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Home My WebLink AboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1990-03-14, Page 33FARM P1110(1111114111 PAM 111 .� vis to p, cucumber grading station hy Marg berthed �y� �Q Dining the `e her harvest, the Bade farm located on, ' County • Road 12 near Falla08a hi a busy. place. Not only do they themselves grow cucumbers, but they operate grading station number 16 for )lick's, Jim and Marianne Batte also operate a dairy three on their 175 acres, and keep themselves actively involved in the recreational pursuits of their young fauQily, ranging in age from 9 years to 13 yam. Marianne Batte is no stranger to the cucember business As she says, I .was exposed to this bushhess at a young age. She grew up just on the autskirts of Teeswater, and her father grew cucumbers for Heinz for nhme years. Dor- ing this time, the Heins .company operated a grading -Station in Teeswater, and when it's closure was announced,her'. father approached Bick's Pickles to see if they would be interested in opening a grading station ,in that area. He had the• facilities to accommodate such an .opera tion, and Bick's was quite eagerto establish a grading station in the Teeswater area.' The Maurice Cronin family operated the station for 14 years, and as one might expect, Jim ' and Marianne Batte pursued the possibilities of . carrying on the grading station on their farm when Mr. Cronin decided to retire. One might think that it was Marianne's background in the business that initiated this move. But such was not the case ac- cording to Marianne. It was due to Jim's interest in vegetable crops, which seein- ed to develop during his two years in the agricultural course at the University of Guelph, that they decided to undertake the operation of the grading station. Both Marianne and Jim saw it as an oppor- tunity to supplement their farm income as well. Plot Size Times have changed since the Batte's first began operating the grading station nine years ago. Initially, it was primari- ly the wife and children in a family that managed the cucumber patch. A cucumber plot would range in size from a quarter acre to one acre. Almost all were hand-picked. During this period, Jim estimated that only 20% of those growers would have used a Picking -Aid, the piece of machinery commonly seen in cucumber plots today. For a period of time, large acreages were more common. In fact, during this period, Jim recalls having two growers that contracted 20. acres. Picking -Aids became more popular and those who picked by hand were definitely becoming fewer and fewer. In recent years, the Batte's have seen a return to the smaller acreage. This, Jim feels, is due to the difficulty in ac- quiring labour. It is becoming more of a family endeavour again which affords the younger family members, who. are, not• old enough to work away from home, a chance to earn some money, and also keep them occupied during the summer months. Jim revealed some statistics that in- dicate that this pattern is definitely the trend. In 1988 they would not contract for less than one acre. In 1989 a 1/2 acre was the minimum contract. The Batte's indicated that they would be following the same program for the upcoming season. Bick's processing plants are located in Scarborough and Dunnville. The grading station on the Batte farm is their most northerly station. Growers deliver their cucumbers to the Batte station from as far away as Arthur, I-ucan, Milvertost, nei .,. - I:,fry ;,a o'pyav�5 for S .w paiYeSy if<� �'.."ia4`.^:$ii►` - sem..._. .'r . ^+..{•AYiMc.11Ki'�,".'(fllfi�il�►+L . • k." The Batte Family eohars care - ileal growers us- ing the facthereility as we $ec eiv'isg Fabere Some of the larger producers deliver their produce in gravity boxes or d. trucks while the wailer anon use bags or bushel baskets for delivery. Dick's is responsible far picking up the cucumbers from Batte's, anal delivering them to the rousing plant. During an average season,. a tractor trailer loaded with cucumbers would depart from the grading Station ail a week: The 'cucumber is.�by the'g! , Usually in the morning and early after- noon, delivered to the grading statien bet- ween 3 p.m. and 9 p.m, and sent alt to an awal brine that : same night, in fact, aces to Jim and Marianne, the • processing plant phones ahead each day to receive information on the tannage, for that day, and prepares thea to amount of . brine • for that•\ appropriate "delivery. The freshest member makes. the b pickle. • radiug Israelis When the . • cucumbers 'arrive at the grading station, they are dumped Onto an elevator which carries Ahern to the `scalper'. As this'pont, • any oversize cucumbers are rejected. The remaining ones move on to the. conveyor where they are hand sorted.. The crooked and round cucumbers, also called crooks and nubs, are removed and tossed into a nearby bucket. Any broken and diseased ones are tossed out. The third stage of the grading process is the sorting table; This • slips tbt oconsists : of a' series. of tapered ugh` which the cuc:uambers des- cend according to their` size. The entire a paratus shakes constantly so as to jig e the cucumbers along 'an. their journey. A -this point they fall onto' yet another. conveyor system which carries them to the appropriate bin. • , - • These bins are set'' on government in- spected scales, and each bin accumulates. one grade of cucumber. Each bin is weighed again after all the cucumbers' . have been -sorted. This determines; the weight for each grade, and this 'informa- tion is recorded ,and the grower; given a • receipt indicating this weight per grade, as well as the total weight of that day's.: picking. In peparation for shipping to the pro- cessing plant, each bin is tagged,with it's total weight. ;A fork lift is used to, left each biro off it's scale, and onto - the awaiting transport truck. Test Plots The Batte family also manages: a test plot on their. farm for. Kick's: Usually 12 varieties are planted in the; test, plot, six ,of which are new varieties being tested • for their use as a pickling cucumber. Testing is carried out for:'stress resistance to.. disease, drought, excess moisture, winds, and insects. A represen- tative from Kick's. will sometimes visit the plot, and actually slice cucumbers on location to see if any are . hollow ,in the centre. Obviously, an abundance of these in any given variety will not produce a favourable. report. The two oldest Batte children manage .• the test plot, and are responsible for hoe- ing, picking weighing,,and recording the necessary information.. Insect Infestation . As with any crop, cucumbers are not immune from insect •infestation. Accor- ding to Jim, there are three, prominent insects for which growers must watch. These . are the flea "beetle, the striped cucumber beetle, and the cucumber thrip. The flea beetle is most noticeable dur- ing the fitsat ;or second leaf, stage of the disappear after a few weeks. The plant can survive without spray as d- miniatered; however, the plant will ex- patience �p During leaf stage, to striped cucumber beetle can severely damage, and even kill the cucumber plant, Growers facing this situation would be advised to use an " . The cuctunber , a� also severely the plant, • . normally ..It's from the second leaf stage onw presence can definitely affect the yield, andany growers with severe cases of thrip would be wise tofar as ntx weed coy As is concerned, .: • Jim still feels that hoeing and ecuffting are probably the most effective method. Many growers would possibly use Roe* tthe � fallinntendedntbefore plowing the spring, lizAde frau that, the herbicides are not general- ly used by most growers. .The ?sanding of a suitable shed to house the grading equdpnaent and the dock for loading the transport truck were the ma- - jar •expenses incurred by Jim ,and. 411 r aMjry Jri Nes Maerianne Bette, when they imdertook to operate the station for Bick'e. Kick's owns the actual grading equipment and the crates which are used to transport the cucumbers to the producing plant. The Battes purchased the scales for weighing the Grates, and also the fork lift Wed move the crate; from the scale From time to time government Inspec- tors visit the Batte grading station to do such ,Ww as the g• eraneatnese DoE the check station, on the grader, anduality at the also check the aye gr ds on the ales. When asked about the futures of the cucumber grower, both JIm and Marianne agreed that getting help to pick is the biggest problem, faring all growers, Many growers,with the weekly ..wage, offer the �an attractive .bonus if they stay for the season. With the use of the Pleking-Aid, the job real- • ly isn't as terrible as it seems. As one grower said, . 'It sure beats picking 'stones'. The Batten, manage a test plot for Kick's and usually 12 varieties are phanted. Testing. is carried out for stn els resistance to disease, drought, ezceielve moisture, wind and Insects. The number . of creeks and nubs le noted as Is the general health of the plant hselt. 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