Agri Kultuur December / Desember 2018 | Page 45

“We’re used to it” While it is a great irritation, most packhouse managers are regarding it with admirable stoicism. Many packhouses have electricity generators capable of running the packing lines, lights and computers, but not powerful enough to run the compressors of cold rooms. Their only solution is to ensure that the doors of cold rooms remain tightly closed and not to load during this time. To control field temperature, they could bring in fruit very early in the morning or late afternoon. Some smaller packhouses, especially those for fruit categories only packed for a few months every year, don’t have the capital outlay for electricity generators and there the impact is greatest, as power cuts bring a halt to all activities. “And even if the power cuts are outside working hours, I have to get up at the middle of the night and check on the cold store to start the compressor again when the power comes back on,” a plum pack store manager says. “If you get two power cuts during a nine hour working day, you lose four to five hours of work a day.” One cold store manager tells FreshPlaza he’s used to power outages by now. “You just have to make sure you have plans in place. It’s not ideal but we work around it.” Publication date : 12/3/2018  Author: Carolize Jansen  © FreshPlaza.com https://www.freshplaza.com/article/9049982/ south-africa-electricity-cuts-a-great-irritation- to-fruit-industry/ Are you farming in the colder regions of South Africa ? Are you looking for a project to breathe new life into your farming Enterprise ? A longterm project with a local market and a very large export market in the Northern Hemisphere. HAVE YOU CONSIDERED FA R M I N G T R U F F L E S ? Truffles are a seasonal fungi that grow underground, on the roots of oak trees in a ‘Truffiere’. They are harvested in winter with the help of dogs. Take a look at our website to learn more about our Joint Venture Partnerships cultivating this valuable agricultural product in South Africa. - 12 years of cultivation and research in SA. - Access to International Consultants. - Harvesting and supplying local Truffles since 2014. - Now over 100 Hectares established with partner farmers. www.woodfordtruffles.co.za [email protected] Volker Miros [phone] / +27-83 W O O DF OR D T R U F F L E S ( P T Y ) Ltd. AgriKultuur |AgriCulture 45