Pallets for the Fruit Ridge harvest
The Fruit Ridge is a fruit-growing area of about 158 square miles across Kent, Newaygo, Muskegon and Ottawa counties, centred on Sparta. Packers there need pallets in volume for a short season.
Where it is
The ridge covers parts of four counties and centres on Sparta. In 2006 it grew 65 percent of Michigan's apples, a figure from that year, quoted here only as a dated reference.
A season, not a steady flow
Fruit comes off the trees in a few weeks. Packers need a large number of one size on short notice, then almost none for months. That makes the request unlike a plant's weekly standing order.
| Question | Why |
|---|---|
| How many pallets in the peak week? | The whole request turns on this number |
| Dry storage until packing? | Damp wood and fruit do not mix; see the mould guide |
| Size? | 48x40 is the default for cased fruit |
| Pallets returning? | Some stay with the buyer; others come back |
Grade for fruit
Fruit cartons are light, and Grade B is usually enough if the surface is clean and the boards are intact. A deck with protruding nails or splinters can tear a liner. For food loads in general, see clean, dry pallets.
Packers can tell a request how many by when. Use the request page; the fruit packing page covers the trade.
Planning backwards from harvest
A packer who wants pallets in September should be asking in spring. Used stock can be sourced in weeks, but a new build may need longer. Say the date the first pallets must be on site and the date the last ones are needed.
Also say where they will be stored, because the wet end of summer is when a stack of pallets in a yard picks up moisture.
After the harvest
By November the sheds are quiet and the yard has pallets in it. Sound stacks can be sold and the rest cleared before winter makes the yard hard to reach. Counting them in October, while the crews are still there, gives the most accurate number.
A tip for the first week
Stage pallets near the line before packing begins. A line that waits for pallets wastes fruit, and fruit does not wait.
Why harvest timing shapes the request
Fruit Ridge growers pack on a short calendar, and a pallet that arrives after the crop is ready is worth little. A request for harvest pallets should therefore lead with the date they are needed, then the count, the size and whether they must be clean enough to touch packed produce.
Ask about moisture as well. Pallets stored outdoors over summer can be damp or carry mould, which matters if cartons of fruit sit on them. A dry, clean pallet is what packers ask for.
What to photograph
Send a photograph of the stack and one of an upturned pallet. Buyers in produce trades look for stains, mould and strong smells, and a clear photograph answers the first two at once.
Source: Wikipedia, "Fruit Ridge (Michigan)" (read 11 November 2026). Last reviewed 12 November 2026.
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Last reviewed 12 November 2026.