Advances in agriculture change nature of work in Central Valley

LE GRAND -- In a room in the Minturn Nut processing plant in Le Grand, 26 women wearing masks and hairnets stood over conveyor belts, sifting through almonds.

They were looking for ones damaged by insects or worms. Their deft hands plucked at the nuts with single focus as traditional Mexican music played over the loud hum of the machines.

Roy Martinez is the plant manager for Minturn Nut Co. Inc. He said the company has been able to cut back on its employee hours recently since it installed new mechanical laser sorters that presort the nuts.

"The amount of tonnage that we're running, the technology is going to affect our overall employment," he said. "We're going to incorporate more technology to advance our company. And to keep up with other companies that are using the same technology."

Without the advances in sorting technology, Martinez said Minturn would have to hire about 50 more people and "run around the clock 24 hours, seven days a week and probably not meet deadlines."

Included in the price of this new and expensive technology are regular maintenance visits from laser-sorter technicians. But the cost of the new machinery is worth it for a company that processes more than 50 million pounds of nuts a year.

This is the shifting face of agriculture. As technology replaces some jobs, it creates others. But how many and whose jobs have yet to be seen.

The Central Valley is projected to lose 19,081 jobs in food and fiber production by 2016, according to data collected by the Center of Excellence, a division of the California Community Colleges Economic Workforce Development program.

But the region will gain an estimated 39,409 jobs in food packaging, distribution and other tasks, the report said.

Many of the new jobs are expected to pay higher wages.

There's increasingly less demand for manual labor because of advances in technology, said Michelle Marquez, director with the Center of Excellence, based at Modesto Junior College. For example, jobs sorting seeds and nuts could be widely replaced by machines. Mechanization will create other types of jobs, she said, specifically ones for maintenance.

"Typically, the low-wage jobs are going away, but that's not something we know for sure," she said. "It depends on local employers. As technology evolves, wages have been going up in a manner you would expect. The lesson is that there's a lot of opportunity for middle-skilled jobs that make really good wages."

While the number of production jobs such as crop, vegetable, animal and aquaculture cultivation is expected to contract, along with many jobs in processing plants, the report forecasts gains in irrigation, veterinary services, equipment sales, pest control, consulting and distribution.

The report was commissioned by the California Community College chancellor's office to investigate how educational departments statewide can keep pace with shifting demands in the agricultural work force.

According to the study, agricultural employers report difficulty attracting "trained and experienced personnel." Employers said they need workers with technical writing skills and specialized knowledge of government rules.

At the same time, employers expressed a preference for workers with "on-site" training and certificate programs geared toward specific jobs. The study documents that most employers who responded didn't have a "strong desire" for employees with two- or four-year degrees.

Darol Fishman, professor of agriculture at Merced College, said that even though the college placed 75 percent of its agricultural graduates last year, California's agricultural workplace could benefit from more vocational training on the high school level.

"During the college prep push, we have systematically destroyed career and technical education by taking away choices such as business, auto and mechanics from the high school curriculum," he said. "This has taken away the ability to think and problem-solve — and agriculture needs problem-solvers."

"There are jobs to be had if people come to the realization they aren't starting at a six-figure salary, won't have a corner office and must be able to put in equal work for equal pay," Fishman said.

Bee staff writer John Holland contributed to this report.