OCTOBER 2019 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


33


New packing line can handle BC’s pear crop Kelowna plant has North America’s first optical sorter for pears


by MYRNA STARK LEADER


KELOWNA—A million- dollar upgrade has family- owned Day’s Century Growers Inc. poised for growth. This historic 135-acre family farm operates an on-farm market and woodlot, and raises cattle, vegetables and fruit. But it’s best-known for its pears, which it has packed itself since parting ways with the local co-operative in 2012. The family’s pear storage and packing business is co- owned by siblings Kevin and Karen Day, and was built with controlled atmosphere rooms and a packing line. Today, the plant packs about 40% of the BC pear crop, including fruit from their own trees as well as those of two other growers. But this summer’s


installation of a new packing line with the latest optical sorting technology gives the company enough capacity to grade and pack all the pears in BC. “In 2012, after we started


packing our own fruit, the farm was in the black for the first time in a long time,” says Karen, who handles all the financials. “So, this kind of investment makes economic sense. … My two grandsons who also live on the farm are the sixth generation and we want this to continue for another six or 10 or however many years into the future.” With their new Burg in-


feed, Van Wamel sorter and Ellips optical sorter, fruit that used to be handled several times in the grading and packing process will be touched just once or twice. This will prevent visually displeasing scuff marks on the pears and improve the consistency and quality of packed fruit.


The equipment is from the Netherlands, where half the


tree fruits are pears and manufacturers make equipment designed for the specific needs of the fruit. “It's developed for pears


and there’s lots of thought taken into account for the gentle handling,” says Kevin. A mechanized arm at the


start of the line lifts crates of pears brought in from the orchard one at a time and submerges them into a wash solution. It then tips each crate to gently spill the pears onto small metal rods that lift the fruit down a line of rotating drying sponges. The fruit never rolls, avoiding scuffing.


The arm then stacks the


empty crates, one open side up, the next on its side inside the first while a third sits on top of that open side down, creating a bin within two bins ready for outdoor storage. The process is 40% faster than a forklift and a considerable savings on labour. From there, pears enter what the Days say is the first Van Wamal optical sorter for pears in North America. It’s longer and wider than sorters for cherries and apples, but just right for oblong pears. The sorter takes 30 colour and 30 black-and-white images of each pear, identifying culls and sorting the fruit according to size. Although they haven’t purchased an internal fruit scanner, it could be added on. "The drop stations are also efficient because they only move as the electronic eye sees fruit so pears don't pile up at the end and get bruised when they're being packed," says Kevin. They’ve automated the box line and moved one cooler from the storage area to the end of the packing line so pears no longer sit on the packing floor until a pallet is


Erin Day-Johnson monitors the new Dutch optical pear sorter. MYRNA STARK LEADER PHOTO


full. This cuts the time before the fruit enters cold storage to just a few minutes, helping to extend shelf life. All the changes have one goal: consistently packing out higher-quality fruit that delivers the best return at market. “With human sorting, we


always erred on the higher side of fruit quality,” explains Erin Day-Johnson, Kevin’s daughter who recently returned to the farm to manage the packing facility along with her husband Riley. “[Now] there's going to be a lot less culls, theoretically. ... With people, you say, ‘Okay, you can put a little bit more russet in a box,’ and then there can be too much.” But technology still


requires some human intervention. This fall, Erin and


Riley attended a two-day training session in Wenatchee to learn to customize the system’s software. “We have to teach the machine specifically what to look for. At the start, that means taking freeze-frames of defect types we want the machine to scan for like brown russet or a black stem puncture for example,” explains Erin. “We colour-code them so the machine knows what to scan for and then the operator can adjust


percentages of those to meet grading standards.” The impact of the new


system will be tracked, but the Days are optimistic it will deliver the results they expect. They’re also hopeful buyers notice. “I hope retailers notice a better consistency that will make our fruit more desirable,” says Kevin. “We know down to the row where the pears came from, who picked them, when they were packed and by whom.”


2020 Tree Fruit Replant Program ANNOUNCEMENT:


Application forms and the updated requirements of the 2020 Tree Fruit Replant Program are now available on the BCFGA website, www.bcfga.com.


Project applications (along with the required documents) will be received by November 30, 2019. Please avoid the last minute rush and get your application in early.


An horticultural advisor is required to sign individual applications for the 2020 Tree Fruit Replant Program. The following information will be provided to assist growers in completing applications.


a. A list of qualified advisors. b. Program operational policies. c. A series of reports on replanting and variety performance and selection are available and should be referenced when preparing a Tree Fruit Replant Program Application.


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31205 DEWDNEY TRUNK RD, MISSION • Fax 604-462-7215 604-462-7213 • www.valleyfarmdrainage.com


BC FRUIT GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION 1-800-619-9022 (ext 1) email: replant@bcfga.com www.bcfga.com


The Tree Fruit Replant Program provides funding for quality projects. Project approval is subject to funding availability and is allocated by the date of receipt of applications. Completed projects are verified by inspection and must attain minimum program standards.


The Tree Fruit Replant Program is a 7 year program, funded by the Province of BC.


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