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Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

This year in Nekoosa, WI . Some growers complained about the way they unloaded the pumpkins. The method was using a fork lift,transporting the pumpkin to the scale, and sliding the pumpkin across the pallet to the scale. Scraping the pumpkin in the process. They want ideas that do not involve lifting with the back. Suggest we put something between the pallet and pumpkin that would allow the pumpkin to slide. That would mean alot of pumpkin sliding as you are going down the highway. You can see the headlines now. They are open to suggestion. Thanks
Shannon

10/8/2001 10:45:09 AM

Choctaw, OK

hi shannon,

i noticed your diary entry and saw a picture of your pumpkin. I am not sure why they called that a squash. it seems the nekoosa weighoff is a little to jumpy on the green. If it was 800 lbs i sure think it would have been considered a pumpkin...i want to do something about juding things a squash and pumpkin at nekoosa...i'll work on it so for next year we will not have pumpkins as squash.....

Casey

10/8/2001 10:58:57 AM

Western Pa.

In Ohio, all pumpkins are to be brought in on a padded pallet,which are unloaded by fork lift, pallet and all. In previous years, lifters would then (gently)place the fruit on a lifting tarp and carry it to the scale. Ohio has now gone high-tech with a steel ifting beam and 2 electric lifts on trolleys. Using lifting rings,one pumpkin can be weighed as the next one is being rigged up. This saved a LOT of time this year, and I didn't see a single pumpkin casualty!

10/8/2001 1:04:05 PM

Utah

this happened to me last year. got a big scrap on
the bottom when they pushed it back onto the pallet.
i was upset for a while then go over it.
the pumpkin made it to halloween just fine.
but i understand the frustration.

many grower put a solid piece of wood as the top
of the pallet and/or put carpet on top.
i've also see a lenolium top or two.
it helps if you have a really good fork lift
operator and the scales off the ground some.
then he can have the pumpkin slightly above
the scale on the way on and slightly below
the scale on they way off.
if you have a smooth surface on top you just
have to make sure you have a good method to
hold it in place while on the road.
big styrofoam wedges and rope work well. i've seen
nylon web netting also.
hope this helps
gordon

10/8/2001 1:15:03 PM

South Hill, Virginia

The heaviest pumpkin at our weighoff was dropped which left it with a pretty big crack. The grower took if very well. After that one each pumpkin was tilted up on its side, a tarp put beneath it and then rolled up on the other side so the tarp could be pulled completely underneath .... just like you would remove it from your patch.

10/8/2001 8:27:26 PM

Sloughhouse, CA

At the Elk Grove weigh off most of the growers with big pumpkins had a tarp under them then on the pallet. The men still had to lift the pumpkin onto the scale and remove the tarp.

10/8/2001 11:54:14 PM

Herndon, VA

In Altoona, pumpkins were unloaded from each truck using a lifting ring and a forklift. Each was placed them on a pre-weighed pallot, wit hthe pallot weight written directly on the pallot. During weighoff, the pumpkins were weighed on the pallot, and then the pallot weight was subtracted.

It went very fast, but you couldn't just look up at the scale because it displayed the weight of the pumpkin+pallot. A few of the larger ones, including Tony Ciliberto's 1061.6, were left on the pallots and then moved to the scale by hand. Personally I don't know why the lifting ring wasn't used, but it all worked out and there were no casualties. --Bruiser

10/9/2001 2:53:21 PM