When Russell Maichel started growing almonds, walnuts and pistachios in the 1980s, he didn't own a cellphone. Now, a fully autonomous tractor drives through his expansive orchard, spraying pesticides and fertilizer to protect the trees that have for decades filled him with an immense sense of pride.
“The sustainability of doing things perfectly the first time makes a lot of sense,” the first-generation farmer told The Associated Press at CES 2025, where John Deere unveiled a fleet of fully autonomous heavy equipment, including the tractor Maichel has been testing on his northern California farm.
