The Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology (WGCIT) has published its second of an ongoing series of case studies, analyzing financial and operational impacts of various agtech equipment.

In this case study, the CIT collaborated with Triangle Farms to share quantifiable data of the financial value of Stout Industrial Technology Inc.’s Smart Cultivator for the removal of weeds. Triangle Farms is a 10,000-acre conventional and organic specialty crop farm based in Salinas, Calif. It is part of JV Smith Companies, which has a total of 40,000 acres of farms throughout California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Mexico.

The case study analyzes real grower data based on a 32-week growing season and a three-year depreciation schedule for the Stout Smart Cultivator and also covers the operational impacts of using the Smart Cultivator at Triangle Farms.

Triangle Farms integrated the Stout Smart Cultivator with hand weeding in 2020 and noted a $477, 784 reduction in total cost compared to 2018-2019 labor expenditures.

You can find the Western Growers Stout Case Study here.

The CIT is offering an investment assessment for any operation interested in the ROI of automation equipment. For more information or to ensure notification of future CIT case studies, reach out to the innovation team at [email protected].