In 2018, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yuma Agricultural Center and the Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture hosted an Automated Thinning and Weeding Technologies Field Day. The event featured twelve equipment vendors and university researchers showcasing and demoing the latest automated ag technologies in the field. Company representatives were on hand to discuss the technologies and answer questions. Since then, there has been a tremendous amount of innovation and development in these technologies. Several start-up companies have introduced new machinery into the marketplace and the older technologies have advanced greatly. We haven’t set a firm date yet but are planning for mid-October. The event is open to all companies and researchers that would like to show their automated thinning and/or weeding technology. If you are interested in demoing your equipment or know someone that is, please contact me. Stay tuned!
Fig. 1. Highlight video of 1st Automated Thinning and Weeding Technologies Field Demo (2018).
