Exciting developments are being made in the design of row crop harvesters around the world.  The lettuce industry is engaged in the early stages of automating lettuce harvesting.  As one of the principal designers of the first commercially successful mechanical lettuce harvesters, I am happy to be a part of this technological revolution.   The water jet harvester built by Ramsay Highlander (shown at right) cuts the lettuce without a blade.  Instead it uses ultra high pressure water to cut the heads.  Several of these harvesters have been built and are currently operating successfully in the Salinas Valley.  

As the principal engineer on four different lettuce harvester designs and a contributor to a fifth design, my lettuce harvester design experience is unsurpassed.  Many of th design principles could be adapted to work on other crops throughout the world.  The labor savings achieved by using automated harvesters is staggering, saving 50% of the harvesting labor or more.

In addition to mechanical lettuce harvesters my agricultural experience includes designing spinach harvesters and celery machines.  Designing a conveyor system that will eliminate foreign objects and partial leafs without damaging the product is key to a successful design.  It is also critical that these conveyor designs can be cleaned thoroughly and swiftly. 

If you are looking for design assistance on a piece of Ag machinery, an experienced engineer can help you avoid potentially expensive mistakes.   I have the design experience to help make your agricultural machinery project a success.