Kubota North America announced the next phase of its strategic collaboration with Agtonomy, an award-winning agricultural autonomy software company, to expand the pilot phase to include autonomous operations on the Kubota M5 Low Profile diesel tractor for orchard and nut growers.
The initiative builds on the companies' work to commercialize practical autonomy on Kubota equipment and reflects Kubota's ongoing commitment to developing smart technology that enhances efficiency, adaptability and productivity for specialty crop customers.
“Kubota values our relationship with Agtonomy and is committed to finding solutions for the specialty agricultural market and associated growers,” said Don Lowe, senior director of Kubota Tractor Corporation. “Expanding our autonomous platform with Agtonomy confirms another vital step towards the commercialization of our high-quality products into this important segment.”
This next phase will focus on integrating Agtonomy's capabilities with Kubota's M5 Low Profile tractor to support core specialty-crop workloads, including spraying, mowing and underplant cultivation. The low-profile design and added lift capacity of the M5L will allow the companies to address a broader set of orchard applications, including sanitation mowing, while helping growers introduce autonomous solutions into their existing diesel tractor operations.
The pilot phase expansion is informed by successful engagement with growers and continued feedback from specialty crop operations. While the M5N is tailored to narrow-row applications, the M5L brings a low-profile platform and increased lift capacity suited to the distinct needs of orchard and nut operations.
“As a specialty crop grower myself, I know how much orchard work depends on having the right equipment and skilled people available when the job needs to get done,” said Tim Bucher, CEO and co-founder of Agtonomy. “Bringing our technology to the M5L is a direct response to that need and an important next step in helping growers get essential work done with the skilled labor they have available.”
Kubota's open innovation approach is grounded in collaboration with industry-leading partners to accelerate transformative agricultural solutions. Through its continued work with Agtonomy, Kubota will use grower input to refine autonomous capabilities and help deliver practical technology solutions that improve efficiency, consistency and field operations for specialty agriculture customers.
For more information on Kubota innovation, visit KubotaUSA.com/Innovation. For more information on Agtonomy, visit Agtonomy.com.
This story also appears on Agricultural Equipment Guide.
