FINLEY, Calif. – Thousands of pears scooting by on conveyor belts, workers sorting fruit, packing it and getting it ready for market locations around the globe.

It's another busy summer at Scully Packing Co. in Finley, which once again this year finds itself at the very center of California's pear industry.

Overseeing the fast-paced but highly organized operations at the pear packing facility is Toni Scully. She and husband Phil moved to Lake County in 1974, and in 1984 founded their company.

California has three primary pear producing areas: the Sacramento Valley's “river” area, Mendocino County and, of course, Lake County, which for decades has been famed for its Bartlett pears.

Lake County's pears go all over the world, Scully said, and are used for a variety of products – from the fresh market to canning.

This year's crop – which is early – is expected to be up 20 percent over last year, which had a short crop, according to the California Pear Advisory Board.

California Pear Advisory Board Executive Director Chris Zanobini said the statewide estimates for this year's harvest have the Sacramento River region's pears with total tonnage of 98,000, followed by Lake with 37,000 tons and Mendocino with 24,500 tons.

Total Bartlett tonnage for this year is expected to come in at 159,500, with 10,697 tons from other pear varieties, for a total harvest tonnage of 170,197, according to Zanobini.

Of Lake's overall tonnage, 36 percent is anticipated to go to the fresh market, compared for 24 percent of the River pears and 18 percent of the Mendocino pears, based on the numbers Zanobini provided.

In addition to the Scully facilities, there are six pear packing sheds in the Sacramento area, Zanobini said.

Trucks carrying tons of pears are rolling in and out of the Scully facilities in Finley – where all lines are open – and Scotts Valley, where so far just one line is at work, Scully said.

She estimated about 25 truck and trailer load equivalents are making their way to the sheds daily when they are going at full-speed production.

The Sacramento pears typically arrive first, as has been the case this year, said Scully.

The advisory board's daily packout report for Thursday showed that more than 57,000 tons of River pears have been packed or processed so far this season.

Those are followed by the Mendocino County pears, which first began arriving earlier this week, Scully said.

She said they packed a few Lake County red pears last week. More Lake County Bartletts may be coming into the sheds by week's end, with Scully anticipating that the county's Bartlett harvest should be well under way by Monday.

The packout report showed that 80 tons of Lake County pears and 293 tons of Mendocino pears so far have been processed, illustrating that the work on those pears has barely begun.

Other pear varieties – like bosc and comice – tend to come after the Bartletts. Scully said the Mendocino boscs will come over before Lake County's Bartletts, and then Lake County's bosc will arrive about a week after the local Bartletts are done, she said.

“They all kind of overlap,” she said.

The 2015 crop is a very good one, said Scully.

“This year's crop is expected to be heavier than last year's,” she said.

The Lake County Department of Agriculture does not yet have the 2014 crop figures ready for release, but according to the 2013 report pears were the No. 2 crop in the county – after winegrapes – with a value of $21.7 million.

That year, there were a little over 2,000 planted pear acres in the county, the report showed.

“All these pears we so lovingly pack come from about 30 family farms,” said Scully. “Most of these ranches have been in the same family for two or three generations. One is a fifth generation farm. That's sustainability.”

Scully said her business has about about 450 employees for this summer, which is an average summer workforce.

“Packing house labor has been a little tighter than usual, and I don’t know why that is,” she said.

Part of it, however, could be due to a shift to an earlier harvest.

“We started so early this year. It’s a very early year. We’re two weeks ahead,” Scully said, with the earlier bloom a matter of the weather.

Many people usually wander in, looking for a job, but they tend to come slightly later in the season, she said.

Scully said there are still plenty of jobs available. “We are going to need packing house help, that’s for sure.”

She said applicants – from teens to adults – are asked to come and apply in person. Lots of different jobs are available, and after an in-person meeting, Scully's crew can place new employees where they will be the most successful.

Once the local harvest is fully under way, Scully anticipates the labor demand going up at the packing house.

“We're going to have very big days until the end,” she said. “We’re going to start early and get done early.”

Scully expects that the summer pear packing could be wrapping up the last week of August – after about seven weeks – which offers plenty of time for area high school and college students to get in some summertime work before classes start for the fall.

Scully gives high praise to the people who keep the pear shed operating.

“They’re wonderful workers. They all care about doing a good job,” she said, explaining that the workers are one of the reasons why Lake County puts out such a good product.

“We just feel very, very humble and fortunate to have every employee that we have,” she said.

For more information about Scully Packing visit the company's Web site, http://www.scullypacking.com/ .

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.