Labor expenses push farmers to automate

Before almond orchards are planted across the Central Valley or apple trees take root in the Pacific Northwest, many of the plants begin their lives at Sierra Gold Nurseries in Yuba City.The Sutter County tree nursery is a one-stop shop, propagating the plants from orchard cuttings and in a tissue culture laboratory, then potting, suckering and budding the trees, and nurturing them for more than a year before shipping them to growers across the country.The labor-intensive operation, which produc