Can U.S. Farm Workers Be Replaced by Machines?

Center for Immigration Studies ^ | 22 February 2024 | Philip Martin

[zeestephen]

Philip Martin is Professor Emeritus of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California at Davis...Long essay, but should be of interest to anyone in the food business, and of interest to any general readers who wonder how dinner gets to the dinner table.

[Lazamataz]

Even with a dwarf and a trampoline you are still going to have bruises unless you breed apples that do not bruise.

When you have a dwarf and a trampoline, you have the necessary ingredients to a GREAT porno.

[Lazamataz]

Crop duster pilots are probably wondering when drones will be doing their jobs.

Within five years, max.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Glad you liked it. It seemed apt.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

seriously, when was the last time that you had domestic citrus that wasnt dry and not sour if it had any flavor at all?

This morning.

There is a big market for fruit and vegetables that taste good and you can get premium prices for them.

Ask the guys that bred the "Flavor Bomb" tomato. People will pay twice what they pay for other cherry tomatoes because they taste like tomatoes in the middle of winter.

I understand your point, that is what happened to the Red Delicious. It used to be very tasty as well as pretty but they started breeding for looks rather then taste and now it is considered a garbage apple. Cheapest one in the market. But Honey Crisps and Opals will cost 75 to 100 percent more and people will happily pay it.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

When you have a dwarf and a trampoline, you have the necessary ingredients to a GREAT porno.

How about nuns and trampolines, a la Bedazzled?

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I read that as a "Great Potato" the first time through.

[Captainpaintball]

Yes. But we STILL NEEDD MORE MIGRANTS to do the jobs we DONT WANT YOU TO DO ANYMORE you schmucks! Migration is a mitzvah! Embrace it!

[Lazamataz]

“Great Potato” would be a wonderful porno title.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I’ll take your word for it.

[Cronos]

“can” as in “is it physically possible?

Yes, it is very physically possible and it is slowly getting to be economically possible.

This has been the case since the 1700s when 80% of workers or so were on the land. Now we’re down to 5% or less

[Lazamataz]

Here, let me show you my collection:

“Great Potato”
“The Naughty Secret Lives of Carrots”
“The Rutabaga Orgy”
“Sexy Dwarves On Trampolines”

[jcon40]

#33. Now that’s funny !

[Scrambler Bob]

You left out ‘Food Insecurity’.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I find your ideas intriguing and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

[Lazamataz]

Another Satisfied Customer™!

[metmom]

That’s OLD.

I do hear that Red Delicious used to be a great variety.

The newer ones, though. N UGH. Mushy, mealy, and tasteless.

However they do work well with other varieties to create new one, like Galas, which I hear a a cross using Red Delicious.

[Zuriel]

Ground equipment is is already cutting into the agplane jobs, by making extra high clearance rigs with ever wider spray booms. A farmer (that I drive truck part-time for) in Lawrence county TN has bought a extra high clearance Hagie sprayer, and thinks he may rarely hire the agpilot from now on.

The Hagie link shows the tech is amazing, even using boom cameras to identify weeds for spray nozzle control.

https://www.hagie.com/equipment-categories/sprayers/

John Deere ‘see and spray’ system:

https://www.deere.com.au/en/news/all-news/see-spray-premium-available-on-hagie/

Aerial applicators can’t fly slow enough for such precision that can greatly reduce chemical usage.

[Lazamataz]

Aerial applicators can’t fly slow enough for such precision that can greatly reduce chemical usage.

What if I want MORE chemical usage?

Isn't that was vitamin C is? Vitamin Chemical?

[Zuriel]

Ha! Yeah, I had my alphabet chemicals after breakfast.

Pesticides are expensive, so cutting usage on thousands of acres is a big deal to 21st century farmers.

[dfwgator]

FAFO!