Crop Scheduling

Invest now to save later -- the industry's market message is clear. It is safe to say that our industry is moving forward and taking advantage of new technologies. More than ever there is demand for new equipment and programs that can push a business forward and make it more efficient. The Internet and new software programs are implemented into the way we do business and may be what makes one operation more successful than another. Can the same be said about crop scheduling?

Recently, GPN asked growers how they approach their crop scheduling needs and looked into some of the solutions currently available on the market.

Spreadsheets Scheduling

Different operations choose different scheduling methods. For Joe Boarini, owner of Grande Greenhouse Inc., Indianapolis, Ind., spreadsheets have proven to be a relatively simple but effective method for crop scheduling. "I use spreadsheets that I have built myself," Boarini said. "The main benefit is that all your information is organized, it is convenient and much simpler than using the old-fashioned piece of paper and calculator method." Spreadsheets allow growers to clearly visualize space usage and calculate how much it costs to grow a particular crop. According to Boarini, spreadsheets are very useful for growers running a small-to medium-size greenhouse and can be put together with little effort.

Software Scheduling

On the other hand, Justin Marotta, president and co-owner of Possum Run Greenhouses Inc., Belleville, Ohio, said his operation uses production software (Arc Software) for vegetative scheduling. "In the very beginning, pen and paper seemed great. Today the problem is that there are so many different varieties and plants. Some of these new items require different starting times versus different finish times, so the software makes it easier and saves a lot of time," Marotta explained. He also thinks the benefit of using software instead of spreadsheets is the continuity and consistency that exists within a software program. "It forces you to be consistent. It becomes a disciplined part of your production." In addition, the software terminals allow for greater accessibility. "You can get a printout of a worksheet and give that sheet to a specific grower or production staff so they have access to the information they need to stay on top," Marotta said.

Robert Milks, production manager of Van Wingerden International, Fletcher, N.C., said that Van Wingerden uses two main operation software programs, one that helps plan greenhouse space utilization and another one for coordinating production and sales functions. "We use Starcom, which keeps track of crop schedules, such as sowing and transplanting dates and quantities, sales forecasts and so on," Milks explained. "For space planning we use Gart Plan, used by various other greenhouse operations in the United States, who also has a Web version available on subscription basis." Milks said both software programs handle space and production aspects, but Van Wingerden uses the portions of each that they felt were most fully developed.

Milks explained that the main benefits of using space-planning software are having the information to maximize production and fulfill orders correctly, while reducing losses due to over-estimation of capacity. He feels that greenhouse space is the most limiting factor to the number of plants produced, and programs such as Gart Plant, can help maximize production.

Because Van Wingerden is a weekly floral pot producer as well as a bedding plant poinsettia promotional crop grower, weekly scheduling is very demanding, as they must stay full all the time. "Ten years ago, we could have said we are growing a standard quantity of flats and baskets, and we knew what fit almost intuitively. Now we are growing numerous different specialty programs with new genetics, so we can't plan space effectively without a computer," Milks Á said. "Of course, we have to have good data; if we don't continually record ready dates, a computer won't help that much."

Milks said that although both of the programs they use are not custom designed to every user, they have a great deal of flexibility, and both address issues of crop timing variance due to the short-term weather, seasonal changes and problems such as crops with extended bloom windows. "They are far more advanced than a spreadsheet and certainly less costly than hiring a programmer and starting at ground zero," Milks explained.

Drawbacks

Growers are often skeptical because the horticulture industry is complex and varied, and it is hard to design software for scheduling that fits everyone's needs. Marotta thinks that some of the drawbacks with software use are in part because growers feel that they have different needs than what software programmers think they do. "I think it is a learning curve for all of us, because programmers don't always understand production, and production doesn't understand what it entitles to put a program together," he said.

Software Comeback

"There is a high number of companies that have dropped the spreadsheet and gone to a production planning system," said Richard Nuss, CEO of Starcom, Buffalo, Wash. Starcom offers growers a production planning system that has been on the market for about eight years. "The production planning system allows growers to look at a ready date and when the products need to be shipped," Nuss explained. "Depending on the type of plant, the program goes back to a library of processes that the grower has set up and creates a schedule from the first labor task to materials and to actions that need to be performed so the crop is completed on time."

The production planning system is a database that keeps all historical information, and it works as a program as opposed to spreadsheet. Growers can record all of the information about what is required to produce a certain item in the Plant Library. The library can accommodate multiple seasons and allows growers to preset changes to grow times based on plant weeks. It can estimate spoilage, and the program can reduce the expected yield available to the salespeople or automatically increase planting quantities to allow for the estimated spoilage and ensure the grower's goal. In addition, growers can record labor materials used to produce and item and the program will automatically calculate resource requirements. Changes to the library information automatically adjust future forecasts.

According to Nuss, spreadsheets require a lot of hand typing of information and can be very time consuming. "The program is already orientated to different days, plans and growing seasons. It makes the process easier by using a lot of historical information, year after year, with a very few changes," Nuss said. "It is much more automatic than a spreadsheet."

What Works for You

Overall, most growers approach scheduling based on what works best for their operation. However, operation size is no longer the main factor in deciding whether spreadsheets or a software program is right for you.

"I think all types of growers can benefit from these programs," Milks said. "There are simpler, less expensive programs for smaller growers and more complex and expensive for larger ones -- they can be tailored to anyone's needs."