When 3Springs expanded their farm acreage in 1985, a house was purchased for David Wenk's family.  Included with the purchase was 42 bearing acres of 'Montmorency' sour cherries formerly belonging to the Musselman company.  Two short years after, two harvesting machines were bought from a farmer in Michigan and we've been shaking things up ever since.  Mechanically harvested cherries are processed at nearby Knouse Foods Cooperative and made into Lucky Leaf brand pie filling.

The same machines, seen here harvesting a new planting of sour cherries in 2009, travel on either side of the row of trees being harvested.  David's machine, on the left as you view the tree, grips and shakes the tree.  Banks of tarps catch the bouncing cherries and trickle them down toward the truck where John's machine (on the right) collects the cherries on conveyor belts.  The cherries travel towards the operator onto a second conveyor which carries the fruit up and drops them into a steel tank of icy water.

video by Ryan E. Taylor