FIRA USA lands in Yakima: autonomous Kubota M5L and 46ft spot sprayer headline show

An autonomous Kubota M5L tractor and a 46-foot robotic spot sprayer carrying 350 nozzles are the headline novelties at FIRA USA, which has left California for the first time and runs from 20 to 22 October in Yakima, Washington State.

Co-organisers GOFAR and the Yakima County Development Association expect some 2,500 visitors, including 500 to 600 growers, at the fifth North-American edition of the event. The previous four editions all took place in California. Most of the machinery on display sits inside the Yakima SunDome, with a demo area outside.

Which machines made their debut?

The Kubota M5L, made autonomous by Agtonomy together with Kubota North America, is a genuine first at the show. It is the third model Agtonomy has converted, following the Bobcat CT4045 compact tractor and the low-profile Kubota M5N. The M5L targets specialty crops, the segment that dominates the Yakima Valley.

Burro brought its latest carrier robot, the Burro Grande 44, to the demo area. The 44 refers to electric peak horsepower, nearly three times the 15 hp of the existing model. Towing capacity should rise by 50 per cent. The motors are now brushless, and a second GPS antenna, making two in total, improves autonomous work along buildings.

Niqo Robotics launched what it calls North America's widest hooded spot sprayer. The Indian company, which specifically targets the North American market, built the new RoboWeeder F46 at grower request after the F20 (6.1 metres) and F24 (7.3 metres). The F46 spans 46 feet (14 metres) and can be extended to 50 feet (15.2 metres). It carries 350 nozzles, weighs 4,900 pounds (2,200 kilograms) and needs a 135 hp tractor in front. Price: $600,000, with no recurring annual fees.

What about smaller robots and retrofits?

Aigen showed the latest version of its Element mechanical weeding robot. Three Intel RealSense cameras at the front detect weeds in row crops including maize, soybean, potatoes and tomatoes; two, three or four hoeing arms then remove the localised weeds, with a choice of four weeding blades. The solar-powered machine covers 5 to 10 acres per day and is designed to last eight years or 10,000 hours. Twelve units were deployed this year across three US states. One Element costs $50,000 to $70,000 depending on configuration, plus an annual fee of $4,000. Aigen initially targets US growers.

Bonsai Robotics displayed a fleet of autonomous Amiga platforms, among them the Amiga Max autonomous sprayer for orchards and other permanent crops such as wine grapes.

Kingman ag presented an autonomous retrofit kit born from needs on Kingman's own Fiddyment Farms in Lincoln, California, which covers 3,000 hectares (7,415 acres). The system has no LiDAR sensors and navigates using fisheye and focal lens technology, a cost-relevant choice for growers weighing retrofit options.

A Bobcat CT4045 from a local orchard farmer, fitted with two Vivid Machines XV crop sensors, also appeared at the show. It was no demo setup but a practical example of how autonomy and crop sensing are already working on North American farms.

Canadian startup Finite Robotics, also trading as Finite Farms, founded in 2024 in Kitchener, Ontario, exhibited a prototype Robothinner for robotic thinning of apples.

What should growers watch next?

The FIRA USA move into Washington's fruit-growing heartland signals where robot makers see demand. Watch the commercial rollouts of the Agtonomy Kubota M5L and the Niqo F46 over the coming season, plus wider deployment of the Aigen Element beyond the twelve units already in the field.