December 2019 - 20

Labor crunch fuels automation, H-2A growth
By Stephen Kloosterman
Associate Editor
Desperation for agricultural labor
is transforming how growers pick and
pack their fruit.
That's the message Titan Farms'
Chalmers Carr III had for a group
of growers who in August attended a
Grand Rapids, Michigan, open house
for fruit packing equipment company
Van Doren Sales and its partner
Compac Tomra.
" If we do not have labor, we're not
going to be in business, " he said.
" More importantly, if we don't keep
moving forward we're not going to be
in business. "
Carr, a South Carolina peach
grower who has been active as a
proponent for agricultural labor
reforms, spoke about the benefits
that came with a new packing line
at his farm in South Carolina, which
is focused on growing peaches. The
new packing line and automatic sorter
reduced its staff from 110 to 46 people
and increased its rate from 2,400
boxes an hour to 3,500 boxes an hour.
Labor costs are down from 60 cents to
22 cents per box.
Chalmers Carr of Titan Farms speaks to a group at an open house held by Van Doren Sales and Compac Tomra at its new Grand Rapids
facility. Photos: Stephen Kloosterman
Van Doren Sales manufactures
automatic container and fruithandling
equipment. Previously
located mostly in the Pacific
Northwest, its other locations are
Wenatchee and Yakima, Washington,
and Kelowna, British Columbia. But
its business in the East appears to be
growing. Joe Clemens, operations
manager for Compac, said the
automatic sorter company has a
significant presence in the East,
which started " in a little corner of
the Riveridge packing shed " before
graduating to office space, events for
apple growers and finally the new
facility where attendees sat in Grand
Rapids. Christopher Simard, vice
president of North America sales at
Compac, said the company has 25-30
staff in the East, including trainers,
managers and engineers.
A variety of new sorting technologies
rolled out at PMA Fresh Summit in the
20 | VegetableGrowersNews.com
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December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2019

December 2019 - 1
December 2019 - 2
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