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Farming Automation and Weed Control Solutions

19:43 recording · AUTO · 3 speakers

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Brief overview

Weeding robots already cut grower costs sharply, and disappearing chemistry plus Australia's labour gap will accelerate adoption.

  1. Laser weeding nearly halved one grower's weeding billBraga Fresh went from $900 an acre for hand weeding to $500 an acre after Carbon Robotics, and redeployed 22 workers to harvest crews.
  2. No silver bullet — different machines, different value propositionsCarbon and Eco-Robotics both weed, but for conventional onions the case is herbicide reduction of 80 to 90% on a $300,000 machine, not laser precision.
  3. Automation capital framed as rural economic infrastructureWalt Dufflock argues $5 billion in automation revenue would create 250,000 people years of work over a 10-year window and beat mining and timber on every job metric.
Executive Summary AI
  • In part two of this AusVeg Veglog episode, Campbell Cooney turns from autonomous harvesting to weed control, focusing on two Western Growers Association projects: the Laser Weeder from Carbon Robotics and the Eco-Robotics spot sprayer.1:57
  • Ben Pallone says Braga Fresh spent an average of $900 an acre on hand weeding before laser weeding and got down to $500 an acre after Carbon Robotics, a $300 an acre saving, and moved 22 hand weeders into harvest crews where they earn more.3:17
  • For conventional onions the economics differ: an Eco-Robotics machine at $300,000 to 320k US pays itself off fast by cutting broadcast herbicide by 80 to 90%, and Eco has put over 300 machines into the US since its Fira USA debut in 2023.5:00
  • Walt Dufflock describes chemistry vanishing faster than alternatives arrive — the EPA pulled Dactyl with no grandfather clause, ordering growers to ship stock back under stiff penalties, despite congressional language requiring a comparable product on efficacy and economics first.8:40
  • Pallone argues Australia is the better test bed — expensive, scarce and variable labour plus European-style bulk cut-and-pack harvesting that suits automation — which is why WGA has partnered with Hort Innovation and QDPI on the VegMec project, with Walt Dufflock targeting a billion dollars of automation revenue by 2030 and $5 billion as the level that takes 20 to 25% of labour off the table.10:58
Key Quote
“before laser weeding, they were spending an average of $900 an acre for hand weeding labor. And then after using carbon robotics, they're getting down to $500 an acre.”
— Ben Pallone3:17
Key Quote
“So those crews are able to go and make more money on harvest crew and not have to do weeding on their hands and knees anymore.”
— Ben Pallone3:53
Key Quote
“it's really hard for me to think, Campbell, that there is a golden sword or silver bullet that can take care of all these things with one machine.”
— Ben Pallone5:31