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Turning point in industrial apple harvesting
FELIX/Z harvester with a side conveyor for the neighboring row
Industrial apple producers face challenges in achieving profits. Low purchase prices, high production costs and weather variability affect the profitability of crops, leading to financial problems for many farms.
Challenges of Modern Fruit Farming
Changes in the labor market, rising employment costs, and staff shortages (especially during harvest) pose a serious challenge. Apple harvesting is a time-consuming process and requires significant labor input, which increases production costs.
For years, our clients have been signaling this growing problem at the same time expecting us – as a manufacturer of agricultural machines – to provide a solution that allows for quick fruit harvesting for industrial purposes, without wasting time on stoppages and while reducing the number of people working in the orchard and with the machine.
Fruit Harvest Evolution – FELIX/Z with Trailer Conveyor
For several years, we have been demonstrating the benefits of harvesting industrial apples directly from the tree. Fruit harvested this way is free from the impurities like leaves and dirt. Harvesting fruit at the right stage of ripeness eliminates the problem of rotten apples. With a high supply of these fruits, the price is often very low, or there are problems with selling the apples. Better fruit quality means a better price or a guarantee that the fruit will be bought first.
The development direction of fruit farms
Our experience and a series of conversations with fruit growers show that many of them plan to gradually change the profile of their farms and shift towards industrial cultivation. This decision is primarily determined by the difficulty in finding seasonal workers as well as high costs associated with, for example, the distribution of dessert apples. This mainly concerns their storage, high-quality requirements from buyers, as well as packaging and delivery to retail networks.
The FELIX/Z harvester, initially used mainly in cherry and plum orchards, was adapted a few years ago for harvesting apples intended for industrial purposes and performs excellently in this role.
The newly introduced solution for fruit collection has significantly shortened the working time. Unnecessary downtime has been eliminated, and the harvesting process can now be organized with just a two-person staff. It should be emphasized that this work does not require as much effort as unloading full bins in a harvester equipped with work platforms and unloading rollers.
Is it worth investing in an apple harvester?
Absolutely! Although it is quite a significant expense, feedback from users of these machines indicates that they have been able to quickly amortize the purchase. Of course, buying such a machine is economically justified if we have a sufficiently large area or if we plan to provide harvesting services with the machine. Keep in mind that the harvester is also designed for harvesting cherries or plums. Additionally, by taking advantage of various subsidies or preferential credits, this investment truly pays off.
If not FELIX, then what?
In our offer, we have a wide selection of MAJA shaker models, both with manually folded screens and with automatically folded screens. Each of these solutions is already being used for harvesting industrial apples “directly from the tree.” In this machine segment, we also have several new solutions, which is why we encourage you to explore our offer and, most importantly, to contact our specialists who will help you choose the right solution.
