From left, Chase Schapansky, GUSS chief technical officer, and Dave Crinklaw, stand in front of GUSS in this 2019 file photo

A Fresno County farm automation manufacturing pioneer has gone all in with John Deere to address the labor challenges faced by growers.

The Illinois-based farm equipment powerhouse announced last week that it has fully acquired GUSS Automation, LLC, of Kingsburg. The deal builds on an existing joint venture with GUSS established in 2022 that included a 40% equity investment.

Founded by Dave Crinklaw in 2018, GUSS manufactures autonomous sprayers that can be remotely supervised by a single operator who can manage up to eight machines at a time, according to a John Deere news release. Using GPS, lidar and proprietary software, GUSS machines navigate vineyards and orchards applying chemicals via a spray rig, with the goal of reducing operator error, labor costs and waste.

Lidar is short for Light Detection and Ranging — a sensing method that sends pulses of laser light to determine the presence, shape and distance of objects, often in great detail.

More than 250 GUSS machines have been deployed globally, accounting for 2.6 million acres sprayed over 500,000 autonomous hours.

GUSS sprayers will continue to be sold and serviced exclusively through John Deere dealers, as they are today. The business will retain its name, brand, employees and manufacturing facility in Kingsburg near Highway 99. John Deere officials said they will support GUSS in expanding its global reach and accelerating innovation while continuing integration with other John Deere technologies, including the Smart Apply precision spraying equipment stemming from a 2023 acquisition.

“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 Julien Le Vely, director, production systems, high value & small acre crops, at John Deere. “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.”

 

GUSS’ manufacturing operations expand John Deere’s U.S. manufacturing footprint to the heart of the country’s high-value crop production market. GUSS sprayers will continue to use John Deere Power Systems engines, first integrated in 2024.

“Joining John Deere enables us to tap into their unmatched innovative capabilities in precision agriculture technologies to bring our solutions to more growers around the world,” said Gary Thompson, chief operations officer at GUSS. “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.”

First entering development around 2014, GUSS — short for Global Unmanned Spray System — faced early challenges of a lack of available software for all of its applications. A four-wheel automated steering system allows for sharp turns in tight orchards. Laser technology compensated for the loss of GPS signals under canopies of leaves and branches.

Crinklaw and his father Bob started an agriculture spray business called Crinklaw Farm Services in 1982 with two tractors, spraying about 40 acres a day. Encountering their own labor pain points in their business, GUSS was born as an in-house solution. It first entered the market in late 2019.