the only olive harvester in the market that actually puts the olives in a bin
By Chloe Warburton,
Harvest time usually conjures up images of workers picking olives over the space of a long day, but technology has created a new and quick way to bring the crops in.
Max Boyle, owner and manager of Oil Hydraulics in Shepparton, has hit the jackpot with his OCCA Olive Harvester, a machine that attaches to the front of a tractor and shakes olives off trees to catch them in a net.
Oil Hydraulics has been making the machine for more than five years now, and this year has been their most successful.
“This year, we’ve only got one left, we’ve sold out,” Mr Boyle said.
“It’s the only olive harvester in the market that actually puts the olives in a bin.
“When the net fills up, it can be placed over a bin and the bottom drops out so they all go in.
“It’s catered for a need in the market – it’s hit that niche spot.
“Some can’t afford the big harvesters, but they can buy one of our machines and own it for themselves.
“It does about 300 trees a day.”
The harvester takes only five minutes to attach, and a dash mounted or hand-held remote is used to control it.
The grower can see everything that’s going on as the tree is shaken, a feature which Mr Boyle said was appealing.
[Source] Click here to continue
Posted
on
Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 10:26 pm under
