2022 SPECIALTY CROP AUTOMATION REPORT
5.2.1 STATUS OF AUTOMATION ON SPECIFIC CROPS AND ACTIVITIES
As in 2021, the status of automation across pre-harvest, harvest and harvest-assist activities was measured by the share of acres per crop using some form of automation. Growers’ expectations for the level of automation in 3-5 years was also measured, indicating their level of optimism about current technologies. Across pre-harvest, harvest and harvest-assist activities, the percentage share of acres using automation has generally grown across the crops. Indeed, of the five crops which were tracked in both 2021 and 2022, notable progress was made. The five crops measured were apples, broccoli, lettuce, strawberries, and grapes. Pre-harvest: From 2021 to 2022, the percentage of respondents’ acres using pre-harvest automation rose from 7% to 10% for apples, 1% to 20% for broccoli and 18% to 40% for lettuce (see Figure 35). The percentage for strawberries did not increase year-on-year. Grape growers indicated that less than 5% of acres have been automated for pre-harvest activities.
Harvest: Harvest continues to be the activity with the lowest share of acres using automation across crop types, with all five crops below 5% in 2022. However, the low percentages indicate that new technologies are been trialed and demonstration pilots are run across all crops over the past year. This makes growers optimistic about the future, illustrated by the widening spider chart. Harvest assist: The share of acres using harvest- assist technology has also progressed since 2021. Apples (9% in 2021, 12% in 2022) and lettuce (14% in 2020, 35% in 2022) have notably increased the share of acres using harvest-assist technology. Overall, harvest-assist and pre- harvest automation are the most improved of the three activities, with, on average, around 15% of acres across the five crops using automation for these two activities. This is notably more than for harvest (only 3% of acres on average).
POSITIVE PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE IN TERMS OF ACREAGE GIVEN OVER TO PRE-HARVEST AND HAR- VEST-ASSIST AUTOMATION, AND EXPECTATIONS FOR THE FUTURE ARE OPTIMISTIC
Harvest-assist activities [% of acres using harvest-assist automation]
Pre-harvest activities [% of acres using pre-harvest automation]
Harvest activities [% of acres harvested through automation]
2020
2022
2025 Estimate
2020
2022
2025 Estimate
2020
2022
2025 Estimate
Apples
Apples
Apples
100 80 60 40 20 0
100 80 60 40 20 0
100 80 60 40 20 0
Strawberries
Grapes
Grapes
Strawberries
Grapes
Strawberries
Lettuce
Broccoli
Lettuce
Broccoli
Lettuce
Broccoli
Figure 35: Status of automation across harvest and harvest-related activities and selected crops [average percentage share of acres using automation, based on survey respondents] Source: Grower survey, Western Growers, Roland Berger
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