Factors correlated with the propensity to use automation and mechanization by the US nursery industry

Labor issues are an increasingly important challenge to agriculture operations across various crops, including agricultural firms in food and specialty crop (e.g., ornamental nursery) sectors. The use of technologies to automate production processes is one means to address labor challenges. This study investigates ornamental nursery industry firms' current use of specific automation technologies, including granular fertilizer applicators, foliage pruners, irrigation scheduling, and trikes. Additionally, this study evaluates the correlation between perceived barriers of adoption, firm characteristics, and the US nursery industry's likelihood of adopting automated technologies. A mixed-mode survey was used to elicit responses from firms. Overall, barriers to adoption include the costs associated with the initial purchase and installation costs. Several firm characteristics and actions to address labor issues are correlated with the use of the automated technologies evaluated in this study. We observed both positive and negative associations between actions to address labor issues and adoption of specific technologies that suggest that decisions are complicated by the firms' production needs, strategies, perceived benefits, and potential return-on-investment of the various automation and mechanization. Perceived improvements in product quality from adopting automation technologies are positively correlated with the likelihood of adopting all of the technologies evaluated. [EconLit Citations: D240, J20, O30, Q13].

Automated summary

Labor issues pose a significant challenge to agriculture, and the ornamental nursery industry is turning to automation technologies to address this challenge. This study examines the current use of automation technologies in the industry and evaluates the perceived barriers and likelihood of adoption of these technologies in the US nursery industry.