Burro, a plug-and-play autonomous people-scale robot available to growers that increases productivity in conventional production environments, has hundreds of robots actively working around the world. The company recently achieved the industry-leading milestone of having traveled in excess of 50,000 autonomous miles in support of high-value permanent crop growers (such as table-grape, berry, citrus and stone-fruit farms), as well as commercial nurseries and greenhouses. In one case study, 90 Burros supported table grape crews by autonomously transporting fruit from field to pack tables, six days a week. Burros took on the physical demands of carrying 200 lbs. loads of grapes over the course of several miles per day in the hot sun, allowing human workers to remain in the field under the shade of a canopy, where they could continue to pick and pack with a continuous flow of fruit out of the field. This grower saw 15- to 48 percent gains per Burro, enabling a single season ROI. Customers report that Burro’s novel, patent-pending approach, called Pop Up Autonomy, enables the robots to work immediately out of the box by enabling everyone in a working environment to become an operator. CalCom Energy is expanding from its roots in the ag grower and dairy communities to serve the large-scale operations so critical to the food system. More than a solar and energy storage installer, CCE is an energy solutions partner dedicated to helping the food system integrate energy technology into their current operations. Their services are designed to address energy challenges while helping achieve specific business objectives. CalCom Energy has led the deployment of over 150+ MW of solar generation and energy storage capacity across the food system value chain, now monitoring more than 170 MW of renewable energy assets. They continue to influence the solar industry from the inside by actively advocating for clean energy policies from the utilities that benefit their clients throughout California. This year, CCE was named to Solar Power World's annual list of Top Solar Contractors in the United States. Carbon Robotics’ revolutionary, high-precision laserweeding technology leverages sophisticated AI deep learning technology, computer vision, robotics and lasers to reduce weed control costs by 80 percent and improve crop yield and quality. Carbon Robotics’ certified organic LaserWeeder utilizes advanced modern technology to identify, target and eliminate weeds with millimeter accuracy, without disturbing the soil or damaging nearby crops. The implement connects seamlessly to the back of a tractor to kill up to 99 percent of weeds, weed up to two acres per hour and eliminate up to 5,000 weeds per minute, equivalent to a hand-weeding crew of 75 people. The LaserWeeder has more than 40 different types of crops stored in its deep learning library and can learn new crops in 24-48 hours. Growers implementing the LaserWeeder experience a payback period of one to three years after initial purchase. In February 2023, Carbon Robotics introduced the industry’s first LaserThinning capability for its LaserWeeder. This software update enables the LaserWeeder to target areas where vegetable crops are purposefully overseeded and then thinned for optimal crop spacing, growth and yield. To date, Carbon Robotics’ LaserWeeders have successfully eliminated more than 2 billion weeds and counting. 2023 deliveries will deploy LaserWeeder to farms in 17 U.S. states and three provinces in Canada, with 2023 pre-orders nearly sold out and pre-orders for 2024 deliveries well underway. This year, Carbon Robotics was named to Fast Company’s annual list of Most Innovative Companies and raised $35 million in Series C funding to expand sales regions in North America, optimize and scale manufacturing, develop new software and hardware products, and launch into international markets.
Burro
CalCom Energy
Carbon Robotics
FarmWise has had a productive quarter as we gear up for our upcoming deliveries of Vulcan, our next-generation intra- row weeding implement. We have been busy field testing and polishing Vulcan’s software to ensure the best possible in-field experience. In June, we achieved an incredible milestone by breaking our record for highest monthly revenue earnings with our service fleet of 14 Titans prototypes. This is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our operations team. Moreover, we are excited to announce two new key hires: Greg Chiocco as our VP of Product and Greg Sherwood as
FarmWise
our VP of Software. With over 20 years of experience in developing and scaling technology products on global platforms, they bring extremely valuable expertise to our teams. With our growing family, FarmWise eagerly anticipates a year of milestones, record-breaking achievements, and unprecedented firsts as we continue to redefine agriculture. Learn more about Vulcan and its features on our website, our LinkedIn and Instagram channels, or visit our booth at FIRA in late September.
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SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2023
Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
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