9 e again
fidence and ways of adding distinctive value. “The consumer should always be our point of departure.” Erwin Braak from the Interpolis insurance company gave some tips regarding risk reduction at farm level, such as replacing damaged wall sockets and automatic starts in fluorescent lights, and removing permanent extension cords and superfluous com- ponents of electrical installations. General tidiness, decent fire detection systems and easily accessible fire extinguishers also contribute to a safer working environment. In his view, the risks have not diminished as mushrooms farms have increased in size. It is not straightforward to rebuild larger and more complex farms after a fire. Fire separation walls, compart- ments and good insulation, as implemented at the Sikes farm, are sensible investments said Braak, whose speech was temporarily interrupted by a local power outage.
Guided tour After the plenary session with the lectures, groups could enjoy a guided tour of the premises. A number of well-known faces from the mushroom world, such as Mark den Ouden and Jos Hilkens, acted as guides. So what was on show?
Mechanical Gerard and Karin Sikes’ farm is an extensive mecha- nical harvesting facility, with 16 growing rooms each measuring 1306 square metres. The farm is highly mechanised, in line with many modern mechanised farms, but it also features some innovations. Out- side, Bob Holtermans explained how the machine engineered and supplied by MushComb scrapes casing soil from the compost while the rooms are being emptied so that both residual flows can be removed separately. As Sikes removes the spent
compost himself under the flag of his transport company Gesitrans, this features adds value to the company. There were several potentially interested buyers. The large, blue machine handles two beds simultaneously and does not operate any slower than a conventional emptying system. It does require two separate collection containers however, which are filled individually by two belts. Inside the proces- sing hall is the fully automatic mushroom processing line supplied by Verbruggen. The mushrooms are supplied on a large conveyor belt from the growing rooms and are subsequently graded into a maximum of three different grades. One extra grade is also possible using manual operation. The 10-kg crates from Lutèce are automatically filled by weight, stac- ked onto a pallet and moved onto a line that ultima- tely transports the crates to the loading platform for the trucks. This line is capable of processing about
The modern Sikes farm
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Ko Hooijmans hands a present to Karin and Gerard Sikes.
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