The Glean Machine: Design of A Harvest Aid to Reduce Food Loss

The Glean Machine was constructed by research specialists and students in the Biological & Agricultural Engineering Department (BAE) at North Carolina State University as part of a project funded by the USDA’s Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.

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Turn Field Losses into Profits

Field losses at the end of the season can be attributed to several factors. Losses can result from demand dropping off unexpectedly, a price less than the harvest cost, reduction in quality in the field, risk of rejection of loads, and competing priorities on the farm.

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This article was featured in the April issue of VSCNews magazine.

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Putting Dollars to Waste: Estimating the Value of On-Farm Food Loss (2019)

Information on the volume and value of food that never leaves the field is important from both the perspective of farmers making harvesting decisions and, on an aggregate level, for informing policy decisions related to food loss. Rebecca D. Dunning, Lisa K. Johnson, and Kathryn A. Boys share insights into food loss at the farm level in this article published by Choices, a publication of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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Is the harvest over when the price drops? Deciding to stop when there’s still a crop (January 2019)

A presentation by Lisa K. Johnson, Ph.D. & Rebecca D. Dunning, Ph.D. at the Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference. Savannah, Georgia. January 10-13 2019

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Potential Buyers List for Edible but Unmarketable Produce (November 2018)

List of companies that accept a wide range of appearances and quality of produce. This list includes company name, description, location and contact information. Companies are listed by purchase volume from large quantities to small quantities.

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Finding Opportunity in the Field: Estimating losses to improve yield, Sweet Potatoes (2018)

In North Carolina and nationwide vegetable crops that never leave the farm have the potential to increase the yield to an estimated 20%. Produced by Lisa K. Johnson, this video is a how-to guide that can be used to calculate how much and what quality of produce is left in the field after harvest. This data can help inform decisions to continue or stop harvesting produce from the field. This video shows sweet potatoes but can be used for other crops.

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Finding Opportunity in the Field: Estimating losses to improve yield, Cucumbers (2018)

In North Carolina and nationwide vegetable crops that never leave the farm have the potential to increase the yield to an estimated 20%.  Produced by Lisa K. Johnson, this video is a how-to guide that can be used to calculate how much and what quality of produce is left in the field after harvest.  This data can help inform decisions to continue or stop harvesting produce from the field. This video shows cucumbers but can be used for other crops.

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How to Determine the Potential to Increase Vegetable Yield through Estimating and Reducing Field Losses (2018)

Vegetable growers can use many strategies to increase quality and yield. An often overlooked method is to reduce field loss, which can amount to a significant portion of the harvested yield. The focus of this field note is to  provide a simple technique for measuring unharvested crops, as these crops may be the best option for a source of greater yield.

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