Podcast Summary
Autonomous Agriculture: Craig Rupp founded Subanto in 2018 to provide labor solutions in agriculture through autonomous equipment leasing, expanding across the U.S. since then, currently employing a team of five and continuously developing autonomy technology.
Craig Rupp, the founder and CEO of Subanto, saw a need for labor solutions in agriculture and turned to autonomy as the answer. In 2018, he founded the company and began leasing equipment to autonomously plant soybeans across the United States. With a background in both agriculture and the wireless industry, he spent the winter writing software and in the spring of 2019, he started planting autonomously in various states. Since then, Subanto has expanded throughout the U.S., providing labor solutions for farmers in Florida to New York and from California to Wisconsin. The company currently employs a team of five and continues to develop autonomy in agriculture.
Autonomous Agriculture: Autonomous agriculture is the future, driven by labor shortages and technology advancements, with a focus on creating intelligent systems for tractors and equipment, and integrating autonomy and sustainability for true farming efficiency and sustainability.
Innovation in agriculture, specifically in the development of autonomous tractors and equipment, is being driven by various challenges, including labor shortages. The progression of technology in agriculture has led us from auto-steer to yield maps and variable rate applications. Now, the next stage is autonomy, and companies are focusing on creating intelligent systems for tractors and other equipment. Moreover, sustainability is a significant factor in new equipment development, as autonomy and no-till practices are interrelated, and addressing compaction and the weight of equipment are crucial for achieving true sustainability. In essence, the future of agriculture lies in the integration of autonomy and sustainability to create intelligent farming systems.
AI in Agriculture: AI is a long-term component in precision agriculture, currently used for path planning and perception systems, but its full potential may take time to realize and could be as transformative as the dot-com era.
In agriculture, increasing autonomy to maximize time leads to decreased horsepower and improved sustainability. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a long-term component in precision agriculture, currently used as a tool for path planning and perception systems. However, it may take time to fully understand and effectively utilize AI's role in agriculture, as it may not follow the rapid growth trajectory of previous technological advancements. Craig Rupp, founder and CEO of Sponto, shares this perspective, comparing AI's potential to the dot-com era and emphasizing its importance in the future of agriculture.