As labor costs rise, AI is learning to farm

As labor costs rise, AI is learning to farm

A century ago, orchards were the primary source of income for Parker Flamm’s grandfather and many others in Cobden, a 1,000-person town in southern Illinois. Today, Flamm Orchards is one of the last standing.  “Right now, it’s pretty much just us,” said Flamm, a sixth-generation orchard owner whose primary customer is a Kroger distribution center in Louisville that buys their peaches and apples.   He blames the mass exodus of orchards on the cha…