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The EFI Program helps farming operations to embrace a culture of continuous improvement and to develop a workplace where managers and workers are open to new ideas and making things better. Even when the starting point is a great farming operation, the EFI Program creates positive impacts and drives improvements.
We recently had the opportunity to visit the family farms growing stone fruit for Homegrown Organic Farms in Kingsburg, CA. An EFI Leadership Team was formed in January and the operation earned EFI certification in May, making it the fastest operation to achieve certification after training. By all accounts Homegrown Organic Farms is a leader in the industry and a great place to work. A fully organic operation, employees are offered insurance, including dental and vision, a 401(k) plan and have access to a nurse practitioner and clinic for them and their families. Not surprising, the tenure of employees is long, with many having worked there for more than two decades.
What does the EFI Program offer farming operations like Homegrown Organic Farms that are already high performing and taking care of their employees?
“There is better communication and more respect,” said Agustin Cardenas, a grower for Homegrown Organic Farms. “There is definitely more respect on both sides now, and all around people have more positive attitudes. Although I’ve worked with many of these employees for a long time, I feel closer to them now…they are more like family.”
“Bringing the team together in a vertically integrated way — from the field, packhouse, sales and cold storage — gave them all access to the process,” explained Vernon Peterson, owner of Peterson Family Farm. “It has been good for everyone’s espirit de corps, but it has also been valuable in practicality and enhancing safety measures.”
In addition to increases in communication, respect and morale, the EFI Program also brought tangible improvements in safety and ease for workers. As part of the EFI certification process, workers are invited to share their ideas for improvements, and once workers at Homegrown Organic Farms were engaged through the EFI Team, there was no shortage of good ideas.
Field Safety
The Homegrown Organic Farms EFI Team came up with several ideas for making the fields safer for workers. The team hoped to better secure ladders, which are shaped like a tripod with a moveable pole leg that can extend into trees. Some fields have harder soil and the pole doesn’t dig securely into the ground, creating the risk that the pole could slip and the ladder fall. The team thought to add a sleeve to the pole so that it can better anchor in the ground and create more stability.
The team noted another potential area for risk in moving the harvest trailer while crews are returning full bins and retrieving empty ones. The driver is trained to look back to the right, then back to the left to make sure no one is approaching before moving the trailer. There was a risk that the when the driver makes the second look, someone would approach from the first side he checked. Now, tractor drivers carry a coach’s whistle, and before moving the tractor forward, blow the whistle as the signal that everyone should stand back.
On an organic farm, grass can grow tall in the summer, making it more difficult for crews to navigate the orchards. After the EFI Team pointed this out, it was an easy policy to implement to mow the fields just prior to the crews entering them.
Packhouse Safety
The EFI Team acted on several suggestions to make the packhouse a safer and easier place to work. For example, as stone fruit is packed it is placed on a line of rollers and moves up the line to be added to a pallet. A kill switch for this line was located in quality control and the main control room, and if an issue arose, a packhouse employee could radio to ask to stop the line. The EFI Team noted the obvious potential for delay and suggested that a new switch be added to the middle of the packing tables where packers can easily access it themselves.
The team also noted that the wash water on the packing line would drain and run onto the floor where people walked. A pipe was added to divert the water to a safer location.
And finally, the team suggested changing the gloves that the packers wear to protect the fruit and their hands from peach fuzz. Textured gloves make it easier for them to handle the fruit without dropping it.
Small Improvements, Big Results
It’s easy to understand how engaging workers, addressing the issues they identify, and implementing the ideas they have would lead to improved morale and better relationships with management. Congratulations to the EFI Leadership Team at the Homegrown Organic Farms’ stone fruit operation for engaging workers, implementing change and strengthening relationships across the operation!
LeAnne R. Ruzzamenti
Director, Marketing Communications, EFI
