Tractor autonomy boosts Bluewhite, now partner of New Holland
Autonomous tractors recently got a boost. In June, tractor manufacturer New Holland, a subsidiary of global agricultural machine maker CNH, announced a partnership with Israeli startup Bluewhite, an autonomous tech company that kicked off in 2017.
Under the agreement, New Holland tractors will be able to get Bluewhite one-day upgrades inside dealer shops to become fully autonomous tractors. Also, the two companies will work toward having Bluewhite technology installed inside new tractors made in New Holland factories in 2026.
Bluewhite has already been upgrading 18 types of tractors from various manufacturers and has seen 60,000 hours of commercial operations across 150,000 acres, mainly on the West Coast of the US with a variety of crops, according to CEO Ben Alfi who spoke with Fierce Electronics.
Like other major tractor makers such as John Deere, Bluewhite recognizes the global need for farm labor and the growing financial pressures on farmers. “There’s a huge need with not enough workers. The costs of chemicals are also rising. We see a huge need, not just among early adopters but farmers who want to use autonomous vehicles as soon as possible,” Alfi said. “We are optimistic and see more and more customers working at scale. There’s no discussion about whether autonomy is needed or should it happen, but how fast can I adopt it.”