New technology platform enables farmers to precisely plan and execute labor-intensive field tasks
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Agtonomy, an ag tech software company with a focus on developing climate-smart solutions for specialty crop farmers, announces its new TeleFarmer™ Solution. TeleFarmer™ empowers farmers to remotely execute labor-intensive field tasks such as weeding, spraying, mowing and transporting. The solution is a game changer for many specialty crop farmers who are battling crippling labor shortages and associated rising costs.
The global market for specialty crops, like grapes and almonds, is projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2026.1 The U.S. is the world’s top producer of these crops with 184,000 of these farming operations covering 10.4 million acres, according to the USDA. But while these operations have the potential for high margins, they come with greater risk to the farmer as they are beholden to the availability of necessary labor to perform many critical field tasks. TeleFarmer™ puts more control back into the hands of the farmer, allowing them to supplement and uplift labor.
“As a farmer myself, I founded Agtonomy to use technology as a means to give farmers more control over the economics of their operation,” said Tim Bucher, CEO and co-founder of Agtonomy. “Our new TeleFarmer™ solution is a suite of products that delivers farmers a remotely operated fleet to accomplish many of the most labor-intensive tasks on their farm and reduce dependency on the availability of labor.”
The TeleFarmer Solution from Agtonomy is comprised of three powerful components:
- TeleFarmer™ Software: A tele-guidance software system that turns tractors into remotely operated vehicles. Equipped with proprietary TrunkVision™, these tractors safely and accurately navigate within centimeter-level precision of any specialty crop.
- TeleFarmer™Service: An app that puts unprecedented control in the hands of the operator. Farmers can plan and implement tasks such as in-row spraying, open-field mowing and transporting of harvested crops. The service also provides monitoring notifications and other key information needed for farmers to resolve issues as they arise remotely or dispatch someone to the field for larger issues.
- TeleFarmer™ Reference Tractor: A fully electric reference tractor that precisely accomplishes labor-intensive field tasks even in the toughest terrain or at night.
“With TeleFarmer™, farmers can essentially clone themselves to plan and perform tasks in multiple locations and even troubleshoot those tasks from wherever they are”, said Bucher. “Using the app, they can follow along, track progress, check the health of equipment in the field and review reports to make changes for maximum efficiency on subsequent tasks.”
The TeleFarmer™ solution will be on display at World Ag Expo, Feb.14-16 in Tulare, Calif. Bucher, along with additional members of the Agtonomy executive leadership team, will be available for interviews and live product demonstrations throughout the show in South Exhibits, booth #DS73-74.
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1Specialty Crops – Global Market Trajectory & Analytics (October 2022). Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220609005478/en/Global-Specialty-Crops-Market-to-2026—Mounting-Food-Security-Concerns-Improve-Market-Prospects—ResearchAndMarkets.com
About Agtonomy
Agtonomy, based in south San Francisco and Sonoma County, is a hybrid autonomy and tele-guidance service platform with the venture backing of GV, Toyota Ventures, Grit Ventures, Flybridge, Momenta, Village Global, Cavallo Ventures, Mirae Asset Venture Investment and many other prestigious investors. The platform will give local agriculture and land maintenance operators the ability to solve the skilled labor shortage with autonomous equipment and greatly increase their efficiency. The executive team consists of veterans from the AI, EV, cloud service and agriculture industries with extensive experience at companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, CNH Industrial, Microsoft, Uber, and Kittyhawk as well as lifelong farming experience at Northern California agriculture operations such as Trattore Farms.
SOURCE Agtonomy
