It is the end of the season for 2015. After a very dry start, we have received a lot of deliveries above 6% kernel moisture towards the end. This has slowed production down considerably and although having the second largest crop ever, we had envisaged being finished earlier than we did. Most varieties were finished being received by the 17th […]
Categories: Uncategorized1/3 of the way through 2015
It is mid April and Laragon has processed over a 1/3 of the estimated 2015 crop for our almond growers. The dry harvest and new BM&M deck has helped increase our production speed by almost 1 tonne per hour on average from previous years. Mark has prepared the pollinator roster and all growers should now have their copy. The Grower […]
Categories: UncategorizedFlying Start
Season 2015 is underway with a flying start. Warm dry weather allowed quite a few growers to take advantage of Laragon’s early start. Whilst 24 hour production has only kicked in on the 2nd of March, the first almonds arrived on the 18th of Feb. Dry hull, a new pre-hulling sorting deck and effective maintenance have seen the initial almonds […]
Categories: News 2015Blooming!
The blossom season looked beautiful and the new season almonds are already developing nicely. At the recent ABA conference there was a lot of talk about orchard hygiene being the most important aspect of keeping pests out of the orchard and improving the final quality of the kernels. Laragon is also committed to improved kernel quality. Insect control has been […]
Categories: Uncategorized2014 season finish
Laragon finished 24 hour processing mid July this year, which is really pleasing. The 2014 crop processed at a reasonably quick pace which avoided long drawn out storage for our almond growers. Whilst most growers were a little down on expected tonnages, the quality we saw at Laragon was reasonably good.
Categories: Uncategorized2014 Mid season update – June 3rd
Capital planning for 2015 Planning has started for the 2015 season and projects include the installation of a Pre Hulling Deck to help remove loose hull prior to hulling and shelling. This should help improve throughput and quality. Another project will be to extend our shed roof area to cover our loading bay for finished goods dispatch. The area will […]
Categories: News 20142014 Season start
The 2014 season started swiftly. February rain events stalled harvest for orchards, however Laragon was up and running at full steam by the 3rd of March and we haven’t looked back. Production has been chuffing along as fast as the plant has ever run, particularly when we receive clean & dry field almonds. April rains have certainly slowed things down. […]
Categories: News 2014Californian Tour
Recently Tom and Mark visited Almond growing areas of California to look at Hulling and Shelling facilities and research options to improve the operation at Laragon. Some excellent ideas on pre hulling, waste removal as well as computerised sorting were observed. With a record season of production tonnes in 2013, new ways of improving throughput, whilst maintaining the highest quality […]
Categories: News 20132013 Season end
2013 proved to be the greatest tonnage and longest processing season Laragon has ever completed. Just under 10,000 tonnes of almond kernels were hulled/shelled by early September. Ideally, Laragon would like all processing to be completed by the end of July each season, to support higher quality outcomes. This year significant amounts of high moisture hulls slowed the process down […]
Categories: News 2013Mid season update
16th May 2013 We have almost finished processing the nonpareil. This is much later than first planned as many growers have much larger crops than first estimated. Such a good problem to have! Some of the nonpareils have come through as large and flat this year, while others are plump and pale. There has been some dehydration required for kernels, […]
Categories: News 2013