Strawberries are a berry crop found in many natural and climatic zones of the earth. The fruit is consumed both fresh and processed into juices, syrups, jams, compotes, etc.
Today nearly 1,000 varieties of this berry crop are known. The main producers of strawberries in the world are the United States, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland and France.
The crop yield can reach the level of 80-100 cwt/ha, in particular, when growing with intensive technology in the open field - up to 500-750 cwt/ha, with the profitability level reaching 150-300%.
Strawberry harvesting technology
Berry picking determines the economic efficiency of a farm or a farmer, so proper and timely organization of berry picking and selling is very important.
Berries are harvested manually. Harvesting by robot is still a design option, which is far from being implemented industrially and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.
When preparing for harvesting, labor requirements, the required amount of packaging, transportation and other factors are taken into account. It also determines product accounting and payroll, logistics and management processes.
Harvest accounting and payroll for farm workers
The classic version of harvest accounting involves manual recording of employee data and harvest volume (weight). Data on harvested produce and employee performance are either calculated manually (time-consuming each day during the berry harvest season) or entered manually into a computer program (most often into a spreadsheet such as MS Excel or similar). It is very rare to use a database for accounting purposes.
Larger farms may use the relevant functions of non-specialized accounting software for bookkeeping and payroll, but this is still, to some extent, the same version of manual data entry, which is handwritten on paper in the field.
A fundamentally different approach is to use special software that allows for the direct recording of employee harvests and labor records. In combination with special hardware, these software systems completely eliminate manual paper recording and provide all the information in real time (if the Internet and a server are available, where the software information is stored).
The Minisoft Harvest hardware and software package is an example of this solution. The use of a computer or laptop along with a scanner, label printer, and a weight (if weighing is required) allows you to
- keep track of the berries harvested;
- pay workers' salaries;
- maintain inventory within pallets (containers) and batches;
- transfer data on products, employees and warehouses to the server in batch mode;
- ensure the operational activities of management, logisticians and accountants.
The experience of farms, which have already introduced and during several seasons worked with the solution of the "MiniSoft Harvest," has shown that the use of technology with the labeling of containers and complexes gives an increase in productivity up to 25% compared to previous - pre-computer - seasons, leaves workers satisfied, who receive on time and in full the money earned, simplifies planning and operational management of the farm.
For questions about purchasing and implementing Minisoft Harvest, contact Minisoft staff via email, Whatsapp, Skype o mobile pone.