GK Blueberry Harvester

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has named GK Machine, Inc. of Donald Oregon, winner of a 2017 AE50 award.

AE50 awards honor the year's most innovative designs in engineering products or systems for the food and agriculture industries. The GK Blueberry Harvester will be featured in the January/February 2017 special issue of ASABE's magazine Resource: Engineering & Technology for a Sustainable World.

"We are pleased and honored to receive this award," says Gary Grossen, President of GK Machine. The GK Blueberry Harvester is an innovative machine designed to provide fresh market growers, who hand-pick blueberries, with a mechanized harvesting aid that provides increased productivity and picking rate while improving field logistics management. The most unique feature of the GK Blueberry Harvester is that it provides a platform for workers to stand on in the field rather than walking in and out of the field. The GK Blueberry Harvester assists with managing empty and full trays of berries in and out of the field, eliminating the need for workers to manually lift the trays and walk them out of the field for transport.

Companies from around the world submit entries to the annual AE50 competition and up to 50 of the best products are chosen by a panel of international engineering experts. The judges select innovative products that will best advance engineering for the food and agriculture industries.

The AE50 awards program emphasizes the role of new products and systems in bringing advanced technology to the marketplace. These engineering developments help farmers, food processors and equipment manufacturers increase efficiency, enhance quality, improve safety, and increase profits.