Orange Grove Management
Client: Gonzalez Orange Groove
Team: Rafael Alvarez, Sylia Gallegos, Juan Carlos Gonzalez, Sky Noyd
Faculty advisor: Dr. Barr Year: 2008
Documents: Final report (Word), final presentation (PPT)
For this project we represent both the client and the consultant. This is possible because Juan is the owner of an orange grove in Veracruz, Mexico and he is interested in maximizing his profit by analyzing the revenues and costs of production for his orange grove.
The orange grove consists of nearly 4,000 trees of which there are 6 different kinds of trees and 7 different kinds of oranges. In making the model, we will consider each type of tree, and consequently fruit, as independent of one another. This will help the model maximize the profit for each type of tree. The profit from each tree will then be added to determine the total profit.
The model will indicate the best choice to follow in order to have a maximum profit. A maximum profit includes minimal cost at the end of each month and provides the best choice of selling the fruit (on the tree, weight station or wholesaler). The maximum profit was determined by a linear programming model. The accuracy of the solution depends on the accuracy of the data being used. For the problem, we had limited information that may not necessarily be accurate.
It is the quality and size of the orange that will determine the selling price. To maximize the quality and size of the oranges different cost factors were considered in determining the optimal solution. The factors included fertilizer, pesticide, maintenance, and tilling. Also, the model will determine whether or not an irrigation system should be installed. Since an irrigation system will benefit all the trees, a decision analysis was performed. To do this we developed 2 different sets of models; one without the irrigation system and one with the irrigation system.
After running each model and compiling the results, we concluded that the best option was to install the irrigation system and use the following activities for each type of tree (see table below). Following this schedule would yield an estimated $132,791 in total profit. This amount includes the estimated $60,000 cost for the irrigation system.