Yamaha Motor has entered the agriculture sector with the launch of Yamaha Agriculture, a company aimed at delivering autonomous equipment and AI-driven solutions for specialty crop growers.
The company is introducing robotics for spraying, weeding and other field operations, along with advanced data analytics to support precision farming. The move follows Yamaha’s acquisitions of Robotics Plus and The Yield.
Yamaha’s focus includes specialty crops such as wine grapes and apples across North America, Australia and New Zealand. The company has a history in agriculture, having introduced unmanned helicopters for crop management in Japan 40 years ago.
Demand for automation is increasing as farmers seek to reduce costs and improve efficiency. A survey cited by Yamaha found that more than three-quarters of growers believe automation could benefit harvesting and sorting, while over half see potential for spraying and fertilization.
Yamaha Agriculture CEO Nolan Paul, who was appointed last year, announced the launch on LinkedIn, receiving interest from industry participants hoping to collaborate.
Specialty crop growers spend significant resources on automation, with labor costs making up 38 cents per dollar in expenses compared to 4 cents for row crops, according to the 2022 Western Growers Specialty Crop Automation Report.
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