FIRA USA 2025 Opens with Focus on Collaboration in Ag Robotics

The fourth annual FIRA USA (International Forum for Agricultural Robotics) officially opened Oct. 21 in Woodland, CA, reaffirming its mission to accelerate automation in agriculture and strengthen the link between growers, innovators, and researchers.

Walt Duflock of Western Growers and Gabe Youtsey, Chief Innovation Officer at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), welcomed attendees and emphasized California’s pivotal role in advancing ag robotics and ag tech adoption.

“We started FIRA four years ago with one goal: to remind people how much labor challenges are hitting growers and help them understand that without automation, it gets really hard for growers to continue to farm in California,” Duflock said.

He highlighted the urgent labor challenges facing the industry: California agriculture spends $16.3 billion annually on 850 million labor hours, much of it non-harvest work, of which only 2% to 3% has been automated. “Until we move that number up,” he noted, “we’ll keep relying on international labor at $30 an hour. We need automation to get there.”

Youtsey announced the launch of the California Ag Tech Innovation Network, a statewide initiative connecting investors, startups, growers, universities, and government partners to accelerate ag tech development and commercialization. “The state of California has invested about $30 million in the last six months to help build a statewide ag tech ecosystem,” he said. “That includes startups, universities, investors, and growers — everyone needed to bring real solutions to scale.”

Both speakers stressed that automation must align with grower economics, requiring collaboration among research institutions, startups, and farmers. “What I want to see this week,” said Duflock, “is growers and robot companies having conversations about one thing: can this product work for grower economics? That’s the whole key to making automation work.”

UC ANR and Western Growers will expand field trials, case studies, and grower-led capital initiatives, particularly focused on harvest automation, an area still lacking viable large-scale robotic solutions. “Harvest automation is still the toughest nut to crack,” Duflock added, “but growers are ready to lead the way with new capital and collaboration to make it happen.”

Youtsey echoed the importance of workforce development alongside technology. “All of this innovation won’t be possible without workforce development,” he said. “We need to bring engineering, computer science, and plant science together, and train both new students and existing farmworkers for the agtech jobs of the future.”

The session also outlined major events for the week, including:
• Four demo zones with more than 35 solutions showcasing vegetables, orchards and vineyards
• More than 80 exhibitors from the Ag Robotics industry
• Farm Robotics Innovation Awards by UC ANR
• The debut of the Women in Ag Robotics Award
• A closing Visionary Perspectives Panel on Ag Robotics

Both speakers underscored that FIRA USA’s purpose remains clear: to unite technology developers and growers in building a more automated, sustainable, and economically resilient future for specialty crop agriculture. “It’s not going to be venture capital alone or corporates alone,” Youtsey said. “It’s going to take government, industry, and science working together in new ways to make automation real on the farm.”

For more information about FIRA USA 2025, visit fira-usa.com.