John Deere acquires GUSS Automation

John Deere announced the acquisition of GUSS Automation, a leader in supervised autonomous sprayers for orchards and vineyards based in California, USA.

The deal builds on a joint venture established in 2022 and reflects Deere’s commitment to tackling grower challenges such as labour shortages, rising input costs, and crop protection demands.

“Fully integrating GUSS into the John Deere portfolio is a continuation of our dedication to serving high-value crop customers with advanced, scalable technologies to help them do more with less,” said John Deere Director of Production Systems, High Value & Small Acre Crops, Julien Le Vely.

“GUSS brings a proven solution to a fast-growing segment of agriculture, and its team has a deep understanding of customer needs in orchards and vineyards. We’re excited to have them fully part of the John Deere team.”

Founded in 2018 by Dave Crinklaw, GUSS has deployed more than 250 autonomous sprayers globally, covering 2.6 million acres across 500,000 autonomous hours. GUSS sprayers use GPS, LiDAR and proprietary software to navigate vineyards and orchards with precision to reduce labour costs, human errors and material waste. A single operator can oversee up to eight sprayers simultaneously.

The GUSS brand, employees, and Kingsburg, California manufacturing base will remain unchanged, with sales and service continuing exclusively through John Deere dealers. The sprayers, already operating in Australia, will remain available to local growers.

GUSS sprayers will also continue to use John Deere Power Systems engines, first integrated in 2024.

Deere plans to accelerate innovation by integrating GUSS with its precision agriculture tools such as Smart Apply, which the company claims can cut chemical and water use by up to 50 per cent.

GUSS chief operations officer, Gary Thompson, said joining Deere would enable the company to “tap into their unmatched innovative capabilities” and bring solutions to more growers worldwide.

“Our team is passionate about helping high-value crop growers increase their efficiency and productivity in their operations, and together with John Deere, we will have the ability to have an even greater impact,” he said.