Tregunno Farms is the long-time Croptracker customer we are highlighting in this Croptracker Customer Spotlight article. Tregunno is an Ontario Tender Fruit (OTF) growing member and has access to the full suite of Croptracker farm management software. Tregunno has also worked with Croptracker for over a decade to support a custom and automated cold storage inventory tracking system and a tailored inventory transfer system. For this article we spoke with Ryan Tregunno, who works with his family, to manage this 5th-generation family farm.
With 700 acres, located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Tregunno Farms is an industry leader and the largest peach grower in Ontario. Tregunno farms also grow wine and table grapes, nectarines and plums and has their own large cold storage facility and pack line to process all their own fruit. They are members of Vineland Growers Co-op (Vineland) who market and sell all their fruit all across Canada.
Customized Collaboration: Revolutionizing Inventory Tracking for Tregunno Farms
Croptracker has worked with Tregunno and Vineland Growers Coop to create an inventory tracking and transfer system between the farm and the sales team at the coop. Ryan Tregunno will record all inventory available for sale using the shipping or packing module and a linked transaction feature in the order desk module. Vineland then uses its API subscription to receive and transfer inventory to Vineland’s Croptracker account. Several other Ontario tender fruit growers use this same system to alert Vineland to what is available for sale and ready to be shipped to customers.
Ryan originally reached out to Croptracker to collaborate on an automated storage inventory tracking system in 2015. The result was a custom-built RFID tag tracking system with sensors at every door into cold storage to track the movement of bins in and out automatically. A custom reporting dashboard shows the inventory movement and availability is displayed in the pack house during the harvest season.
[Before Croptracker] I was just writing out recipe cards like handwritten cards as fruit came in, and as the fruit came out. It was just an unbelievable amount of work just to manage making sure things won't get mixed up and recipe cards wouldn't blow off in the cold storage.
Croptracker continues to maintain this automatic system on dedicated servers. Ryan re-enables all his RFID tags for the season before harvest with this system, Tregunno Farms is able to eliminate all manual data entry at storage while still maintaining traceability and GAP compliance for cold storage practices.
We really have a real-time picture of our storages and know that the first fruits going in are the first out and nothing's getting lost. We know the age of everything and we always strive for what's picked today and packed tomorrow after cooling overnight. We can then get it out to the distribution centers as quick as possible. So that really helps us.
Optimizing Standard Processes: Croptracker Workflows in Action
Tregunno Farms uses Croptracker's standard farm management system workflows as well. Ryan uses Croptracker to record all of his pesticide and fertilization applications using the Spray module. Total chemical use reports and the ability to create custom fertilization blends help with Tregunno Farm’s sustainability goals as well as making Audit processes more efficient.
Ryan and his family record all their employee time using Croptracker’s Punch Clock module. All permanent and seasonal employees are added to their account and assigned various pay rates depending on role and temporary foreign worker hiring program. Tregunno uses both the Punch Clock: Kiosk workflow and the Punch Clock: Hourly workflow to record time in the pack house and out in the field respectively. They adjust time records as needed, record holiday and break times and generate payroll reports from the Croptracker Punch Clock: Admin features.
During harvest times, Tregunno Farms uses the Harvest module to record their stone fruit inventory in the field. Peaches, nectarines and plums are harvested into totes and loaded onto pallets with the RFID tags attached so they can be tracked as they are moved into cold storage overnight. Once harvested inventory is cooled, it is packed on Tregunno’s own packline and completed inventory is shipped and flagged for sale at Vineland.
The Packing module is used to record grape harvest inventory which is packed into retail containers in the field. The retail containers for the grape harvest are labelled using pre-printed product labels. When the filled containers arrive back at storage for cooling, the labels are scanned onto ‘pallets’ and pallet tags are printed, creating inventory that can be stored, and shipped for full traceability.
Our table grapes are direct field packed. They are packed in the field and the labels are printed and applied to the outside of the box once the box is filled. We do a bulk print usually a few hours ahead to make sure we don’t waste labels in case of a rain event.
Tregunno Farms stands as a prime example of innovation and efficiency in Ontario's agricultural landscape, empowered by their long-standing partnership with Croptracker. Through custom-built solutions and seamless integration of technology, Tregunno Farms has not only streamlined its operations but also ensured the highest standards of quality, traceability, and sustainability. From automated cold storage inventory tracking to real-time monitoring of pesticide applications and employee management, every aspect of their farm's workflow has been optimized for success.
Ryan Tregunno and his family's commitment to leveraging Croptracker's suite of tools reflects not only their dedication to the craft but also their vision for the future of farming, where tradition meets technology for unparalleled results. With Croptracker’s farm management software, Tregunno Farms continues to set the bar high, reinforcing its position as an industry leader and steward of Ontario's agricultural heritage.
