Kubota acquires Bloomfield Robotics

Kubota Corporation, Osaka, Japan, through its North American subsidiary, Kubota North America Corporation, has acquired Bloomfield Robotics, Inc. Based in Pittsburgh, Penn., Bloomfield is a global company providing a service that monitors the health and performance of specialty crops using advanced imaging and artificial intelligence (AI).

Bloomfield’s purpose-built cameras are designed to be easily mounted on tractors and other vehicles commonly used in farming. (Photo: Kubota)

Bloomfield’s cameras are the foundation for a new Software as a Service (SaaS) that provides plant-level health and performance assessments for growers of grapes, blueberries and other specialty crops. Purpose-built cameras have been designed to be easily mounted on tractors and other vehicles commonly used in farming, allowing for the capture of detailed plant-level, geo-located images of the entire farm. These images are then translated into crop data such as color, maturity and size of the fruit using proprietary AI.

The data generated can provide insights into harvest timing and yield, which can enable meaningful operational efficiencies, better timed harvests, reduced labor costs and increased asset utilization, the company noted.

“The Bloomfield vision from our founding was to provide continuous plant-level knowledge to every specialty crop farmer around the world,” said Mark DeSantis, president and CEO of Bloomfield Robotics. “This acquisition brings that vision forward at a scale and speed we could not have imagined.”

Bloomfield and Kubota had already been working closely together for more than two years, DeSantis said, “so we have a running start at achieving this vision. We’re truly excited for what’s to come.”

Brett McMickell, chief technology officer, Kubota North America, called the Bloomfield acquisition “a natural evolution” of the companies’ successful partnership. Kubota has made the specialty crop market a focal point of its strategic attention and efforts to shape the future of agriculture.

“Combining AI-driven technology with our legacy quality products will enable Kubota to solve real issues facing agriculture,” McMickell stated. “This acquisition is a key milestone for Kubota’s strategic vision to provide comprehensive smart agriculture solutions.”