Post-Harvest Handling Decision Tool

A project of the Fruit and Vegetable Working Group

Developed by Chris Blanchard of Rock Spring Farm, Decorah, Iowa

Funded by the Value Added Agriculture Program and Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Photographs by Chris Blanchard and Jerry DeWitt

Table of Contents

Introduction

Crop Groups

General Considerations

Featured Vegetable Growers

Introduction

The following discussion of handling systems for different groups of crops treats each crop as a granular unit and tries to isolate the post-harvest handling aspect of the market farm operation. However, post-harvest handling fits into the larger context of a harvest-wash-pack system on a farm, which fits into the still larger context of markets, labor availability, delivery schedules, and personal and professional goals.

Speed and Capacity - The speed of any function that requires a human operator is very person-dependent. This person-dependency can be mitigated by mechanization, but, in the end, the speed at which the operator feeds in the product and removes the product at the other end ultimately drives the efficiency of an operation. The fastest worker using a manual system will likely get more done than the slowest worker using a mechanized system.

Likewise, not all improvements to post-harvest handling systems make operations go faster on a per-person basis. Some improvements increase the number of people who can engage a job, thereby increasing efficiency by allowing for more product to flow through an existing system, while not increasing per-person capacity.

Product Form and Function - When making choices about adding new products to a system with any degree of mechanization, a producer should consider how well the form of the product will fit with the machinery and tools already present, in addition to the market that exists. A grower utilizing a barrel washer to wash carrots may find increased efficiencies when she adds bulk beets, but bunched beets would require an entirely new system of handling.

Evaluating Costs - The costs presented throughout this document are based on delivered cost—but the prices quoted by a dealer or paid at auction only represent the cost of getting the equipment into your farmyard on a pallet. Assembling machinery and installing it in your packing facility almost always takes a significant amount of time and expense. Producers should take into account the time and money it might take to put a new tool into service in their operation.

This decision tool was developed by Chris Blanchard of Rock Spring Farm in Decorah, Iowa. The tool is a project of the Fruit and Vegetable Working Group affilated with the Value Chain Partnerships program. This project was funded by the Iowa State University Extension Value Added Agriculture program and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Blanchard conducted case studies of three vegetable operations to gather information for this decision tool. Products referred to in this tool are not an endorsement by Iowa State University.

Continue to Crop Groups