Developing Automation and Mechanization for Specialty Crops: A Review of U.S. Department of Agriculture Programs

by Gregory Astill, Agnes Perez, and Suzanne Thornsbury

At $64.7 billion, specialty crops comprised one-third of U.S. crop receipts in 2017. Relative to other crops, many specialty crops depend more on agricultural labor for production, harvesting, and processing. This study describes six U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that accelerate the development and use of automation or mechanization in the production or processing of specialty crops.

Keywords: Specialty crops, mechanization, automation, technology, machinery, machine learning, data analysis, mechanical harvesting, processing, precision agriculture, remote sensing, drones, sensors

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