Michigan researcher advances technology for specialty crop harvests

Michigan farmers are facing rising labor costs that threaten the state’s diverse agricultural industry, particularly specialty crop growers. The need for efficient automation is critical to maintaining production levels, especially in high-labor sectors such as asparagus farming.

Yuzhen Lu, assistant professor at Michigan State University’s Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, is leading research into a vision-guided system for selective asparagus harvesting. The system, powered by 3D cameras, will enable machines to pick mature spears while leaving younger ones intact. The project, funded by a $197,000 USDA NIFA grant, aims to reduce labor costs, which account for 55% of total asparagus production expenses.

“Asparagus is a very labor-intensive commodity, and for some farms, the cost of labor is more than 55% of the total production cost, but that’s a good average,” said Jamie Clover Adams, executive director of the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board. “Because that price is only going to go up, it makes mechanization important for the long-term future of the industry.”

Lu’s work is part of broader efforts to help Michigan’s farmers, who produce 20 million pounds of asparagus annually, adapt to labor challenges by embracing new technologies.

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