Grimmway Farms Moves Plants With Robots

In phase one of what it hopes will be a series of trials, Grimmway Farms experimented with the concept of open field container production of vegetable plants, using robots from Harvest Automation to move the containers into the test plot. In future trials, the robots will be used to bring the containers out of the field at the end of the season and deliver them to workers for easy harvest.

Container production could allow the operation to grow in areas with poor soils, better access to water, and closer proximity to urban customers. Replacing the bend-and-stoop labor involved in planting and harvesting could free workers up for more important tasks and reduce incidence of farm worker injuries.