Business
U.S. Sugar, Autonomous Solutions, Inc., and Everglades Equipment Group Announce Nation’s Largest Commercial Deployment of Autonomous Tractors in American Sugar Industry
CLEWISTON, Fla., May 11, 2026--U.S. Sugar deploys a fleet of unmanned John Deere tractors within its 255,000 Florida acres, representing the largest commercial use in the industry
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CLEWISTON, Fla., May 11, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. Sugar today announced the launch of the largest commercial use of autonomous tractors in the American sugar industry, deploying a fleet of unmanned John Deere tractors within its 255,000 acres of farmland in South Florida. The autonomous fleet is fitted with American technology developed by Autonomous Solutions, Inc. (ASI) and secured with support from Florida John Deere distributor Everglades Equipment Group. U.S. Sugar’s new autonomous fleet includes four John Deere 8R Series tractors and one John Deere 9R Series tractor operating in sugarcane fields up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The tractors, which are traditionally manually operated, are fitted with ASI’s Vehicle Automation Kit (VAK), to operate autonomously with oversight from a central command station, where a single operator will oversee multiple vehicles at once using Mobius, ASI’s autonomous fleet management platform. "U.S. Sugar has always believed that combining innovation with hard work is the best way to keep feeding American families," said Ken McDuffie, president and CEO of U.S. Sugar. "By leveraging American technology to increase efficiency and maximize productivity, we are also increasing reliability in our domestic food supply while creating new, higher-skilled opportunities for our employees." The autonomous tractors deliver measurable benefits across U.S. Sugar’s farms, including improved accuracy, higher production, enhanced sustainability and increased reliability in land preparation. The technology was piloted on U.S. Sugar’s farmlands during an 18-month research and development phase. As the company incorporates its autonomous fleet, U.S. Sugar is working to retain all current employees through additional training and support in new roles, including in autonomous tractor operations. The company is committed to hiring employees for the knowledge-based skills this state-of-the-art technology requires. U.S. Sugar selected ASI, a worldwide leader in industrial off-road vehicle automation, to develop, test and customize the autonomous system to U.S. Sugar’s operations. ASI partners with various commercial industries, including logistics, heavy construction and landscaping to enhance efficiency, safety and workforce productivity. ASI’s solution integrates with the tractors’ existing drive-by-wire system,...