California-based greens grown/salad producer Taylor Farms has acquired ag robotics company FarmWise‘s business in what the former said was “a natural fit for Taylor Farms as the company continues to adopt advanced solutions that benefit the produce industry at large.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The announcement comes on the heels of FarmWise—best known for its precision weeding technology—announcing a company restructuring and eventual winding down.
Speaking to AgFunderNews last month, FarmWise CEO Tjarko Leifer said that ensuring service for existing FarmWise customers was the top priority. Taylor Farms reiterated that point this week, noting it will immediately begin transitioning the FarmWise business to ensure continuity of service for FarmWise’s Vulcan customers.
So far as ag robotics adoption goes, weeding innovations are among the most popular new technologies. Large-scale operations like Taylor Farms now constantly battle herbicide resistance and labor shortages in addition to costs on the farm rising more generally.
Weeds decrease crop yields in the US by an annual average cost of $33 billion, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Meanwhile, consumer preferences are increasingly in favor of approaches that reduce or avoid chemicals.
FarmWise’s Vulcan technology uses AI, computer vision and robotics to identify and remove weeds.
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Taylor Farms—one of the largest ready-to-eat salad producers in North America, previously invested in FarmWise via the latter’s $45 million Series B round in 2022.
Leifer emphasized his confidence in FarmWise’s technology over the long term: “The technology works. We save our customers a lot of money, and we’re confident that the technology can scale over time and be reliable.”
