1968 Berry Good Picking Engineers release the first prototype of a mechanical strawberry harvester
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3838/is_200505/ai_n13637136
On December 10, 2002 the Michigan State Horticulture Society (MSHS) presented the Grower Service Award to Richard Ledebuhr for his contributions to the success of Michigan's vegetable and fruit industry at the Great Lakes Expo.
...[snip]
Richard assisted in the assembling of the original double bar sickle adopted for trimming fruit trees and then in the 1980's modified it for grape trimming. He helped perfect the first mechanical strawberry harvester and the modification of strawberry processing equipment. He also worked on cucumber harvesters and improvement of potato storages before he turned his attention to better sprayers to effectively deliver pesticides to the target.
http://www.egr.msu.edu/age/aenewsletter/1_jan_feb_03/ledebuhr1_30.htm
Adjusting to Technological Change
in Strawberry Harvest Work
byHoward R. Rosenberg
A machine used by many Ventura County strawberry firms in 2003 holds economic promise
for adopters throughout California. While significantly reducing the amount of labor needed in the harvest,
it alters the jobs of crew members and raises several key questions for human resource managers...[snip]
Use of a recently developed machine by many
strawberry growers in Ventura County this year
exemplifies the potential of new technology to
substantially reduce work hours and costs. The
machine will not have an impact comparable to
that of the tomato harvester or cotton gin, but it
can cut the amount of human work time needed in
strawberry harvest, which is one of the most laborintensive
operations in agriculture, by one-third or
more...
http://www.agecon.ucdavis.edu/uploads/update_articles/v7n1_2.pdf
Note that this last specifically cites Ventura County.