HULLER NOTES
News and Information for the Grower-Members of
MINTURN HULLER COOPERATIVE, INC.
July 31, 2017
HARVEST UPDATE-2017
HULLING/SHELLING CHARGES:
In an effort to simplify invoicing, we are adjusting our method of calculating hulling and shelling charges. For the 2017 season, all hulling and shelling charges will be based on DELIVERED FIELD WEIGHT. The new rates are: For Field Loading: $0.0235 (2.35 cents) per Delivered Field Weight pound. If you participate in the “Stockpile on the Ranch” program, the rate will be reduced to $0.0190 (1.90 cents) per Delivered Field Weight pound. Growers can save approximately $225 per load by Stockpiling on the Ranch. These rates are “All Inclusive” and cover trucking, hulling, shelling and inshell processing. These charges are similar to the overall rates charged last season. Blue Diamond assignments will be collected at the rate of $0.095 per meat or inshell pound Delivered to Blue Diamond. Any over payments will be refunded to the grower as soon as all reconciliation is completed. Shortages will be invoiced. Assignments to all other handlers will be directly invoiced as charged.
DELIVERY QUALITY:
The quality of deliveries from the orchard greatly affect overall costs. A clean, dirt and stick free delivery will reduce hulling and shelling charges 10 to 25% on average, with extremes as much as 50%. Dirty product also contributes to significant production costs at the huller. Removing dirt is an ongoing expense in excess of $200,000 each season. The dirt increases wear on the plant equipment and causes time consuming breakdowns and extra repairs due to the excessive wear. We have invested in additional equipment to handle and dispose of orchard sticks. Sticks are also damaging to plant equipment, as well as a contaminant to almond hulls if they make it to the hull pile. This reduces the value of the hulls, which affects your income and revenue streams. Your efforts on the ranch to reduce the amount of dirt and sticks that accompany your loads, has a great overall effect on the costs and rates of return, as well as rates of production that we can accomplish. We greatly appreciate any effort made to control and reduce the amount of dirt and sticks in your loads.
Please contact Jeff Hamilton at the office if you have any questions regarding the rates or load quality issues.
HARVEST START
As we look forward to the beginning of harvest, there remains much speculation as to when it will begin. We expect to see some deliveries the week of August 7th, with volume increasing during the following 2 weeks. With the NASS Objective Estimate coming in at 2.25 Billion pounds, indicating a 5% increase in production, and with existing association new acreage coming into production, as well as a few new members, our volume will reach approximately 100 million meat pounds.
FIELD STAFF
Please contact Field Coordinator, Adam Kelsey for questions that you may have regarding the checking of product conditions in the orchard, monitoring stockpiles on the ranch, and meeting with growers. Adam will also be coordinating communication between the huller, growers and handlers. Adam will be assuming all Field and Trucking responsibilities. Adam’s contact information is: Mobile: 559-598-0983 and Email: .
PLANT VISITS
Every season, we have numerous visitors to the plant. Please feel free to come by and get a tour of your facility. It is very interesting to watch product run through the plant.
DISPATCHING/ORDERING TRAILERS
Our trucking responsibilities will be handled by Cesar Zuniga Trucking this season. You will recognize many of the same drivers as we have had in the past as sub-haulers. We expect to see significant savings with the new rates for each load. Contact theDISPATCH office at the number listed below to order trailers for harvest. We have decals that are on each trailer, displaying our dispatch and office numbers for your convenience. We have also enclosed a card with the numbers on it for your use.
CONTACT US:
DISPATCH/TRAILER ORDERS ONLY:559-665-1804
MAIN OFFICE: 559-665-1185
Please continue to contact the main office for Grower Reports, reporting of Ranch Stockpiles, requests for personnel meats,Billing/Invoicing questions and any other information.
PERSONAL MEATS
Many of you request that we save product for your own use. We are very glad to provide that service to you. Please make your requests for personnel product through the main office at 559-665-1185. Place your order early! Your order, when placed at the same time as you request a trailer or report your stockpile, will greatly help us ensure that your product is held back at the time of processing. Your timely pickup of the finished product is also greatly appreciated.
DELIVERY RECEIPTS
It is your responsibility to accurately complete the Delivery Receipt and identify your product!
Please complete the Delivery Receipt yourself or have a reliable representative do so.
Last season, we redesigned the Delivery Receipt. Please see the attached copy and follow the instructions on the back side to complete the required information. The identification of “Split Loads” and desired processing of product as “meats or inshell”is easy to identify. Please mark the tag accordingly. Please see theattached exampleof a completed Delivery Receipt. Incomplete information will delay the weighing and processing of your loads.
TRAILERS
All of our trailers are equipped with GPS for tracking. The GPS units assure the safety and security of all loads. We are able to track location, speed, route and all movement of each trailer. We use this system every day as a check and balance to the location, movement and use of trailers.
Most of our trailers are equipped with tarps. It is the truck driver’s responsibility to open and close the tarp, as well as check the doors on the trailer. If you need to close the tarp, please reference the picture below. The trailers have a rope attached to the tarp to assist with closing the tarp.
INSHELL
Remember, good inshell begins in the orchard. If you are planning to have your product processed as inshell, it must be dry, and the hulls open. Acceptable Reject/inedible levels need to be discussed withyour handler prior to delivery and before designating the product as inshell. “If you think it will make inshell,don’t!” You have to know the reject levels before hand. Product that has been rained on and the shells stained, will not make acceptable inshell. If you have any questions regarding inshell, please discuss them with your handler and with us. We are sampling all product prior to committing it to Inshell. We will be glad to work with you to obtain the best product possible.
STOCKPILING ON THE RANCH
This is a very important part of our program and we would like to encourage many more of you to participate in it. The advantages are: no waiting for trailers; work at your own pace; reduced hulling costs; covered by insurance when you provide us with the location, we supply the plastic for your crew to cover the pile with; we come out and pick up the pile with our loader; your product goes directly to the plant for processing when we pick it up. The timing of retrieval of Stockpiles on the Ranch is dependent on what area the loader crew is working in and what Handler product needs are. If you have any questions regarding stockpiling on the ranch, please contact our field coordinator, Adam Kelsey at 559-598-0983.
STOCKPILING PLASTIC TRAILERS
We have set up two (2) trailers to transport and distribute (roll out) plastic on the ranch. We will bring the trailers to you or you can come and get them. This will make rolling out plastic much easier and safer. Each trailer will be loaded with 2 rolls of 50 ft. x 1,200 ft. of plastic. Simply hold on to the end of the roll and drive forward to the end of the pile, cut the exact length of plastic that is needed to cover each pile.
WEB SITE
We are making a few updates to the web site to provide additional information and to make it more user friendly. Mobile accessibility will be greatly enhanced.
If you had a login and password for last year, the same login will work again this year. If you need a login, please contact the office at 559-665-1185 to set up and receive your login and password. All of your delivery and production reports are available on the web site, All information is secure, protected and remains confidential.
If your Browser requires an updated version, you will be prompted on the Web site to perform that update in order to get the best results. Links are provided to Google Chrome and Firefox.