The labor situation facing specialty crop growers in the U.S. can be illustrated with a single number: 371,619.

Organics are important for Prey’s Fruit Barn & Orchards. For nearly half a century, the Wenatchee Valley farm has grown pears in elevations as high as 1,500 feet in Washington’s picturesque Cascade Mountains.

Despite torrential rains that forced cancellation of planned field tours, the North American Strawberry Symposium (NASS) was successful, although it was closely followed by deluged California berry fields from “atmospheric river” events.

Start-up company NanoGuard Technologies is in the early phases of designing a technology that uses air and electricity to kill molds and pathogens on fruits, vegetables and other food, with a goal of replacing chemical sanitizers throughout the food chain.

Among growers who rely on chemical inputs to ensure their crops aren’t lost to voracious insects or overgrown with weeds, it’s not a surprise that they’re not going to be able to rely on those chemicals — some that have been in use in fields and orchards across the U.S. for decades — in the coming years.