Welcome!

You are invited to participate in our second annual Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology (WGCIT) survey to help measure the impact of automation in the fresh produce industry. It will take you approximately 10-15 minutes to complete the survey.

At WGCIT, we believe that automation is more important than ever as we collectively adapt to the growing list of challenges facing our industry. Western Growers’ Global Harvest Automation Initiative (GHAI) aims to automate 50 percent of the fresh produce harvest within 10 years through a series of projects involving growers, automation start-ups, and key industry players.

As a grower, this survey allows for you to participate in this initiative by helping us:
  • Report on the progress and measure the impact of automation on the industry
  • Attract innovation, new technologies & talent as well as identify specific gaps in automation to increase access to technology
  • Apply for investment & grant money from local and/or federal governments to further develop mechanization and automation
The focus of the questionnaire will be on specialty crops destined for the fresh market (i.e., no processing or juicing) and will include general questions across crops and more detailed questions for a selection of crops. Our coverage of automation activities include pre-harvest (e.g., planting, weeding, thinning), harvesting/picking and harvest assist activities.. Given the data requested, we believe executive levels would be best positioned to complete the survey (e.g., C-level, VP level, Director level). Please ensure one person in your organization fills out this survey. 

Please note that your survey responses will be strictly confidential and data from the research will be reported only in the aggregate. If you have any questions at any time about the survey or the procedure, please reach out to harvest@wginnovation.com. Furthermore, to see our report from last year, please click here.

Thank you for your time and effort. Don't hesitate to pass the link below on to any relevant contacts in the industry!

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