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  • From: "Bill Bradshaw" <billbradshaw AT hughes.net>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] limitations of AC coolers
  • Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2007 08:25:17 -0600

John, Good Answer, Good Answer, we also use coolers to keep our produce as fresh as possible. Even if just over night. TexasBill


----- Original Message ----- From: "JOHN A HENDRICKSON" <jhendric AT wisc.edu>
To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 6:52 AM
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] limitations of AC coolers


I think coolers are a must for most fresh market produce farms...more important ultimately than any other piece of equipment on the farm. I've seen "fresh picked" produce from CSA farms and at farmers markets that is LESS fresh than supermarket produce because of inadequate post harvest handling and lack of a cooler. Vegetables start to die the moment they are harvested. Unless field heat is removed and the dying process is slowed, the produce quickly looses quality and nutrients. None of the market growers I know use coolers as an excuse to sell old produce, they use them to cool and hold produce overnight or for a couple days so that it can withstand the rigors of sitting at a CSA drop site or at a sunny, windy farmers market. Such produce is still 7-14 days newer and fresher than the stuff at a supermarket. My two cents...

-John

----- Original Message -----
From: Robert Schuler <sunnfarm AT verizon.net>
Date: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 7:07 pm
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] limitations of AC coolers
To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>


Paul, you are right, ac cannot remove field heat and true agricultural
grade cooling requires removing field heat right into the core of the
produce not just the surface. If you put a melon with a core temp of
70 degrees in a ac cool room the surface will feel cold but the the
inside of the melon will still be 70 degrees for days after. At my
Coop will use vacuum cooling that sucks the field heat out of the
produce right to the core then the produce can be held in a cool room.
Unfortunately vacuum coolers are a bit costly for a small farm.
On my farm I do not use any cooling. I tell customers that coolers are
just an excuse to sell old produce. If you want old cooled produce you
can go to the supermarket. People who buy off the farm expect produce
to be fresh picked not days old... Bob.
Sunny Meadow Farm
Bridgeton, NJ.

From: Paul Bucciaglia <pbucciaglia AT yahoo.com>
Date: 2007/01/16 Tue PM 12:12:58 CST
To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [Market-farming] limitations of AC coolers

I don't mean to be a wet rag (no pun intended), but I found Air
conditioned coolers to be limited in their usefulness.</div>
<div> </div> <div>They are fine for crops that are best stored
between 55F and 65F. I have a cooler made from panels ripped from a
liquor store--we cut a hole in the back, mounted an old window AC, and
wa-laa you have a good cooler for crops that like it cool and dry:
tomatos, melons, and eggplant. We also store unwashed spuds (short
term) in there.</div> <div> </div> <div>However, this is not a good
cooler for greens, lettuce, broccoli, carrots, etc. I find these
crops store best from 34 to 38F, and trying get a large mass of warm
(even if they are hydrocooled), wet produce down to these temps, and
held there, is a tall order for an AC. And I'm not even metnioning
the ice-up problems, even though others have found ways to defrost
their frozen-up ACs. Actually, that fact alone should be a warning
buzzer about this whole idea! You can find very reasonable coolers
from restarants or grocery stores that are selling out. A few years
ago we put up a 12X18' cooler on the concrete floor in our barn. The
used panels and condenser cost $1000 pulled from a local grocery store
(with about 60 ft. of nice roller track thrown in), and a new
compressor plus professional wiring ran about 3 grand as I recall. I
should count labor when putting it up, so it was all under 5 grand.
When you consider that this should last (at least!) 10 years, that
means refrigertation capital/maintenance costs for my crops run less
than $550 a year, which is less than 0.5% of my annual gross income
from produce sales. Lots of bang for the buck there, IMOP. Because
good post harvest handling is so crucial to quality produce, I
consider this cooler an essential investment at a very small annual
cost. Paul Fort Hill Farm

Paul Bucciaglia
Fort Hill Farm
Organic Vegetables, Herbs, and Flowers
18 Fort Hill Rd.
New Milford CT 06776
(860) 350-3158
www.forthillfarm.com

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