In a part of Central California known as America's fruit basket, picking strawberries can break more than just a sweat.

For farmer Larry Jacobs — who has spent four decades growing some of the most sought-after chives, basil, and tomatoes — the biggest struggle isn't growing crops. It's finding enough hands to work the fields, a challenge that he says is made even harder by recent immigration raids.

"We've had some people who have resigned, because of the changes, hey we're just going to go back to Mexico," he said.

With nearly 88,000 agricultural jobs left unfilled each year, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, America is facing a labor crisis — and small growers like Jacobs are turning to high-tech.

"This has been an issue for the last five years and 10 years, b

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