If you spend any time around the fruit packing shed on the farm, you’ll hear the beeps of the forklift coming around the corners, making sure people know to move out of the way. It’s one of the many sounds of the daily hustle, bustle, and shuffle here. There’s an efficient flow (like a dance!) moving big bins of Warren pears and apples out of the cooler, moving orders packed on pallets onto big trucks (more than 1000lbs of fruit!). And sometimes, you’ll see a Frog Hollow team member lifting almost 150 of our signature Frog Hollow Farm fairytale boxes at one time onto a shelf 15ft up in the air! There’s a lot to move on a daily basis: pallets of fruit, pallets of boxes, pallets of supplies, bins of compost, and more. The forklift is an essential tool for life here on the farm.

It follows that we’re nothing without our skilled forklift operators. Carla, our Operations Manager, is one of them. She joins Beto, Pablo, Abel, Luis, and Carlo—and most recently also Sergio, Miguel, and Arturo. Every one of them responds to the changing demands of the day at a moment’s notice and with great agility and care.

“I also never stop laughing,” Carla says of the team. “They just make the day easier, and better, and funnier. And they’re very skilled at forklift driving. They understand tight turns and how to handle big trucks. Between all of them, there’s probably 50 plus years of experience.”

5 years now and working at the farm for about that long. Something she has witnessed over the years is the team creating more efficient systems to utilize these kinds of tools.

“I love it, seeing the farm evolve. When I first got here we didn’t have this same set up and because we’re busier and have a lot more fruit now, our systems have had to catch up to that. I’ve loved being a part of building those systems and that structure for a family farm. I come from a very structured, systems-oriented past in retail so to be a part of building a really different and unique operation at a farm has been fun. And challenging! It’s just great being a part of a growing environment of good people.”

The day moves quickly at Frog Hollow Farm and the order of events is always changing. Our packing shed team members are both agile in their ability to operate the machinery, but also flexible in spirit. They’re cool under pressure and at the same time keep an eye for the safety of those around them. That’s an essential part of operating a forklift, especially while carrying several tons of weight. It’s pretty amazing seeing the skill of moving quickly but with great caution and care. We’re so thankful for the experience, skill, and thoughtfulness of our team.