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Wim Bijl, Bijl's Fruit:

"In these pear harvesting conditions, your organization must be perfect"

In the Netherlands, Bijl's Fruit finished harvesting its new crop of Conference pears a couple of weeks ago. "The extreme heat made it nerve-wracking for a while, but luckily, we made a plan and got everything in on time," begins Wim Bijl.

The grower trusted his instincts during the harvest. "We work on the principle of starting picking 135 days after the trees are in full bloom. By then, the pears are fully grown and ready to go into the boxes. This year, that full bloom was on April 19, so harvesting should've begun on August 24."

"But, the spring weather was grim, and a long period of rain and cold followed in July. It was recommended that we start later, but I've always been of the opinion that a bad summer can still yield a warm fall. We waited four days, but in the end, I followed my gut, and we began harvesting on August 28," says Wim.

Well organized
That meant all the pears had to be off the trees within about a fortnight. That requires much organization, with the farm living and breathing harvesting for that time, Wim explains. "You can, in those two weeks, squander the whole year's work."

"You have 25 hectares of Conference that must be picked in a couple of weeks. This year's sweltering weather made that even harder. I'm very grateful for our good team. That must be said. We work with good Polish laborers, whom we tried to keep cool with a steady stream of water and popsicles," Bijl says.

"I must also complement our Dutch forklift team and everyone in my family who did their part. Finally, I must mention my wife. Without her, nothing would happen. She holds the company together and keeps everything running smoothly. She perfectly arranged everything to keep all the trains running through the orchard."

Flag system
To keep track when it is so busy, the cultivation company used a new system this season, which went well. "We have nine trains and three aerial platforms running simultaneously during picking. Then, maintaining order isn't always easy. So this year, we decided to put a colored flag on each train. Then you can easily find the train and add an extra one. Also, you know exactly when everyone's ready, and there's no confusion about which train it is. That worked very well, and I can recommend it to all growers," Wim explains.

Opportunities aplenty
And thus, all Bijl's Fruit's Conference pears have been in cold storage since September 9. "You're always pleased when everything's done. Fortunately, we had few, if any, setbacks during harvesting, apart from the heat, of course. The quality of stored pears is great, with beautiful green, large pears. In terms of yield, we also met the estimate."

"The pears we picked the first week are perhaps slightly smaller than the second, but you can't pick everything at once. We're looking forward to a generally nice season, with ample opportunities for the Dutch Conference pears. There might be some tension in the first months due to a large supply, but we don't expect any ultimate sales issues," Wim concludes.

For more information:
Wim Bijl
Bijl's Fruit
10 Oosthoek
3265 LE, Piershil, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 186 691 466
Email: info@bijlsfruit.com