A Greenhouse Grower Top 100 Grower says investing in automation can reap several long-term benefits, as long as you do so for the right reasons.

The most successful growers in the future will be those that are willing to accept and invest in new technology.

Greenhouse Grower’s 2017 State of the Industry Survey revealed that grower investment in technology is imminent due to the cost and availability of labor, to improve efficiency, expand their growing operations, and allow employees to concentrate on higher value jobs that are less labor-intensive.

With labor getting scarce and minimum wages on the rise, Cole Mangum of Bell Nursery says it’s time to take a closer look at automating your operation.

Despite the frustrating nature of our current political climate, now may be the best time for you to address your long-term labor and automation needs.

This Salinas, CA, orchid grower brings plants to its workers through automation that saves valuable time and takes full advantage of available growing space.

The Oberlin, OH-based operation provides its growers with the automation tools necessary to produce high-quality plants cost-effectively and sustainably.

The deleafing robot, which is designed to mimic the performance of a human while being economically viable, will be tested and evaluated by Dutch growers later this year.

Automating your greenhouse operation can mean a number of different investments, but the end goal is always to improve efficiency and make everyone’s job easier.

Technology start-up Agbotic, based in the Potsdam, N.Y., has been testing a prototype of its agricultural robot in smaller greenhouses for the last year. The company is now building a 15,000-square-foot greenhouse to further test the robot’s capabilities.

Keepsake Plants reduced labor for trimming Hydrangeas from 60 people to 28 by automating the process with AgriNomix Venti Trimmers.

The Michigan-based nursery uses automation to cut apart trays of immature plants and regroups them into new trays of similar-sized plants.

Harvest Automation’s HV-100 robots automate one of the hardest, most labor-intensive jobs at growing operations – plant spacing. With more technology coming, investing in robots could become even more realistic for growers of all sizes.