According to the California Fresh Fruit Association, which advocates on behalf of fruit growers and shippers, labor costs continue to climb from “required rest and recovery periods, implementation of health care mandates, a tightening labor supply, and an increasing minimum wage, which rose to $10.00 per hour in January 2016.”
“Labor is a very real issue,” shares Jim Pandol, president of Jim Pandol & Company, Inc., in Selma. But there may be light at the end of the tunnel. “I’ve seen a lot of robotics used in vegetables such as picking bell peppers, and prototypes for strawberries.
“I’m expecting soon—meaning in the next season or so—someone will start working on a prototype for mechanical harvesting and pruning of table grapes,” Pandol predicts. Though the widespread use of such equipment may be years off, and cost could be a significant factor, it still gives growers something to look forward to.
Getting Around Too Little Water
California’s ongoing drought has affected every facet of the industry. “For many years, the industry used flood irrigation and now it’s drip,” comments Barry Bedwell. And even though drip irrigation uses far less water than flooding, the latter did have one positive attribute: ‘recharging’ the groundwater supply. Today, he notes, with everyone using drip irrigation and only insufficient rain, the much-needed recharging no longer occurs.
“It all ties into water conservation,” Lucas observes. Even with some intense storms and downpours earlier in the year, including what many dubbed ‘Miracle March,’ the crisis is far from over. “The rainfall we’ve gotten this year is a positive thing, but you can’t be fooled into thinking we’re fine,” says Lucas. “The region will need more years like the past one to provide adequate runoff.”
