February 2019 - 4

EDITOR'S LETTER
Fruit
Expanding horizons
In 2015, Fruit Growers News published
a series of stories focused on emerging
technology innovations impacting the
specialty crops industry.
The series received positive feedback,
and we enter the new year with a similar
endeavor, again titled " Grow Ahead, " but this
time with the tagline " High-Tech Tools 2019. "
Examples of such tools seem to emerge
weekly in this business, as is seen with
Associate Editor Stephen Kloosterman's Page
1 story on apple harvest auto-assist projects
that include everything from mechanical
tree shakers to robots trying to actually pluck
apples off the tree.
Growers
News.com
WATCH. READ. SHARE
FRUITGROWERSNEWS.COM
Fight over hike in H-2A wage rates plays out
in court
Gary Pullano
Managing Editor
Most industry observers agree commercial robotic harvesters are still a
few years away from widespread real-life application. As orchard systems
move toward high-density tree structures more adaptable to robotic
pruning and picking than conventional tree structures, several competitors
are racing toward widespread market acceptance and profitability.
According to Penn State University, labor costs associated with fruit harvest
are roughly 40 percent of an orchard enterprise's annual budget, and the fruit
industry has identified harvest mechanization and automation as a research
priority. The ongoing agriculture labor shortages and immigration challenges
are accelerating the market demand for technological replacements.
The United States Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food
and Agriculture (NIFA) is active in promoting new technologies in food
production environments.
NIFA notes modern farms and agricultural operations work far differently
than those a few decades ago, primarily because of advancements
in technology, including sensors, devices, machines and information
technology. Today's agriculture routinely uses sophisticated technologies
such as robots, temperature and moisture sensors, aerial images and GPS
systems. These advanced devices and precision agriculture and robotic
systems allow businesses to be more profitable, efficient, safer and more
environmentally friendly.
Growers, for example, no longer have to apply water, fertilizers and
pesticides uniformly across entire fields. Instead, they can use the minimum
quantities required and target very specific areas, or even treat individual
plants differently.
In addition, robotic technologies enable more reliable monitoring and
management of natural resources, such as air and water quality. It also
gives producers greater control over production, processing, distribution
and storage.
The challenge with technology comes in matching user needs and
expectations with private-sector agtech developers' visions.
Growers are in the solution-seeking business. As was recently stated in
an op-ed piece by Connie Bowen, co-founder and director of operations at
the nonprofit Yield Lab Institute; and Sarah Nolet, a partner at AgThentic
and agtech venture capital firm Tenacious Ventures; " agtech is useless if it
cannot engage farmers. "
On top of relentless workloads, farmers are constantly managing
uncertainty. From weather to disease to trade policy, they are subject to
variables outside of their control.
" Unfortunately, in many instances, agtech entrepreneurs have been
forcing half-baked products on farmers, " Bowen and Nolet maintained.
" Nothing good comes of this; farmers are left frustrated, skeptical of
agtech, and feeling they have been burned. Agtech entrepreneurs fail to
receive valuable feedback that will help them build better products. And,
perhaps most significantly, the common misrepresentation of farmers being
resistant to new technologies is perpetuated. "
The progressivism and hunger for solutions in the farming community
is understated, the authors acknowledged. Technologies are coming to
agriculture, driven by entrepreneurs with new perspectives and skill sets the
industry hasn't previously seen.
" To harness this potential for the benefit of both agriculture and agtech, we
must meaningfully include farmers early and often, " Bowen and Nolet wrote.
It's the intent with our " Grow Ahead " series to spark conversation and
appreciation among the agriculture community and the agtech innovators.
The Department of Labor recently
published the 2019 adverse effective wage
rates, which dictate minimum wage rates
for the H-2A program.
Child agricultural injury prevention
workshop set
The interactive workshop will focus on the
agricultural practices and safety needs of
the Eastern United States.
Using sun and agricultural waste to control
pests
What if agricultural waste streams
could generate alternatives to chemical
fumigants and make farming more
productive, profitable and environmentally
friendly?
Applewood Fresh Growers launched in
Sparta, Michigan
Third-generation Michigan apple grower
Scott Swindeman is launching a new
venture with Applewood Fresh Growers,
a grower, packer, shipper and marketer of
Michigan apples.
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THEY SAID IT
We're managing too many crops, but that's just
how we've always done it. "
- THADDEUS BARSOTTI, CAPAY ORGANICS
P. 36
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February 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2019
