mango pack house

Take a peek inside a Mexican mango packhouse

I will never forget my first time visiting a major farm and processing center in another country. It was in Israel, and since I had heard so much about their advanced agricultural technology I was expecting something robotic and almost medicinal, glass houses and everything automated, pristine. I arrived to find plastic and cloth-screened greenhouses and dirt, a good deal of advanced technology in terms of watering and feeding systems, but mostly just farmers growing things in dirt like everyone else in the world. They were filled with the most beautiful peppers and tomatoes I had ever seen. The Israelis were, in my opinion, masters at attention to detail, and I think they excel in agricultural expertise because of this. They were methodical.

That was over ten years ago and a lot has changed since, but most farmers still grow in the dirt and the processes are relatively simple. Sure, we have begun to automate more in packing technologies using machines-like sorts and washers as a pretty standard way of processing fruits and vegetables, but mostly it is just a lot of labor and attention to detail, especially in the cold chain sector. Let us not forget that the more advanced technology we seek, the more money it costs, and often in produce the growers are working on such minimal (often single digit) margins that major advancements in technology are not attainable; labor, one of the major strengths of most large agricultural sectors, is much more attainable.

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