In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” we welcome guest host Steve Mantle, founder and CEO of Innov8.ag and USHBC’s partner in the BerrySmart Field program, who’s joined by Glenn Sakuma of Sakuma Bros Farms in Washington, and Rich Iannaco of Pleasantdale Farms in New Jersey. Together, they share on-farm experiences with Oxbo’s AutoHarvest technology, and how this approach to harvesting impacts their operations.
“I can trust turning the auto setting on and know it’s gonna be pretty close to the way I would set up the harvester, too. I may have to tweak it a little bit, but for a base setting where it’s gonna be pretty close, it works pretty well. It saves me the time of making a lot of changes.” – Glenn Sakuma
“With AutoHarvest, it just made it a lot easier for me for adjustments on the machine. Like when we were switching varieties or even the temperature change during the day … it was just nice to not have to go out and change head speeds, blower speeds, head widths … I was able to let the machine do the work for me.” – Rich Iannaco
Topics covered include:
- An introduction to Sakuma and Iannaco.
- Firsthand grower experiences with Oxbo’s Autoharvest technology.
- The impact automated blueberry harvest technology has on operational efficiency and fruit quality.
Crop Report
The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from Liczy Sotomayor in Mexico, Andres Armstrong in Chile and Luis Vegas in Peru. This was recorded on October 22, 2026.
