Theme Overview: Why Is Mechanization in Specialty Crops So Hard?

The competitiveness of U.S. agriculture, including regional and specialty crop sectors, is impacted by multiple factors, including shifting global climate trade, and policy (see CRS, 2022; Gustafsson et al., 2022; Hammami, Guan, and Cui, 2024). During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, production and supply-chain disruptions highlighted vulnerabilities for U.S. industries and consumers (Hobbs, 2020; Peterson et al., 2023).