Thursday, 15 August 2024 09:25

Homegrown tech helps plan harvest

Written by  Staff Reporters
The Berry Harvest Planning Tool combines regional weather data with berry-specific growing models for key varieties. The Berry Harvest Planning Tool combines regional weather data with berry-specific growing models for key varieties.

Berry supplier The Fresh Berry Company has rolled out a locally developed forecasting platform that will allow its growers to precisely plan planting and harvest times, to ensure fruit hits store shelves when consumers most want it.

Developed by Kiwi agritech company Hort- Plus, the Berry Harvest Planning Tool combines regional weather data with berry-specific growing models for key varieties of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries supplied by The Fresh Berry Company.

Developed by Kiwi agritech company Hort- Plus, the Berry Harvest Planning Tool combines regional weather data with berry-specific growing models for key varieties of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries supplied by The Fresh Berry Company.

“100%, this gives us the edge by bringing more accuracy and confidence to our forecasting and harvest planning,” Astill says.

“It’s a great tool for our sales team and it gives our agronomists and growers the data they need to stagger planting to achieve harvest at optimum times for consumer demand, including at times of year when some berries are traditionally difficult to find in stores.”

The tool based its projections on ‘growing degree hours’, a measure for the number of hours above a base threshold temperature that a berry or fruit needs to be exposed to grow and ripen for harvest. This was more accurate than the ‘growing degree days’ measure used by many others in the industry and allowed for increased precision.

Astill says that in the past, planting and harvest planning was commonly done by The Fresh Berry Company agronomists using spreadsheets that took hours or days to create. The new digital tool “supercharged” that process by allowing different planting and harvest scenarios to be run in just a few clicks.

Astill says that in the past, planting and harvest planning was commonly done by The Fresh Berry Company agronomists using spreadsheets that took hours or days to create. The new digital tool “supercharged” that process by allowing different planting and harvest scenarios to be run in just a few clicks.

“It saves so much time and the other beauty of it is that the models are dynamic. As the weather and forecast changes the projected harvest timing updates – it’s not static like a model created in a spreadsheet.”

“The Harvest Planning Tool does all the heavy lifting and data crunching, so The Fresh Berry Company staff don’t have to. It’s a great example of the value digital tools can add – anyone can collect data but making it useful and usable is often the hard part.”

Barley says the tool had potential to positively impact the berry market. Greater certainty around harvest times could also have downstream benefits for labour and workforce planning, he says.

“There’s huge potential for us to work with The Fresh Berry Company and others across New Zealand’s horticulture industry to create similar solutions for other fruit and crop types.

“Chill units is another measure we could easily visualise and model for huge benefit when it comes to dormancy breaking, flowering and harvest planning for other crop types.”

Astill says the new tool was the latest in a string of innovations introduced by The Fresh Berry Company. The company will continue investigating opportunities to harness innovation that drives quality, sustainability and grower profitability which soon could include robotics in its operations.

Astill says the new tool was the latest in a string of innovations introduced by The Fresh Berry Company. The company will continue investigating opportunities to harness innovation that drives quality, sustainability and grower profitability which soon could include robotics in its operations.

“We are committed to ensuring our customers and consumers have a delightful eating experience with the berries our growers grow. It’s a privilege to deliver these experiences and there’s a real sense of responsibility within our team to consistently achieve that goal.”

The Fresh Berry Company is New Zealand’s leading supplier of berries, with its sister company Berry Farms NZ operating out of Hawke’s Bay and a network of independent growers in Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Northland.

More like this

Mocktails and menopause

For those rural women who feel menopause might be getting the best of them, a series of events is heading to the Waikato that could help.

Featured

Tatua’s $10.50/kgMS tops, again!

Waikato-based milk processor Tatua has announced a final 2023-24 season payout of $10.50/kgMS for its farmer shareholders, again topping the payout stakes among NZ milk processors.

Will silver turn to gold for state farmer?

Tucked away in a remote part of the central North Island, staff at a Pāmu (Landcorp) farm are working hard to solve one of the biggest challenges facing the dairy and beef sectors.

Industry-wide approach helps farmers succeed

New Zealand farmers may be faced with increasing business challenges, but at least one sector has their back when it comes to collaborating for the greater good of pastoral agriculture in this country.

National

Rockit announces new CEO

Snack-size apple producer Rockit Global Ltd has appointed Grant McBeath as its new chief executive officer.

Machinery & Products

Combining track and tyre

While the last fifty years has seen massive evolution and development of the humble tractor tyre, the last two decades…

Croplands goes nuts with Nelson

Croplands and Nelson Manufacturing Company Inc, a California-based manufacturer of air-blast sprayers, has announced a new distribution partnership to deliver…

Success for Argo tractors

The judges at last year’s Agritechnica event picked the Italian-built Landini Rex 4-120GT Robo- Shift Dynamic as the Best of…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Gun-shy

OPINION: Listening to the hysterical reportage of gun law reforms being pushed through by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee,…

Beware groupthink

OPINION: Massey University has long been, and still is, a core part of the NZ farming scene, training the next…

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter