The Factory Team

The Factory Team
Left to right; Jenny,Gansie, Harry, Elsabe, Joyce, Rosalien, Linah, Linda & Margaret.

In-shell Sizing & Crackers: Harry
In-Shell Handling: Gansie
Pre-Sorting: Rosalien
Halves Grading & Quality Checking: Jenny, Cindy, Elsabe, Linda & Margaret
Quality Control & Packaging: Linah
Small Pieces Quality Control: Joyce

They have been dedicated and done an excellent job

Team that Collected the Record Crop

This team completed the harvest 21 days quicker than the previous record harvest.
This crop was 25% bigger than the crop of 2005.

Congratulations George (big smile back left) and Simon (big smile back right) for selecting the team and working so well together!!

First container to leave Ramah next week.

Roux Pecans will send the first 20m container of 10-kg boxes of the 2006 crop from the farm next week.
The destination is Europe and to a number of customers.

Speciality halves in a box

Speciality Halves packed in 5kg blocks. Two in a box.

Why Certification is Important

If you make money from marketing produce that leans on a word (organic – in this case) credibility is challengeable.

Certification is about credibility.

Certification is measured, consistent and should eliminate subjective discrimination.

Credibility.
The whole concept of marketing a word puts the economic existence of the purveyor in jeopardy. Always the question is asked, “…so, what is organic?”.
If you are selling (for profit) to friends only or you are doing it for charity, there is a built in credibility.
But if you are selling to the public for profit and make claims about the goods, then you need third party, independent confirmation of your claims measured to a standard. When you have examinations in Grade 5 at school, you are judged to have reached a standard, if you pass of course.
If you go to university to be a doctor and pass all but your final exam, your friends may be happy to be treated by you, but you cannot claim the credibility that your fellows have by passing the test.
The same applies to sellers of organic foods. Trust their claims as you wish, but certification to a standard gives credibility to the level applied.
Roux Pecans has the right through annual scrutiny to use the term “organic” on our products if we pass the exam for each crop to EU and Swiss standards.
The EU standards are a minimum requirement agreed by all the people represented in the EU. We believe that that measurement gives Roux Pecans credibility.

Measured
Not all degrees or standards are acceptable to all.
Even Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds are organic – by the import of the word.
The standard required to use the Bio Suisse stamp of approval sets the bar higher than the EU does, and they are not the most stringent in their requirements.
Certification requires measurement
Check the websites of Ecocert and Bio Suisse to see the measure applied.
Roux Pecans are proud that we put our credibility to the test each year to be measured to those standards.

Consistency
The standards are the same for everyone every year with EU standard certification.
Can you imagine trying to get more than 20 countries to change the law that govern them all?
Roux Pecans likes our customers to know that we strive to maintain this consistent high standard.


Elimination of subjective discrimination.
Subjective discrimination is the root of many evils. Even if sometimes well intentioned
If produce being sold for profit coupled to the word “organic” has no credible, independent third party certification or verification, then the person or business selling the produce uses the word subjectively.

If you are serious about credibility you cannot justify the use of the word “organic” to label your products if the measure is personal opinion or subjectivity;
“I have known the grower for 21 years and he/she is such a nice person and dyed-in-the-wool organic farmer”
“they live way up in the mountains on a little farm.”
“ they are a Christian/Buddhist/Muslim/Jewish company/co-op/collective/kibbutz/person with a white/black/yellow/red skin colour”
“the produce is only watered at night using a bucket and water drawn from a stream” (maybe the stream is a factory polluted, feces carrying drain crawling through a slum)

The people selling the goods however well intentioned or of sound character and integrity, need to be measured to a standard to give credibility to their claims.
The same goes for the seller of those goods to make good the claims by having the “Certificates of Standard” on hand for scrutiny by the buying public.
That goes as much for Woolworths as it does a corner barrow vendor or a producer/farmer.

Roux Pecans make no claims about our character or integrity, but we are examined by a high standard to use the term “Organic” when selling our products.

If there is a claim made that the goods are organic,

ASK “BY WHAT STANDARD?”
IF THE STANDARD CANNOT BE MEASURED BY INDEPENDENT CREDIBLE THIRD PARTIES – DON’T BUY IT !!!

Sundowners after game viewing

Chris and Sandy Roux enjoying sundowners after spending the afternoon game viewing with the Wessels family. Andre and Biddy Wessels and family are old and good friends. Andre is a cardiac surgeon in Dubai and Biddy is a physiotherapist and part time artist. We always look forward to their next visit.

What does "Organic" mean?

The word “Organic” as used to market or describe conditions about produce is a subjective term and is open to exploitation and even abuse in influencing opinion.

To try and quantify the term is apparent to avoid confusion.

The European Union (EU) Parliament decided to do that.
The EU represents a large number of countries, with diverse language, culture, race, religious and interest or pressure groups.
They succeeded.

Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2092/91 of 21st June 1991
On organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs.

For Roux Pecans “Organic” means annual certification to this EU standard – at least.

If the supplier of your products cannot show you a current certificate specifically applicable to the product in front of you, you should be skeptical.

Certification bodies/agencies are businesses and fight for market share. Each country has one or many agents selling their expertise. In Europe they are regulated by the EU standard for the term organic.
This is why the Standard is important and not the cost or logo of the agency doing the inspection.
Roux Pecans clients are very pleased that we use Ecocert and Bio-Suisse (Switzerland).
Bio Suisse expect the level of EU legislation PLUS a few more requirements.

In South Africa there is a drive to lower the standards required to use the term “Organic” in marketing and to lower the cost and make it easier for inexperienced farmers to attain certification.
This is a cynical exploitation of consumers, and misleads the producer because his products cannot be exported as “Organic”.
South Africa should adopt the EU regulations as the work is already done, and they have taken into account their entire race, creed, language and economic differences.
It works.

If products are labeled “In-Conversion”, they are NOT ORGANIC.
It is akin to the state of pregnancy.
Either you are or, you are not.

Be proactive. Demand to see the actual certificate. The producer is justly proud of it.

If they can’t produce it – Don’t buy it. (pun intended)

Last and oldest trees to harvest

Part of the "Old Block" and the last to harvest. Looking north.

If you are in Cape Town and see this vehicle give Bob Roux a wave.

Chances are he is on a delivery to a customer.

You may want to order some yourself.

Telephone 021-689 6497

Chris and Bob Roux at the Orange River

Chris and Bob Roux at the Orange River. The pecan orchard is on the bank to the left of the picture.
Bob has been home from Cape Town for the week end.

Collecting Graftwood

Its that time if the year again.
The sap is just beginning to move and graftwood needs to be cut for the nursery. James Blanckenberg (owner of Tala Nursery) is up a tree, pruning to get the best graftwood. Once cut to length the graftwood is stored in damp shell chippings and kept in the cold room till September.
Spring is not far off.
Roux Pecans Nursery and Tala Nursery have a close working relationship.

Three Grades of Kernel

From the website you will be able to get the description of Choice Grade, Large Pieces and Small Pieces.
These three grades are featured here.

The quality is exactly the same. The difference is that one grade is more broken than the other.

Choice Grade also has complete kernels that are small enough to go through the 17mm sieve.

Intact, perfect kernels larger than the 17mm hole are reserved for Speciality or Export Grade.

Watch for the next post

Harvesting a young tree

Simon on tractor and Harry preparing to shake a young tree. Second photo is after shaking with nuts on the tarp. The tarp is pulled over and moved to the next tree leaving the nuts in a "sausage" for collecting.

"New" tractor for the farm

Mr Bernard Beyers has bought trees from Roux Pecans (and Tala Nursery) for a few years to plant on the family property near Rivier-sonder-end some 150 km from Cape Town along the southern coast road. On collecting his trees at the end of July he asked to see us harvesting and shaking trees. He was amused at our "old faithful" and only tractor doing a sterling job.
I mentioned that we were contemplating getting another in time.
Last week he phoned me and asked if I was prepared to pay for the transport of a Ford 5000 to the farm. Of course this will need to be done, but my question to him was what the cost of the tractor would be. His reply was;
"Nothing. I would like to give it to you"
Needless to say, faced with such generocity, the decision was the easiest imaginable.

The tractor has a new life, and when introduced to the other Ford 5000 on the farm it will be most relieved as it has just extended its' time before final bio-degredation to at least another Roux generation. Tractors die hard here.
It is "in conversion". Having spent till now working for a fertilizer company, it needs 3 years to detox. A good spray paint and face lift will make it happen sooner.

We collected the tractor in Hopetown this evening. Filled up diesel and drove the 47 km home on the N12 with machine purring and trucks and cars flying by!!!!.
It is in excellent "nick".
No lights, but my hazard lights behind and headlights shining the way between the wheels. Thank goodness not freezing tonight.

Generocity received is always a humbling thing. How does one say "thank you" ?
It kind of ties Roux Pecans and Berbard Beyers together in a happy way with no obligation.
Bernard Beyers.
Thank you

This picture was taken by Martin Moehr while on a visit in June. We had had some rain a few day previous and then very cold weather. The misty frosty morning is what greeted the team as we arrived to start harvesting

Record Crop on 10th August 2006

Today was a landmark for Roux Pecans.
The crop has passed the previous record harvest of 2004 and we still have at least 10 tons to come in.
The processing is happening at a steady rate of 300kg per day