PLANT CITY, Fla. — The sun rises over the strawberry fields of Wish Farms, where rows of ripe, red berries stretch out as far as the eye can see. It’s a familiar scene, but this season, something is different. Among the workers, a new kind of harvester is making its debut—one made of metal and wires, not flesh and blood. This is the future of farming, and it’s happening now.
Last season, Harvest Croo, a company dedicated to revolutionizing agriculture through technology, completed a test run of its fully automated strawberry harvesting machine, known as “B8,” at Wish Farms. The machine is a marvel of modern engineering, using AI machine learning, food safety technology, and advanced breeding techniques to pick and pack strawberries with precision and efficiency. The trial was a success, with the B8 reaching performance rates comparable to human harvesters. But what does this mean for the future of farming?
For Gary Wishnatzki, owner of Wish Farms and co-founder of Harvest Croo, the implications are clear. “Technology, it’s been moving. It’s been quite incredible,” he said. The B8 is not just a machine; it’s a solution to some of the most pressing challenges facing farmers today. With the ability to pick up to eight acres of berries in a single day, running both day and night, the B8 can help farmers be more efficient and keep costs low. This is crucial in an industry where exponential cost increases are becoming unsustainable.
But the B8 is not just about efficiency and cost savings. It’s also about addressing a growing labor shortage in the agricultural sector. “Guest workers, they’re on a contract and they have to go back at a certain time, so we can pick deep into the season using this machine,” Wishnatzki explained. With fewer people willing to do the hard, physical work of harvesting, the B8 could be the key to ensuring that strawberries remain affordable and available to consumers.
However, Wishnatzki is quick to point out that the goal is not to eliminate field crews. Instead, he envisions a future where humans and machines work side by side. “There’s less and less people doing this work, so if we don’t have this automation, we’re going to be in a situation where strawberries could get to a point where they’re not affordable to consumers, or as available as they are today,” he said.
As strawberry season kicks into full swing from November to April, Wish Farms is looking to the future. Their goal is to have at least three automated harvesting machines ready for the next season. It’s a bold step into a new era of farming, one where technology and tradition work hand in hand to feed the world.
