Harvesting CROO robotics

Automation is also emerging to address workforce challenges. The industry is projected to see a 6% decline in the number of farm workers between 2014 and 2024.

Act CROO Robotics has developed a robot to help strawberry farmers pick and pack crops. The shortage of workers has reportedly caused millions of dollars in lost revenue in key agricultural regions such as California and Arizona. In Hillsborough County, Florida, dubbed the “nation’s winter strawberry capital,” typically 10,000 to 11,000 acres of strawberries are harvested in a single season.

Harvesting CROO Robotics claims its robot can replace the work of 30 people by harvesting 8 acres in a single day. The news clip below features a demonstration of the Harvest CROO robot:

An estimated 40% of annual agricultural costs are broken down into wages, salaries and contract labor costs for crops such as fruits and vegetables, where labor needs are typically the greatest.

In June 2017, Wish Farms in Florida announced that it would introduce its Harvest CROO Robotics strawberry combine in the summer of 2017. The farm claims the robot will span “over six crop beds” and deliver “16 separate picking robots”. To date, Harvest CROO Robotics has reportedly raised $2.8 million from investors and farms representing 20% of US strawberry production.