Farming for Love?

In January, I trotted from one ag trade show to another. My final outing in January was the Pacific Agriculture show in Abbotsford, British Columbia. While I was behind the booth waiting to greet customers old and new, a rather attractive young woman approached my booth – what a surprise! She then asked if I was single, and now I knew we were trending in the right direction. I swiftly answered “yes,” after which, she handed me a pamphlet about a new Canadian reality TV show for single farmers known as “Farming for Love.” This was not exactly the turn of events I anticipated.

Sadly, I do not reside in British Columbia and, although I work in the ag industry, I am not a farmer. The encounter gave me a good laugh, and it created an opening for some great conversations with my fellow exhibitors.

If you are a single farmer living in British Columbia, you might want to consider applying for a spot on the show. Check it out at https://more.ctv.ca/ctv/farming-for-love-nominate-a-farmer.html. Or, perhaps you know a single farmer looking for a relationship. You can anonymously apply for a friend. We hope to see one of our customers on the air soon.

Amazon Fresh Greenhouses

Amazon has its fingers in everything from prescription drugs, electronics, pantry food, and now:  fresh produce?  Now, Amazon is selling leafy green lettuce less than two years after investing in climate-tech startup Hippo Harvest.

Backed by Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund, Hippo Harvest aims to reduce food waste and land use by growing food in greenhouses using robotics. According to Hippo Harvest, its greens are grown using 92% less water and 55% less fertilizer than conventional produce. It farms its lettuce mixes in greenhouses close to the customer base using machine learning and robots.

Currently, only Amazon Fresh customers in the San Francisco market can buy these greens, but Amazon may scale up quickly, and lettuce greens are not the only food Amazon is eyeing, as it looks to the future of farming. Amazon Fresh recently transitioned to selling only cage-free eggs, including through Amazon's brand Happy Belly. Amazon also wants to source pork from farmers who do not use gestation crates with the goal of having it widely available in Amazon grocery stores in 2025.

With such a large customer base, it’s important to keep tabs on Amazon’s actions as they relate to the agricultural industry, especially when Amazon considers adding niche fruit like blueberries and cherries to its offerings.

An Abnormally Short Chilean Blueberry Season

South American growers have overshadowed US dominance in blueberry production in recent years. Today, the world’s largest blueberry producers reside in Peru, Chile, and Mexico. During the North American off-season South American producers are pumping out blueberries in great volume, essentially ensuring that blueberries appear in US grocery stores year-round.

Generally, the Chilean blueberry harvest runs as late as the third week of March, but this year Chile has experienced unprecedented heat. This excess heat led to poor fruit conditions, halting production by 50 percent in some regions and altogether in others. Experts say that the Chilean harvest is almost finished even though it is only late February. This setback for Chilean producers will lower the volume of imported blueberries, which may lead to a temporary price increase.

Chile’s South American peers are doing their best to take advantage of Chile’s short season. Peru and Mexico are expected to have successful harvests through early April, keeping those delicious little berries in our refrigerators before our North American peers begin their 2023 blueberry harvest.

Overtime Pay

New overtime thresholds for agricultural workers will go into effect on January 1, 2023. In Washington, employers must pay overtime to agricultural workers who work more than 48 hours in a work week. Oregon’s threshold is a little higher – employers will have to pay overtime when their employees work more than 55 hours in a week. In California, overtime pay kicks in if an employee works more than 8 hours in one day. The weekly threshold is 40 hours per week. California overtime for the agriculture sector will apply to all employers starting in 2025. Colorado, New York, Minnesota, and Hawaii all have overtime pay requirements for agricultural workers. 2nd Sight’s labor tracking solutions – FairPick, FairPick Flex, and FairTrak – allow employers to monitor overtime. Stay ahead of overtime pay; consider one of 2nd Sight’s labor tracking solutions.

New Leasing Options

Many growers have told us that the upfront cost of a FairPick, FairPick Flex or FairTrak gives them pause. To remedy this, 2nd Sight has come up with a leasing plan that makes obtaining these labor tracking systems more affordable. Now, growers can lease equipment for three or five years at a reduced cost. While 2nd Sight is confident that growers would get a return on their outright purchase investment in one year, now growers will see an ROI even faster. In addition, our Daily, Pay Period and Overtime reports give growers the information they need to know at the touch of a button. Who could ask for more than that? Contact us today to learn more about your leasing options.

Out and About

2nd Sight employees have been out and about this time of year attending tradeshows and visiting customers. In the last few months, 2nd Sight has had booths at 2 trade shows in California and at the NW Hort Show in Wenatchee. We have been in Savannah, GA at the Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference, in Salem, Oregon, at NW Ag Show, in Abbotsford, BC, at the Pacific Ag Show. We held a demonstration for a potential customer in Othello, WA, and our CEO has visited our largest customer– they have so many FairPicks, they call it their army. If you are interested in seeing a demonstration, we may be able to come in person. If not, we can always arrange a demo on Zoom. Reach out today and set up a time to see our labor tracking solutions.

Stay Prepared, Stay Safe

With frigid temperatures in the forecasts, we all need to ensure that we are prepared for what is to come. Many local passes now require chains for vehicles, and some may even close as the weather system becomes more severe. Ensuring that your vehicle has proper snow tires, chains, and reliability is crucial for traveling in the months to come. In addition to your car being prepared, make sure that you are prepared. From various personal endeavors (not always the smartest), I now know the importance of leaving the house with proper layers and emergency gear, so you are safe if you get stuck in a horrible weather situation.

Is H2A Visa Relief Coming?

Dan Newhouse (R-WA) is working on a bipartisan amendment to the Fiscal Year 2022 Homeland Security Appropriations Act to change the H2A visa program with an eye toward alleviating labor shortages in agriculture. The amendment would allow growers to access H2A workers year-round, rather than just during the spring and summer growing season. The program would also give H2A worker access to sectors of agriculture that have not traditionally had access. The amendment does not change any H2A visa requirements – it is still a temporary visa –, but the amendment, which has bipartisan support, will increase H2A availability.

The Impact of This Year’s Reduced Apple Crop and Small Fruit Size

Washington State’ apple harvest this year was the lowest recorded crop in the last eight years. The crop was down a whopping 20% from the previous 3-year average. Experts say the dramatic decline in apple production may have been due to the unpredictability of this year’s weather patterns, which affected the bloom, pollination, and other crop input. Harvested fruit ended up being much smaller size than usually seen in the field and at the supermarket. Gala apples, for example, were 25% smaller than normal this harvest.

The result? Farmers had a 20% production decrease with the expected negative economic impact for producers. Consumers too felt the impact as the cost of fruit increased by 10-20%. This type of economic burden is a reason to look for cost savings anywhere possible, including tracking labor throughout farm processes. 2nd Sight products can help growers save money and find process efficiencies. If you are interested in what 2nd Sight can offer, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Upcoming Trade Shows

After our recent trade show appearances at the Tree Fruit & Vine Expo and the Grape, Fruit, and Nut Expo in California, our team is packing back up and heading to some more shows. More specifically, we will be at the North-West Horticulture Exposition on December 5-8 at the Wenatchee Convention Center. Catch up with us at Booth 245 where we are looking forward to seeing both new and familiar faces.

Following the NW Hort Expo, we will be in Savannah, GA, for the South-East Regional Fruit and Vegetable Expo (Jan. 5-8, 2023), Salem, OR, for the North-West Agriculture Show (Jan. 18-20, 2023), Abbotsford, British Columbia for the Pacific Agriculture Show (Jan. 26-28, 2023), and lastly, Kennewick, WA, for the WineVit Convention (Feb. 6-9, 2023). We encourage everyone who is local to come say hello at these shows and grab some of our displayed merchandise!