A critical labor shortage threatens the ability of leafy green and other cool-season vegetable growers to produce and harvest their crops, writes Richard Smith at Growing Produce. What can an operation do to gain some control over the crisis? After all, migrant labor availability is subject to political forces outside of the power of the agricultural community.
However, growers are taking proactive steps to address this issue. They’re teaming with technology companies to develop new automated harvesting technologies and more.
In the Salinas Valley, for example, there has been swift adoption of machines that thin and weed lettuce and other crops. New technologies have also been developed for transplanting (e.g., PlantTape) and irrigating crops (e.g., use of permanent set sprinkler pipe and single-use drip tape).