BEI
International Blackberry Harvester
Blackberry over-the-row mechanical harvesters almost exclusively, opens the window to changing the bottom line. Since labor for picking is expensive and becoming more challenging due to new governmental labor laws, and the increasing tightening of the border between Mexico and the U.S., blackberry mechanical harvesting is becoming more appeal to vineyard owners.
BEI Blackberry harvesting technological breakthroughs address gentler picking, sloping hills and night time harvesting allowing for cool fruit to hold its sugars longer. Financially, mechanical harvesting has it all over hand-picking. The cost of a machine per acre is about $200-300. Compare that to the $150 a ton many companies pay each of their field workers; at three tons an acre, that’s $450 a blackberry acre!
