Social Links Search
Tools
Close

  

Close

MISSOURI WEATHER

These Robots Provide a High-Tech Solution to an Age-Old Farming Problem: How to Get Rid of Weeds

These Robots Provide a High-Tech Solution to an Age-Old Farming Problem: How to Get Rid of Weeds


Greenfield Robotics, a Kansas-based company, is hoping to move agriculture away from herbicides. They’ve developed robots to take on a labor-intensive process — cutting weeds down.

Three yellow, bug-like creatures crawl in perfectly straight lines across the dead grass of a flat, brown February field in Cheney, Kansas.

These are the namesake of GreenField Robotics. Two lights peer out from each side of the boxy machines, almost appearing like eyes. Blades whir at their base, about a half an inch from the ground – the perfect height to chop weeds, though there’s nothing to cut down on a frigid winter day.

They stick out in an otherwise rural landscape – and GreenField CEO Clint Brauer said he frequently hears from curious passersby.

“All the time,” Brauer said. “I’m always surprised, though, how little people notice.”

Brauer founded the company in 2018. The start-up has now grown large enough to attract investment from Chipotle’s $100 million venture capital fund and to secure partnerships with dog food and baking mix brands.

Brauer grew up on a family farm in Haven, Kansas, but moved to California after high school to work in the tech industry. In 2010, he returned home after his dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He attributes the use of herbicides to his dad’s diagnosis.

“The more I learned about farm chemicals and stuff … the more I thought there's a decent chance that this came from that,” Brauer said.

The move sucked Brauer back into the world of agriculture, where he started seeking ways to eliminate herbicides. He tried farming organically, but it was too expensive to be accessible to many buyers.

Another option was no till farming, where farmers avoid turning over the dirt to reduce erosion and improve soil health. But it’s a method that leans on herbicides.

And in 2015, Brauer was starting to notice the weeds in his fields were becoming resistant to chemicals anyway.

“There was no good way to get rid of those weeds, even though we had sprayed many times,” Brauer said.

Click here to read more krps.org

Photo Credit: gettyimages-zoomtravels

MU Center Projects a Dip in Farm Income for Springtime MU Center Projects a Dip in Farm Income for Springtime
Missouri farmers face lower income in 2024 Missouri farmers face lower income in 2024

Categories: Missouri, General

Subscribe to Farms.com newsletters

Crop News

Rural Lifestyle News

Livestock News

General News

Government & Policy News

National News

Back To Top