Tag Archives: Harvest

Minding the Till

Marketing

There’s an Almond (or Wine Grape) harvest documentation chain of custody from the Weighmaster to the Processer. However, there is a leap of faith gap between the harvest collection and a transport’s first stop at the scales. In previous times we relied solely on the moral integrity of the trucker until we came to the realization that this was a security hole in our method system. What if a load (or more) were never to arrive at the Weigh Station, diverting instead?  An unaccounted for trailer load would be a small skim of our grand total and would certainly line the pocket of the thief. Would we be the wiser?

It’s the modern day equivalent of horse thieving or cattle rustling. It’s a crime that’s difficult to guard against and discoverable only after the fact, if that. Commodity theft is not a fluke:

Ideally, one of us should be camping onsite to observe and document the coming and goings of all trucks with trailers. Perhaps, strategic placement of security cameras to record truck IDs or trailer license plate numbers would be smart. As it is today, we now rely on a ranch management employee assigned the recording task. Clipboard in hand he dutifully logs the  heavily loaded trailers that leave our private dirt road and hit the public highway. Or, does he… Could he be in cahoots for part of a cut? We rely upon our monitor’s diligence and have faith in his honesty. Small need for conspiracy paranoia — but a topic to be aware of and to consider.

Sweep and Pickup

Horticulture,

The last visual showed almonds scattered on the orchard floor left to dry – post tree shake. Moisture soon dropped below the desired 5% threshold (actual outcome 3.6 to 4.1%) and the nuts were ready for collection and transport. As these nuts are resting atop dry soil much of it loose, the standard procedure is to literally blow and sweep them into a single row. This formed row makes it possible for a pick up machine to straddle the row pile and scoop up the almond without running them over. Follows is a generic video of the blowing and sweeping action in which they tout their special berm brush to keep the dust down. I see it interfering with the drip hoses along the tree line center however. Attention: engineers in our clan! Is there a better way?

The sweeper machine blows nuts from one side of the tree berm to the open space opposite; while the main brush drives the bulk into the flat center space herding the nuts into a single row. They are retrieved by the pick up machine and carried by a cart in tow; leaving dirt and debris behind. Once the cart is full it is lifted hydraulically to dump its contents into yet another conveyance cart whose only purpose is to shuttle between the pick up machine and a semi-truck trailer awaiting roadside. In this way the pick up machine can continuously stay busy in the field.

An auger and belt elevator move the almonds from the shuttle to trailer. Once these truck trailers are full they will make their way to the weigh & inspection station and huller, but more about that — next time.

Almond Harvest Dance

Horticulture,

Nonpareil nuts are on the orchard floor. This variety,  52% of the whole, bloomed first and harvest was begun. The Butte, Fritz, and Monterey follow in order and the process will span the remaining hot/dry season.  Our tree rows are interspersed by design and the harvester must exercise care that the  fruit varieties are not intermixed. Nonpareil is the more desireable and commands the best price category for its shape and size. Contamination with another variety (a no-no) reduces the grade to that of  mixed nuts — the lowest price.

The nuts are separated from tree by shaking. In early days this was done by laborers hand-knocking with sticks (poling), but is now mechanized due to the shear volume. The nuts in the center of the tree are the last to ripen. Moisture readings ~10% can be monitored. The nuts can be more difficult to dislodge if the hulls dry too much on tree but a test shake or two are usually the best indication that determine readiness. Optimum nut removal is 96 to 99%. Those that are left behind are not considered part of the harvest yield and become part of the orchard sanitation clean up proces$.

It’s a balancing act and a bit of a calculated race against nature as there is the eminent threat of Navel Orange Worm (NOW) and onset of early fall rain. The harvest is a significant [25%] portion of the expense budget. It is crucial that the process not begin before nut maturity but be complete before NOW pest infestation or mold issues. A too early harvest can result in excessive sticktights or curled hulls. They are a challenge mechanically and are graded as foreign matter in the delivery, a penalty.

Once on the ground the nuts must be left to dry for 1 to 2 weeks. Rain would be a detriment at this point. The machinery that process the nuts at the hulling site are impaired when nut moisture levels are too high. Almonds received in excess of 6.5% w.b.  must undergo the expense of mechanical drying. Almonds are contractually weight adjusted to a 5% ceiling. On the other hand, realise that we are paid by the pound and that moisture equals weight. Therefore 5% seems like a good target and we check the moisture statistic on the Grower Delivery Report at the end of the day.

Next: Sweeping and Pickup

 

 

Managing Expectations

Marketing

The big question is how the Almond trees will perform as measured by harvest [yields] now in full swing. As you’ve been following along this crop year you will know that we endured active springtime weather that impacted trees and pollination. An objective statewide consensus believes that production will be slightly less [1%] this season.

What can WE expect? There are several variables that are givens (constants)

  • Acreage – 152.48
  • Trees – 16,166 (2016) and as per the previous post 15,491 (2017)

and some [2016] historical perspective:

  • Yield – 2,019 lbs/acre
  • Yield – 19.05 lbs/tree

We could drill down even further. Did you realize that the West block is in competition with the East Block? Soil quality, land grading, or past horticultural practices are likely culprits. The West field consistently underperforms; East Field == Winner!

2017 Best Guess for Estee Strom, LLC:

  • 19.5 lbs/tree East Field x 7,914 trees = 154,323 lbs
  • 17.3 lbs/tree West Field x 7,577 trees = 131,082 lbs

for a combined total of 285,405 lbs. or 1,872 lbs/acre…

Almond Fruit Maturation

Horticulture,

Keen observers must realise that we have skipped the nut development stage. Recall that the play-by-play went silent after flowering and pollination; that is much more interesting because the process is quite visible, beautiful, plus added drama with the effects of spring weather. Since we like to keep things in-the-moment, Stage 2 Growth will be deferred until next time.

We are at Stage 3: Maturity. We can easily follow because, again, the phases are externally visible. The fruit components, beginning with the core, is the actual nut kernel, a hard shell, and enveloping these is the hull. 

The hull is of interest because at this stage it starts to split. The inshell nut is exposed in varying degrees. The kernel is still benefiting from irrigation water and nutrients but 85% of its growth development is already complete.

Hull Split  (dehiscence) is the term.  The hull is openable by hand at this point but in nature dehydration at the edges will fully expose the shell changing the shell color from white to brown.  A separation (abscission) between the hull and the tree begins. Once this happens the fruit might remain attached by a few fibers. These fibers will be broken during harvest when the tree is shaken and the nut falls to the ground.

There are external factors to consider during this split phase.  The hull must remain turgid by guarding against water stress and nutrient deficit to reduce sticktights. Too much irrigation risks hull rot. It’s a question of management timing; in other words, it only looks easy 😉

The hull split occurs from the top of the tree progressing downward. Harvest will usually commence at about 95% hull split but may occur sooner to avoid risk of NOW (Navel Orange Worm) or early fall rain.

Stay close! Harvest is next.