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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Saturday, December 21, 2024
As the costs of technologies go down and labor costs go up, farmers in all segments of agriculture see mechanization and artificial intelligence as opportunities to stay ahead. But numerous technological, regulatory and cost challenges will have to be overcome first.
Sunshine State growers are looking to the upcoming farm bill to get help with automation, an issue they raised several times Monday at a House Ag Committee listening session in Newberry, Florida.
Technology that automates weeding, harvesting or other farm work is not taking jobs away from humans. Rather, it’s helping bridge the gap between work that needs to be done and a labor force that isn’t sufficient, a panel of ag technology leaders said during the Agri-Pulse Summit in Sacramento Monday.
The intersection of increasing labor shortages, higher pay for agricultural workers, and new attention to employee safety is highlighting efforts to bring labor-saving technologies to specialty crop fields.
Agricultural labor problems “don’t fade away” as the share of employment goes down, and a shrinking sector will require even more effort to protect workers, according to UC Davis Agricultural Economist Philip Martin, who has written a new book on the topic.
WASHINGTON, July 12, 2017 – Witnesses and lawmakers at a House Agriculture Committee hearing today showed broad support for immigration reform and mechanization research to address labor shortages faced by specialty crop producers.
