Cutting Evolution (Edition 3)

WELCOME AND SEASON REPORT

Cutting Girls at Cherry Hill Wow! How fast do the seasons roll round?

At Cherry Hill we started pre-cutting on the 15th of April. Until now the ambient weather has been good for curing sets. However, as this is written, the day temperature is down to 8 degrees and wet!

Now is the time that our seed curing room comes into play. Our seed curing room means we are able to control the environment that we cure our seed in. This results in a more consistent product.

Naturally, our volumes tend to rise and fall with swings in Simplot and McCains. Due to this, we have got space in our program this year.

If you have not been satisfied with your cutting contractors why not give Cherry Hill systems a try? Obviously this comes with our seed guarantee. Additionally, if you have a seed or ware crop of potatoes that need storing or cutting, give us a ring!

The Team at Cherry Hill

CHERRY HILL CUTTING EVOLUTION MAY 2013

Group: McCains	Issued to:		Seed Grower (source):		Seed Variety: Mac1	Generation: G4
Date Submitted	0-40g	41-70g	71-90g	90g+	Total	Total Weight	Av Weight
20/05/2013	0 pcs (0%)	96 pcs (84.96%)	17 ocs (15.04%)	0 pcs (0%)	113 pcs	6770g	59.91g
21/05/2013	2 pcs (1.9%)	86 pcs (81.90%)	17 pcs (16.19%)	0 pcs (0%)	105 pcs	6305g	60.05g
22/05/2013	2 pcs (1.8%)	98 pcs (88.29%)	11 pcs (9.91%)	0 pcs (0$%)	111 pcs	6375g	57.43g

TESTIMONIAL … “PROFESSIONAL AND EXPERIENCED“

“I have been using Cherry Hill Coolstore for approximately 15 years and get all my seed from them. Over this time, with the introduction of pre cutting seed quality their reliability has improved out of sight.

Overall, my experience with them has been excellent.

They are a very professional company that has great experience in both seed cutting as well as storage.”

Phillip Beswick – Chairman Tasmanian Potato Growers Association and the McCain Processed Potatoes Committee

View more of our testimonials here.

SEED AT CHERRY HILL

The seed coming into Cherry Hill this year has been mostly of a satisfactory standard.
The main issue that we have had is powdery scab not passing certification. In the past scab has been frowned upon by the commercial Growers.

Since the introduction of soil DNA testing growers have found that they have powdery scab already present in their soils and are therefore looking at other methods to control the scab. Rejected seed can be difficult to grade at times when scab lesions are small. In some cases the seed is left as provisional seed and sold at a discount rate.

Research has been showing that Mancozeb has the biggest bearing on scab control.

At Cherry Hill we apply this at cutting. Mancozeb also controls other storage diseases such as Fusarium which is an important consideration for us at Cherry Hill. This means buyers can be confident their seed scab has the best treatment available.

ANDREW LANGMAID OWNER/MANAGER CHERRY HILL COOLSTORES

Andrew has been involved in Agriculture his whole life. He grew up on a farm at Kindred. After finishing school he enrolled in an Agricultural apprenticeship. He has driven pea harvesters and owned his own truck delivering seed potatoes to growers around Tasmania and commercial potatoes to Simplot Ulverstone and McCain Foods Smithton.

In 1990 Andrew and his father Kevin purchased Cherry Hill Coolstores. At this time is was a small apple coolstore complex. They then changed and improved the facility to create the premier seed potato facility that it is today.

Andrew is passionate about agriculture, in particular the seed potato industry. He is also passionate about his family and fishing with his mates.

AN OPINION … BY KEVIN LANGMAID

How can Growers, Contractors and Service Providers keep their costs at a manageable level? Unfortunately there does not seem to be any simple answers to this question other than to review all our procedures in all the above areas.

Anything we can do to help improve the bottom line for growers will be either by holding direct costs or improving grower yields.

Cherry Hill has looked at all service procedures and is attempting to adopt some new measures to keep costs down. We recently built a seed curing room harnessing the heat from other cool store compressors on site. This has enabled us to cure seed all year round or when required – particularly in bad weather.

We believe that by providing a pre-cutting service for growers can in most cases improve yields and help the planting operators at planting time. It also lessens the need for Cherry Hill to be working under pressure in the spring time. It has take us several seasons and many trials to now have in place a procedure which nearly always provides a good outcome for the growers and for Cherry Hill.

We recommend not grading seed lines which only have a small percentage of defects. We have the capacity on the cutting line to remove the low percentage of oversize potatoes without jeopardizing the cut seed quality. This means less handling of the seed which equals less damage and marks on the seed and a saving of $16.00 per tonne.

We find chemical application both at receival and after cutting extremely important. This can impact on the final outcome of the seed. We no longer apply cement to the cut seed (unless specifically requested). Cherry Hill’s systems have overcome the old problem of Tato Dust burning the cut seed. This has given our customers a tremendous advantage. The Mancozeb in the Tato Dust is a terrific chemical for controlling fusarium and storage diseases as well as having an impact controlling scab.

It is also important to maintain good machinery so as to unload trucks and get them back on the road. We run reliable forklifts and make sure out one tonne bins are clean and well maintained.

We believe that if we can get through the next two or three season by improving our efficiencies and keeping our costs under control along with the easing Australia dollar, the market forces may improve to our industries advantage.

Cherry Hill is currently looking at the costs and benefits of installing an industrial solar energy plant and power factor correction unit with the view of generating some of our power needs for the future.

Kevin is now retired, however can regularly be found out at Cherry Hill. He lives in East Devonport and would describe himself as very happily retired with still a key interest in Cherry Hill. Andrew and Brenden regularly refer to Kevin for his advice and opinion.

CHERRY HILL COOLSTORES SEED GUARANTEE

Our Seed Management Service. Cherry Hill Coolstores will guarantee our services on Seed Growers seed. If you buy someone else’s certified seed, which is presented to Cherry Hill in good condition, and it breaks down, we will replace our cutting and services at no charge.

This guarantee specifically refers to seed piece breakdown, (i.e. rots) and refers to seed which is delivered directly to Cherry Hill from the Seed Paddock for coolstoring and cutting.