John Deere unveiled the full acquisition of GUSS Automation, LLC, a globally recognized, prominent leader in supervised high-value crop autonomy, headquartered in Kingsburg, California. The acquisition focuses on an existing joint venture established in 2022 and advances John Deere’s commitment to helping high-value crop growers address their biggest challenges around labor availability, input costs as well as crop protection.
By leveraging GPS, LiDAR, and proprietary software, GUSS machines navigate vineyards and orchards with precision to help reduce operator error, labor costs as well and material waste. To date, more than 250 GUSS machines have been deployed globally, accounting for 2.6 million acres sprayed over 500,000 autonomous hours.
This initiative will be supported by John Deere will support GUSS in expanding its global reach and accelerating innovation, including continued integration with other John Deere precision agriculture technologies, such as Smart Apply, which enables targeted spraying that offers the opportunity for up to 50% savings on chemical and water use.
Executive Statement
According to Julien Le Vely, director, Production Systems, High Value & Small Acre Crops, at John Deere, fully integrating GUSS into the John Deere portfolio is a continuation of their dedication to serving high-value crop customers with advanced, scalable technologies to help them do more with less. GUSS brings a proven solution to a fast-growing segment of agriculture, and its team has a deep understanding of customer needs in orchards and vineyards. We’re excited to have them fully part of the John Deere team.
According to Gary Thompson, chief operations officer at GUSS, joining John Deere enables them to tap into their unmatched innovative capabilities in precision farming technologies to bring their solutions to more growers around the world. Their team is passionate about helping high-value crop growers increase their efficiency and productivity in their operations, and together with John Deere, we will have the ability to have an even greater impact.