The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) has informed Deere & Company that its production and maintenance employees have voted to ratify new six-year collective bargaining agreements that cover more than 10,000 workers at 14 facilities across the United States.

John C. May, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Deere said:

“I’m pleased our highly skilled employees are back to work building and supporting the industry-leading products which make our customers more profitable and sustainable. John Deere’s success depends on the success of our people. Through our new collective bargaining agreements, we’re giving employees the opportunity to earn wages and benefits that are the best in our industries and are groundbreaking in many ways. We have faith that, in return, our employees will find new and better ways to improve our competitiveness and transform the way our customers do their work. Together, our future is bright.”

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Despite the widespread prevalence of specialty crops – along with the fact they currently possess a market value of $79.8 billion (which accounts for more than 16% of total agricultural output) – so often this segment of agriculture gets overlooked.

Specialty crops explained

It’s easy to understand why. “Specialty crops” is a relatively broad term and one which encompasses many different things. According to the 2004 Farm Bill, specialty crops are defined as “fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture).” Even this definition is broad, given that so many different products can fall under “fruits” and “vegetables.” And often, when we talk about agriculture, the focus finds itself aimed primarily at row crops or animal agriculture. While row crops constitute a select few crops that are oftentimes harvested with a combine and make up the majority of U.S. farmland, specialty crops are most often found in California and Florida.

However, the number of specialty crops being planted is growing more and more in areas across the United States. Recent estimates found there are now more than 184,000 specialty crop farms spanning over 10.4 million acres of farmland. Despite the fact that U.S. specialty crop production is a big part of overall U.S. agricultural production, it does face a number of significant challenges.

Learn more about AEM’s Specialty Crop Leadership Group and other leadership groups like it.

Challenges and opportunities

U.S. producers often find themselves at a disadvantage on a global (and even domestic) scale because, in most areas across the country, year-round production is impossible. And, unlike with row crops, specialty crops can’t be raised in bulk and stored to be sold throughout the year due to freshness concerns. In addition, specialty crops are often much more weather-sensitive than their counterparts. This makes them extremely vulnerable to instances like the recent extreme weather seen across the southern part of the U.S., one which resulted in specialty crop losses of more than $600 million.

To make matters worse, domestic production has also been hit hard by the ongoing trade war. The U.S. continues to import a number of specialty crop products, which drives down domestic prices, and other countries have hit U.S.-produced specialty crops with high tariffs. Meanwhile, Europe has imposed over $4 billion in tariffs on a number of U.S. products. The impacts of those tariffs could be substantial, with NC State estimating sweet potato exports alone potentially seeing a reduction of $70 million.

And, as is the case with most things, specialty crops have been negatively impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Before COVID-19 emerged last spring, it was estimated that Florida strawberry production alone lacked 30% of the labor it needed. Specialty crops are one of the most labor-intensive forms of agriculture that exists today. This is because most operations have a heavy reliance on H-2A temporary agricultural workers. During the pandemic, many of these workers were cut off from coming to the U.S., and those who were permitted had to have special accommodations, as producers also must provide these workers with housing as well. Even before the pandemic, however, the demand for workers had already far exceeded supply.

While numerous challenges exist, it isn’t all bad news for the specialty crop sector. An annual growth rate of 2.6% is projected over the course of the next decade, and commodity prices have already climbed nearly 40% since 2011. Ultimately, though, it remains to be seen if the challenges facing specialty crops will limit the extent to which producers are able to take advantage of opportunities for growth.

Increased innovation among equipment manufacturers

Specialty crops are often sold in the form they are harvested, largely because aesthetics matter to many consumers. This has made developing harvesting equipment even more difficult, as most people don’t want to buy bruised or damaged fruits and vegetables. As a result, several manufacturers have found ways to develop machinery that can harvest these products in a gentle enough way, so as not to damage the product. Doing so has helped make the equipment more appealing and for some specialty crop products, such as potatoes, harvesting equipment has been around for ages. However, most harvesting equipment is still relatively new and not as widely adopted.

While the mechanization of specialty crop harvesting has been slow and very difficult due to the nature of the crop and consumer expectations, a number of products are already on the market today, including harvesters from AEM member companies New Holland, Pellenc, Gregoire, The Morning Star Company and Oxbo.

Most of these machines can match the output of 20 people on a per-hour basis. This goes a long way in helping to address the labor shortages that this industry faces, while also providing a more secure and reliable source of food. In reducing labor needs, machinery also improves producer margins due to the reduced labor cost that would otherwise be needed. All in all, they make the industry more attractive from a producer standpoint through the improved margins and a worker standpoint due to reduced physical labor and better paying, skilled jobs.

The following article was written by Austin Gellings, AEM Agricultural Services Manager

Source: AEM

The post Specialty Crops: an Industry of Potential appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

Additionally, Troy Ford, who assumed the role of Interim Chief Financial Officer in early August 2020, will resume his position as Vice President of Corporate Finance at that time.

“Tim has had an esteemed career that boasts a strong track record of financial leadership and a deep knowledge of the automotive industry. Throughout his career, he has played an integral role in the development and implementation of strategic plans centered on elevating the financial strength and flexibility of many organizations, while at the same time positioning them for improved operational and financial performance. We are thrilled to welcome him to the team. I would like to thank Troy for stepping into the role of Interim Chief Financial Officer, maintaining our strong financial and operational disciplines during this unprecedented time.”

commented Majdi Abulaban, President and Chief Executive Officer of Superior.

Prior to joining Superior, Mr. Trenary was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (“CVG”) from 2013 to 2020. While at CVG, he led the reorganization and enhancement of the finance organization, as well as refining its capital allocation strategy to improve earnings and deleverage the business. Previously, Mr. Trenary had served in several Chief Financial Officer roles, including ProBuild Holdings, LLC, EMCON Technologies Holdings Limited, and DURA Automotive Systems, Inc. In addition, he has previously served in various executive positions with both public and private companies. Mr. Trenary began his career in public accounting at Arthur Young & Co., now part of Ernst & Young, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Detroit Mercy.

Source: Superior Industries

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