CherryHill Orchards: Streamlining Harvest Operations with Dataphyll
Challenge
CherryHill Orchards is a third-generation, family-run cherry producer with orchard sites across Victoria. Despite being one of the country’s largest cherry growers, CherryHill faced increasing challenges in managing contractors and tracking productivity during harvest. The company also relied heavily on manual processes.
Compliance and traceability were major concerns. With hundreds of seasonal workers each year, CherryHill needed a better way to track who was on-site each day for safety and audit purposes. Paper timesheets often went missing or were incomplete, undermining confidence in record-keeping. “All the paper records used to get lost… we didn’t have a system to capture these logs or measure productivity. That was one of our biggest frustrations, and we decided that technology was the only way forward.” says Frank Penaloza, CherryHill’s People & Capability Manager. The leadership team recognised that to maintain their competitive edge and meet both regulatory and operational needs, they had to modernise with a more efficient system
Solution
After evaluating several options, CherryHill chose Dataphyll GROW as the best fit for their needs. GROW is a horticultural management platform designed to manage labour costs and boost productivity for orchard operations. The software enables real-time tracking of field activities and labour. Instead of using paper timesheets, CherryHill’s pickers and contract crews now use digital check-ins via the Worker App to record their work hours and the quantity of fruit picked.
All data is captured in a single centralised system, giving managers instant visibility into who is working, where, and how much has been harvested each day.
Implementing Dataphyll GROW turned what used to be guesswork into a data-driven process. Orchard managers at each of CherryHill’s six sites were trained to use the new system as part of their daily harvest toolkit. The platform’s mapping feature provides block-by-block visibility, using GPS-based heat maps to show which orchard rows have been picked — ensuring teams don’t overlook any fruit and can return to finish partially picked blocks the following day.
“With Dataphyll, we can check time records for all our workers, see how many items they pick per day… It has been a very successful implementation,”
— Frank reports.
Results
Improved Efficiency and Cost Control
In their first season using Dataphyll GROW, CherryHill saw measurable improvements in efficiency and oversight. With accurate data on each worker’s performance, the company ensures it is paying based on actual results — not estimates — helping contain labour costs. Managers now have the ability to independently verify performance data.
Enhanced Traceability and Compliance
Dataphyll enables every picker to digitally “clock in” and out, with location tracking to verify on-site presence. This complete digital log strengthens CherryHill’s compliance with labour laws and food safety standards — a critical factor for fresh produce exporters.
Training, Communication, and Quality Assurance
An unexpected benefit has been improved worker training and quality control. All workers are registered in the system, making it easy to send out safety and picking technique modules. Dataphyll also captures photos and quality data during picking. CherryHill’s sales team can log in to review images and confirm that each day’s pick meets colour and quality specifications for export orders — all without the mountain of paperwork the team used to manage.
Perhaps the most impactful result has been the newfound ability to make data-driven decisions. “Data-driven decision making is key for us now. With the data we collected last year, we can forecast how many pickers, crew leaders, and scanners we’ll need for the next season – we have access to that data, and it’s helping us plan ahead,” says Frank.
By analysing harvest metrics in Dataphyll, CherryHill’s management can optimise staffing — hiring the right number of seasonal workers at the right times — and even refine crop yield forecasts based on the detailed picking data collected.
Frank notes that having all their operational information in one place is a significant advantage. The success of their first season using Dataphyll GROW has encouraged CherryHill to expand the system into other areas such as pruning and farm maintenance, further leveraging technology to streamline operations
