US: Innovative weeding machine reduces labor pressure

“With their negative impact on yields, weeds are a big challenge, common to every form of agriculture,” says Bob Sutton with Sutton Ag. “There are many similar weeding machines on the market and after a number of years, we have found the right piece of equipment,” he said. Bob passionately talks about the Steketee IC Weeder, a piece of weeding equipment that is very suitable for row crops, especially the type of crops grown in the Salinas Valley, Central Coast and Imperial Valley of California as well as Yuma, AZ. This high-quality inter-row cultivating machine uses camera images to calculate the position of plants and is able to hoe around them accurately and quickly.

“It allows for the weeding job to be done with a tractor driver only,” mentioned Sutton. “Typically, this type of equipment has a greater application in Europe due to the higher cost of labor. However, we can justify bringing it into the US because of our large scale operations. Additionally, sourcing labor is increasingly becoming a challenge.” 

From a food safety perspective, the machine is very unique. “Traditionally, this type of equipment runs on a hydraulic system,” said Sutton. This machine however, runs on pressurized air, which is a huge development food safety wise. “If this machine would leak, it leaks air instead of oil.”

The amount of cost savings largely depends on the amount of weed pressure. “Every grower has a weeding cost, but it is difficult to estimate an exact number,” said Sutton. “Weeding with a 25-person crew roughly costs $100 per acre. If you can get through the field with a tractor and weeder in one pass, the cost is about $40 per acre. To stay on the safe side, cost savings are about $50/acre. For a grower with 2,000 acres, which is not uncommon in the Salinas Valley, the payback period is about two years. In some cases, the machine will be paid back within a year.”

Sutton Ag specializes in the planting and bird control needs of precision agriculture. Other products include vacuum seed planters, granular applicators and harvesters. Continual improvements in production agriculture have spurred the company’s development of specialized equipment to support this growth.

For more information:

Bob Sutton

Tel: (831) -422-9693