Fruit Growers Look To Precision Ag’s Future

If you’re wondering what the future of precision agriculture might entail for fruit growers, who better to listen to than Fran Pierce? Pierce has been instrumental from the beginning as the first and only director of the Center for Precision Agricultural Systems at Washington State University (WSU). He was involved in precision ag back in the Midwest, where the movement first took hold, before moving West after the Washington Legislature funded WSU’s Advanced Technology Initiative.

First off, make no mistake, technology is going to have a huge impact on the fruit industry in the coming years. Just because it is extremely difficult to build machines to accomplish such tasks as harvesting fresh fruit doesn’t mean big changes don’t lie ahead. Consider the fact that it wasn’t much more than a decade ago that fewer than 2% of growers said they would use cell phones, says Pierce. But over the years, as growers saw the benefits of being able to communicate out in their orchards and vineyards, adoption was rapid. “That’s typical of what happens in agriculture,� says Pierce. “It’s an experiential industry.�

The technological developments generally won’t come from within agriculture. Compared with other industries, the dollars just aren’t there, says Pierce. “Cellular phones weren’t developed for agriculture,� he says. “It’s a small market; Motorola’s not going to invest in agriculture.� Look to other, more lucrative industries for insight as to where your tools will come from. Take the gaming industry, for example. Many of the sensors used in farming were originally borrowed from the gaming industry, says Pierce.  “Agriculture is piggybacking,� he says. “We don’t have the investment capital.�

The nature of the technological developments are dependent on the environment in which we are working. For instance, it looks as if the fruit industry will have to endure labor shortages in the future. Not only will there be shortages of workers, but if the emphasis on imported labor is on highly educated workers, as it currently appears, there may be a dearth of quality workers. (Anyone who’s ever been involved with a harvest knows how big a difference quality fruit pickers make.) Precision ag might provide answers, says Pierce. “We might see technology that can monitor the life cycle of the crop,� he says, “from the beginning, all the way to when it is consumed.�

Another potential shortage that looms large for fruit growers, particularly in the West, is of water. “Irrigation is of course necessary, but we’re using too much, especially on the processing side,� says Pierce. “All the way through the system, we’re going to have to become more efficient.� It will be those growers who learn and adopt the technology to become more efficient — not just with water, but with labor, energy, etc. — who will be successful. “Those growers who do it right will know everything about these products, from creation to consumption,� he says. “And it will be on the tree level, not on the orchard level. It will be a matter of quality, not quantity.�