July/August 2024 - 10

AGTECH
Photo courtesy of FIRA.
FIRA preview
T
Tech for veg growers is a big part of robotics conference
BY DOUG OHLEMEIER
ASSISTANT EDITOR
he third iteration of the
International Forum of
Agricultural Robotics, known
as FIRA-USA, plans to offer growers
of vegetables and berries as well
as tree fruit and nuts a view of the
state of specialty crop robotics and
automation.
Scheduled for Oct. 22-24 in
Woodland, California, 11 miles from
the Sacramento International Airport,
FIRA USA is set to provide growers
and other industry personnel the
opportunity to view new agricultural
technology in action.
The conference's focus is to afford
growers the opportunity to network,
exchange feedback and to learn more
about existing solutions through
grower roundtables on specific
crops, said Gwendoline Legrand,
co-director for show sponsor FIRA
and GOFAR (Global Organization for
Agricultural Robotics).
" The end-users are the key. You
can not develop disruptive solutions
without having them in the loop, "
Legrand said. " They need to share
their vision, they need to touch, to
test, to say 'No, I want this that way'
10 | JULY/AUGUST 2024
and finally, get the exact systems
that work for them. The growers'
needs is where everything started
for FIRA. We are not showcasing and
presenting robots and autonomous
solutions as an end by themselves.
Those machines need to represent
a proper solution to specific needs,
as diverse as the farmers are. The
manufacturers understand that, and
are very often building the solutions
together with the growers, directly
operating in the fields. "
Free grower admission
This year growers will receive free
admission, a longtime World FIRA
Europe policy that allows even more
industry stakeholders and small
to large-scale growers to leave the
event with more autonomous and
robotics technology information and
vision, Legrand said.
New sponsorships from the
Washington Tree Fruit Research
Commission and the California
Almond Board should prompt interest
from other commodity boards and
research institutes and motivate them
to organize specific programs for their
growers, Legrand said.
As previous FIRAs explored
many topics relating to ag robotics,
organizers want this year's education
component to be as relevant as
possible for growers, and include
sessions designed to discuss issues
growers are facing and existing
autonomous solutions for individual
crops, she said.
Commodity group and research
involvement are critical. Panelists
are set to share stories on how the
industry is " automation-ready " and
provide examples of vendors working
in the space with commodity groups
and universities, Legrand said.
Tech solutions
The educational portion includes
crop-specific themed roundtables
covering topics including
autonomous irrigation solutions
for speciality crops, addressing
automation needs in the vegetable
industry and berry industry tech.
Autonomous irrigation solutions
use IoT sensors, machine learning
and real-time data analytics to
improve water delivery, meeting
crops' diverse needs and reducing
waste. Technologies including
drones, automated drip systems and
smart sprinklers adjust irrigation
based on soil moisture, weather
and plant health. The session is to
July/August 2024

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