“The creativity and technical excellence displayed this year underscore agriculture’s bright future. These students aren’t just solving problems; they’re redefining what’s possible,” said Gabriel Youtsey, UC ANR chief innovation officer.
Winners were announced in six categories:
- Innovation Award ($20,000 prize) was claimed by the University of Georgia’s Precision Horticulture Lab for developing a robotic spraying platform with a mobile launchpad controlled by a cell phone.
- Productivity Award ($10,000 prize) went to Team ʻĀINA from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, whose system optimizes pineapple bloom detection and harvest operations to improve labor efficiency at Dole Plantation.
- Excellence in Regenerative Agriculture ($5,000 prize) was awarded to Carnegie Mellon University’s Appleseed Labs for their autonomous reforestation robot, Johnny B. Root.
- Excellence in Small Farms Technology ($5,000 prize) went to the University of Minnesota’s FarmGuard for developing a UAV-based deer deterrence system.
- Judges Choice Impact Award #1 ($2,500 prize) was earned by Purdue University’s PURT UAS Team for their autonomous UAS tassel detection system.
- Judges Choice Impact Award #2 ($2,500 prize) went to the University of Delaware’s Salty Blue Hens for their robotic system automating soil salinity and moisture analysis.
The event, which awarded over $50,000 in prizes, also offered opportunities for students to attend the FIRA USA 2025 conference and pitch their ideas at the Plug and Play Tech Center Summit.
“At Farm-ng, we believe the future of agriculture depends on collaboration between innovators, farmers and educators,” said Brendan Dowdle, CEO of Farm-ng. “Supporting the third annual Farm Robotics Challenge isn’t just about technology, it’s about empowering a generation to build tools that work for real people in real fields.”
For full details, head to https://ucanr.edu/blog/anr-news-releases/article/university-georgia-wins-top-honors-2025-farm-robotics-challenge