People who eat fresh food are picky.
We abhor bugs, worms, dead leaves and other “stuff” on the fruit and vegetables we consume, but we’re equally opposed to chemical hygiene.
It’s a dilemma for producers who grow fresh produce, and the demand for pristine fruit and vegetables is expanding.
Brothers Bob and Joe Sutton decided about five years ago that a good strong vacuum cleaner might do the trick, so they began importing the Ortomec pull-type crop vacuum from Italy.
Their company, Sutton Agricultural Enterprises, is located in California’s Salinas Valley, the vegetable hotbed of North America, so they were surrounded by potential customers.
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In 2016 they started importing the self-propelled Ortomec Cleaner 2, which won a Top 10 Award at this winter’s World Ag Expo in Tulare, Calif.
The big machines add value to low-growing crops by eliminating things consumers don’t like to see, Bob Sutton said in an email.
“The percentage of insects, dead leaves and other debris Cleaner 2 removes would vary with every crop,” he said.
“I doubt there are any insects that could hang on, and unless dead leaves and debris are trapped very low under plants, they wouldn’t stand a chance. The vacuum action is pretty incredible. It’s safe to say we remove 95 percent of all unwanted material.”
Sutton said the high power vacuum can be used with or without running a cutting mechanism. The vacuum-only function lets the farmer remove lightweight field trash that can plague leafy crops before harvest.
Organic and inorganic matter such as plastic film, straw, decaying leaves and bugs can be removed just before cutting, greatly increasing the value of the harvested crop.
“Then, in the harvest pass, both the cutter blades and the vacuum are employed,” he said.
“In the clean-up only pass, all material is blown into the hopper and then dumped. In the harvest pass, the crop is blown into the same hopper, then transferred to waiting trucks or carts.
“In crops that are grown to be harvested twice, the Cleaner 2 vacuum-only function removes decaying leaves, insects and other lightweight field trash remaining after the first harvest. Any uncut product missed during the first harvest can also be cut and removed. This guarantees a more uniform higher value crop for the second harvest.
“Not all crops can be harvested a second time. The most common are cilantro and parsley. Others are becoming more popular as double harvest crops, such as spinach and baby leaf lettuce. Part of the decision whether or not to second cut has to do with the current supply and price for the product. If product’s in short supply, there’s much greater incentive to do a second harvest.”
Sutton said one Cleaner 2 operator can cut, vacuum and dump product in a single pass. In the trash collection mode, the disposal system is aided by a shredder so the machine can carry four times the volume of the original tractor-drawn Cleaner.
The standard Cleaner 2 is a self-propelled, single operator implement. It has four wheel drive with steering at the rear wheels. Cutting height is adjustable from 1/2 inch to eight inches above ground.
The original PT Cleaner sells for US$55,000, the SP Cleaner 2 sells for $75,000 and the Cleaner 2 with a cab sells for $81,000.
