For those who missed FIRA USA this year in October, you’ll want to stay tuned as they say because I’ll have more on that event in upcoming print and digital editions. Meanwhile, I thought I’d share a few thoughts and observations since I’ve attended this event from its beginning three years ago.

As I write this I just returned from this year’s event in northern California. Three years after its inaugural showcase in Fresno, the annual ag robotics conference has grown significantly in size and attention.

What started in Fresno with about 800 people in attendance over three days at the downtown convention center and Fresno State expanded this year to about 2,000 people at the Yolo County Fairgrounds in Woodland. Last year’s event drew about 1,500 to the Salinas Rodeo Grounds.

A little history: FIRA USA was born out of World FIRA in Toulouse, France. World FIRA is billed as “the world’s leading event” for agricultural automation and robotics. It came about after the formation of the non-profit organization GOFAR (Global Organization for Agricultural Robotics) in 2016 by Axema and Naïo Technologies. It’s mission is to promote and develop the agricultural robotics sector internationally.

World FIRA will hold its 9^th annual event Feb. 4-6, 2025, in Toulouse, France. Next year’s FIRA USA event will return to Woodland Oct. 21-23.

Related:What happened in Vegas? Nothing, unfortunately

The robotics sector of U.S. ag technology is currently focused on weed removal in specialty crops. What began primarily as autonomous machines has morphed into machines that are pulled by tractors. It makes sense that such an event takes place in California as that is where much of U.S. specialty crops – particularly the high value vegetable crops – are grown.

Weed control technology is evident in the host of products that can zap weeds with lasers, target them with AI-controlled spray technology that applies herbicides to just the weeds, or helps eliminate weeds with mechanical blades.

This is important for a few reasons. Hiring busloads of farmworkers to remove weeds with hoes and shovels is increasingly costly. That labor pool is also shrinking. Additionally, herbicide cost and availability of effective chemistries continue to be a challenge as herbicide resistance continues to grow.

Also interesting to watch are the robotic platforms coming to the marketplace. Burro has a proven system that can be purchased or rented. Farm-ng offers modular robotic platforms that can be customized to handle tedious jobs on the farm or in the greenhouse.

A new piece of technology that fascinated me this year is what I’m calling an integrated pest management method of controlling insects with pheromones, light, and a proprietary blend of products that allow it to be used in certified organic operations. This promising technology was unveiled for the first time at FIRA USA this year. I’ll have more on this technology in an upcoming story.

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