SucceSS Story blueberry hill farms & heagan farms, usa

Two major blueberry farms in the southern states of North Carolina and Georgia depend on BEST Sorting’s PRIMUS systems to quickly and efficiently inspect harvested product, improve the quantity of highly profitable fresh berries, reduce customer turndowns and improve overall sorting productivity for a wide range of economic benefits.

A huge advantage of the PRIMUS technology is its ability to reliably sort for color and soft-ness for fresh product, then use it to automati-cally determine acceptability for process fruit

Alex Cornelius, owner

Blueberry Hill Farms, Inc., is a 450 acre operation in Ivanhoe, North Carolina owned and operated by Chris Barnhill and his father, a fourth generation blueberry farmer. His great grand-father was the first North Carolina native to harvest Highbush blueberries. Back in the 30’s an average of 1,000 pounds per acre was processed,” Chris Barhill says. Today, the farm can produce an excess of 10,000 pounds in that same space. It also grows rabbiteye blueberries. Blueberry Hill employs six full time staff year round, but during picking and sorting months, can hire 600 or more.

In nearby Manor, Georgia, Heagan Farms was established in 1989, owned and operated by Alex and Cathy Cornelius with their daughters Heather and Megan. With over 21 Years of Blueberry Production and Nursery experience Cornelius Farms is recognized as a leader in the Blueberry industry. The Farm has expanded from the initial investment of 17 acres to over 275 acres of production which consists of 3 farms.

Heagan Farms’ offers a unique blend of services from Agricul-ture, Commercial Ground Work, Blueberry Nursery, Blueberry Production, and operation of Blueberry packing facility for one of the largest Blueberry marketers in the United States. Heagan farms processed 5 million pounds of fresh and frozen product in 2010, “which we expect will be our average for the next few years,” says Alex Cornelius.

Both farms sell fresh berries primarily to large grocery stores in major cities, as well as to private, discount “club” stores now popular in many American locales. Heagan and Blueberry Hill also sell in Canada, and Heagan regularly exports product to Japan.

Farms seek Faster output; higher grade product For increased proFitability Until recently, both operations relied on basic automation and/or manual labor to sort berries during harvest. “We installed our first electronic ‘paddle’ sorter in the late nineties” Alex Cornelius said. “It was adequate, but as our crop increased and we took on processing from nearby farms, we were limited by the slower paddle speeds, and had to supplement it with manual sorting just to stay ahead.”

Then in June 2009, the area experienced 12 straight days of rain, stopping all picking. “When skies cleared and we resumed sorting, this equipment couldn’t move fruit down the line fast enough; it was simply overwhelmed,” he said. That’s when he approached Bill Crowley, BEST Sorting’s agent responsible for the area. An arrangement was made to quickly ship and install a PrimusTM optical and laser sorter in the shed, and production sped up significantly. Its high-speed, thin and round transport belts gently moves berries quickly without compromising inspection accuracy compared to other sorters. “It’s great for fresh, and excellent for process. The PrimusTM’ ability to determine precise berry color is excellent because of its high definition optical system. And we can easily adjust sensitivity on berry color thanks to the system’s flexibility.”

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The system’s laser produces a highly concentrated light beam which reliably detects overripe and soft berries.

“One of the big advantages of the PrimusTM, is, as the berries are changing throughout the season, sometimes day by day or week by week, the machine allows us to easily adjust, so we are able to sort to perfection.” Chris adds.

Since the implementation of the BEST equipment, Heagan Farms saw its US Department of Agriculture (USDA) grade levels continually advance, thanks to more precise identifica-tion. “This, of course, lets you charge a more advantageous price for your product. Today, PrimusTM is instrumental in helping us process 5 million pounds of berries each year.”

best’s technology is easy to use; lowers customer rejections versus manual and other systems “Each year, it was more difficult for sorters working large tables in the shed to effectively keep up with Blueberry Hill’s volume,” Chris Barnhill says. “And despite repeated shift rotations to minimize monotony and the errors that result, less than perfect product sometimes got mixed with the good and vice versa.”

Barnhill first saw BEST Sorting’s PrimusTM optical and laser unit last year in North Carolina at another packaging shed where also soft berries and hail damaged berries where sorted out.

“Unlike many professions where trade and price secrets are commonplace, blueberry farmers all talk to one another, and openly share information for the common good,” he says. He asked around and determined the PrimusTM system could help increase his yield of fresh berries versus processed berries, which can sell at considerably more per pound, while reducing hand sorting labor, with continuous increased throughput. This way, he could budget for more hands picking in the field for increased yield.

BEST agent Bill Crowley met with Barnhill and planned the PrimusTM implementation at Blueberry Hill Farms.

Both Barnhill and Cornelius agree other sorting machinery simply can’t move as much product as the PrimusTM solution, and do so as gently and accurately.

Both also praise the system’s ‘user-friendly’ operation using a graphical user interface that easily manages the unit, even allowing frame-grabs of the product to help define what’s good or bad.

“People can easily run these systems,” Alex Cornelius says. “Once you show someone the various display screens, it’s so self-explanatory that it’s easy to remember. Resetting measure-ment parameters for fresh versus process fruit is also simple, which lets us convert quickly and efficiently without slowing the line.”

The PrimusTM Sorter can be easily adapted to the fruit’s condition, say following a hail or heavy rainstorm which can damage or otherwise affect berry appearance. Severe weather is a regular challenge for both farms.

“This technology lets us identify and sell 20 percent or plus, depending on the season, more fresh berries by accurately removing soft product that couldn’t always be identified by hand or other sorters. These berries would need to go to process, where we get less money for.” Adds Chris Barnhill

The PrimusTM system also permitted Blueberry Hill to pack croatan blueberries fresh, instead of process, and over a longer timeframe (into second picking) thereby increasing profitabil-ity. Last year, labor arrived late in the season, resulting in over ripe Croatan, that needed to be packed fresh. Thanks to the PrimusTM, Blueberry Hill was able to adapt to the conditions.

It tickled my marketer, as we were continuously able to make grade A fruit, without stopping and starting the line, with zero rejected loads.

Both farmers have seen significantly lower rejection of their product by customers for considerable savings. Says Chris Barnhill, “If your shipment is turned down, you have to dump it and ‘eat it’, meaning you absorb the cost of your efforts on behalf of that customer. “We’ve seen zero turndowns thanks to this technology.”

To have a sorter like this at an affordable price makes us look very good

Are you interested in more information, or a free demonstration, please contact us directly or visit our website.

Alex Cornelius, owner