year.”

Also, Gingerich said, it is important to follow up with your packer.

“How’s the fruit looking two days later,” she said. “Some years, certain varieties hold up better than other years, just depending on a lot of different variables. So, communication is key.”

Krahmer-Steinkamp added that Berries Northwest had to make some hard calls last year in diverting some marginal product to the freezer market.

“Some stuff just wasn’t as good as what we thought it was,” she said. “And so, we diverted it. And you just have to be able to make those calls.”

Both Krahmer-Steinkamp and Gingerich said they were primarily using Oxbow machines.

“We have been successful with the Littau,” Krahmer-Steinkamp said, “but, so far, the Oxbow has put out a better product for us.”

“The 50 model (Oxbow) is what we prefer to go with in most circumstances,” Gingerich said. “There are a lot of variables with that, as well. We also use slip-down harvesters, mostly on the process side. But I think it really depends on your team and how you are operating your equipment as well. But that’s what works for our team.”

All three panelists said they believe it is important for the industry to continue to work toward machine harvesting for fresh.

“We have a lot to learn,” Gingerich said. “We have a long way to go. We don’t do it perfectly. But we have to start taking those steps to figure this out as an industry.”

“I couldn’t agree more that we have to figure this out,” said Steve Erickson, president of Pan American Blueberry Growers, who doesn’t use machine harvest for fresh at this point. “We are dealing with lower returns and less hand pickers, and the breeders are bringing us better berries. We need to understand how we can make those better berries work within our processes.”

But, Erickson said, delivering a quality product to the consumer must be the industry’s top priority. “If we don’t do that, our industry is in a lot of trouble, because we need those repeat sales.”