November 30, 2021

WG Innovation at Forefront of World Ag Robotics Forum

Western Growers Vice President of Innovation Walt Duflock will be discussing the advances of automation and robotics in the specialty crop industry during World FIRA, the ag robotics forum, on Dec. 7-9, 2021.

The conference, which will be a hybrid live-online event, features robotics demonstrations and pitch sessions from startups around the world. There also will be a variety of workshops covering topics such as the future of autonomous robotics powered by electricity, the capabilities of harvesting/picking robots and artificial intelligence as it relates to data collection.

Duflock will be a speaker in the following panels:

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021:

  • Panel: Automation and the new ways of organizing agricultural work worldwide
  • Topics Covered: The Global Harvest Automation Initiative (details) and the Western Growers Agtech Workforce Readiness Campaign (details)
  • More: Session Details

Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021

  • Panel: Harvesting & Picking Robots: New tools for better efficiency
  • Topics Covered: The Global Harvest Automation Initiative will be a focus and multiple startups in the initiative’s cohort will participate, including Advanced Farm, Harvest CROO and Muddy Machines
  • More: Session Details

Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021

  • Panel: FIRA USA: The California Ag Robotics Forum
  • Topics: Details about FIRA USA 2022—an event hosted by Western Growers, FIRA and UC ANR—will be revealed. FIRA USA 2022 will take place in Fresno, Calif., on Oct. 18-20, 2022, and will be the first global event for specialty crop automation solutions and conversations.
  • More: Session Details

To learn more about World FIRA or to register, visit the event website here.