Labour versus mechanisation: cost effectiveness and management considerations for pome fruit growers in Victoria

Horticultural businesses producing high quality fruit for the fresh fruit market are substantial users of labour within Australian agricultural industries (Valle et al. (2017)). Further labour is a significant cost of orchard operations. At a time when there is concern about the quality and quantity of available labour, the use of a mobile platform can increase labour productivity on horticultural farms. Platforms are not new and have been a consideration for fruit growers since the 1970s. Fruit growers must decide on the mix of tools (ladders, power ladders or platforms) most suited to their business. Past research, in the United States, Europe and South Africa, has considered using a platform instead of a ladder to assist with the tasks of harvesting, pruning and thinning. That research found that the choice of harvesting method can affect productivity, occupational health and safety, and the people employed. The research presented in this paper presented a standard cost framework and used three pome fruit businesses in Victoria as case studies to improve understanding of the costs of different methods to harvest, prune, and thin pome (apple and pear) fruit. This research has found that there is not one ‘right’ combination of tools to use to assist in the tasks on a horticultural business. This cost framework is presented to help fruit growers evaluate the costs of the different tools to use for pruning, thinning and harvesting for their orchard.